Crackers

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Makes about 4 servings
Time: About 15 minutes

"Crackers are ridiculously easy to make," Bittman muses, "and once you produce your first batch you'll have little trouble figuring out how to create your favorites. Sprinkle them with salt, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds, work a tiny bit of garlic or herbs into the dough, or substitute whole wheat or rye flour for some or all of the white flour."

1 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 T butter
About 1/4 C water (or milk), plus more as needed

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Place first three ingredients in a bowl or food processor and mix together until flour and butter are combined. Add about 1/4 C liquid, continuing to add until the mixture holds together but is not sticky
3. Roll on lightly floured surface 1/4 inch thick or less. Add flour as necessary. (Bittman says you don't have to worry about about over-handling the dough... crackers are very forgiving!) Score with knife or razor to break into nice squares or rectangles later on. (I find a pizza cutter or cookie cutters work great depending on how you want the size and shape of your crackers.)
4. Bake on a lightly floured baking sheet, or directly on baking stones until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack, serve warm or at room temperature, or store in a tin (I use mason jars with lids.)

For Recipe club, I use whole wheat flour and followed the variation for Bittman's Cream crackers and used milk in place of water (though cream would obviously work too), increasing the butter to 4 T (1/2 stick instead of 2 T). I also added a tsp of sugar for more flavor!

A few pictures can be found on my blog here.