Snacks: Crackers

I remember reading once that home-made crackers top store-bought crackers. I believed it, but not enough to take the time to actually make them myself until recently. I made the decision to try it. I found a basic recipe and tried it out. What did I find? Home-made crackers are indeed delicious and easier than I thought! Not to mention the taste combinations are limitless (well within reason.) I've only tried 3 currently - regular, Italian, and Chipolte Cheddar.All three are delicious, although I'm still working on some kinks with the Chipolte Cheddar. The crackers I made used olive oil. I made them with all white flour and extra virgin olive oil, and I've made them with half white and half wheat flour with a lighter olive oil. I like the lighter olive oil, I found the extra virgin had a bit too much of the olive oil taste (which would have been fine if I was going for that flavor.) The flour combination did not make much if any of a difference. Next time I make them I'm going to try all wheat to see how they taste. I'll let you know what happens. I also want to try butter crackers, I have some great ideas for flavor combinations with them...

Crackers - Basic Recipe (orginal recipe)
In a medium sized bowl, mix together 1 cup all purpose unbleached flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt (you may want to add more if you are not adding any other flavor.)
Add 2/3 cup water and 1/3 cup olive oil,
stir until dough is smooth.
Add any of the following flavor combinations (I'll add more as I make more, if you find any great combinations - please leave a comment):
Italian: Add 1-1/2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
Chipolte Cheddar 1 Tbsp Chipolte Hot Sauce and 3/4-1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (processed in a food processor, blender, etc) and 3 Tbsp more flour.

Divide dough into three pieces (you can also add flavor combinations after you divide the dough if you want a few varities without making a ton of crackers - just divide the amounts in thirds.)
Place one piece onto a greased baking stone and roll out using a rolling pin (I greased my rolling pin and the dough rarely stuck to it) until desired thickness. I like my crackers thin, mine were about 1/8" thick.
Use a pizza cutter to cut them into cracker-size pieces. The dough will seperate when cut, so you won't have to (a couple of them may not, but they are easily broken apart after baking.)

An alternative method (if you don't have a baking stone, for example) would be to roll the piece of dough into a log roughly the diameter you want your crackers (err on the smaller side) and wrap it in plastic wrap. Freeze until hard (about 8 hours). Using a sharp knife, cut the crackers as thick/thin as you like. If you can't cut them as thin as you want (I couldn't, but I didn't freeze mine that long) you can use a flat object (spatula, etc) to flatten them out to make them thinner.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 16-17 minutes (10-12 if not using a baking stone.) Note: If your crackers are thicker, you will need to bake them longer. Bake until golden brown.

Remove from pan, let cool. Hot crackers are NOT that great... trust me on this one, I thought I'd flopped when I tasted my first one right after it came out of the oven. They need to be cool before they taste good. In fact they are usually better the next day.
Chipolte Cheddar Crackers
Enjoy!