I make and bake a lot of foods for my household, but somehow it never occurred to me that crackers could actually be made at home. I have no idea why because growing up my Mom was extremely self-sufficient and my household can boast also of a high level of self-sufficiency. I mean, can you feed 6 people on $50 to $100 per week on groceries?? ($100 or a bit more when I am out of your typical staples, that is.) ...anyway I don't mean to brag, just to make a point and the more appropriate place for that discussion is on my lifestyle and homesteading blog over at My Kind O'Life. Please do feel free to visit me there!
Getting back to the topic, though, I never even thought about baking my own crackers. Heck, even Little House on the Prairie books make it sound like they only ever had crackers from a store! So it was like light dawning on my marble head when my sister mentioned that she recalled my Grandmother making tasty little cheese crackers, kind of like cheese nips or goldfish, when she was younger. She is a bit older than me and spent a lot more time there, and my Grandmother unfortunately fell victim to cancer well before I was 12, so it is not that surprising that I don't remember this; just sad.
BUT! That mention did spark my interest and I finally got hold of the recipe and then got searching online for more. To make a long story short, I found out that my kitchen pasta maker is absolutely IDEAL for making homemade crackers! To really make them crisp the way you want them, homemade crackers need to be rolled very thin. It's tough to do with a regular rolling pin, but it's short work with a home pasta maker.
And the results? Fantastic! My kids love them, my husband loves them, and I am saving tons. Crackers, it turns out, require very few ingredients and are very cheap to make. Homemade cracker recipes are also easily adaptable for people with specific dietary needs or preferences, and the Moms out there commenting on these recipes who have kids with allergies think these recipes are a Godsend.
And as I am sure anyone who has followed this far is wondering, my most favorite recipes for making homemade crackers with my kitchen pasta maker can be located here:
Getting back to the topic, though, I never even thought about baking my own crackers. Heck, even Little House on the Prairie books make it sound like they only ever had crackers from a store! So it was like light dawning on my marble head when my sister mentioned that she recalled my Grandmother making tasty little cheese crackers, kind of like cheese nips or goldfish, when she was younger. She is a bit older than me and spent a lot more time there, and my Grandmother unfortunately fell victim to cancer well before I was 12, so it is not that surprising that I don't remember this; just sad.
BUT! That mention did spark my interest and I finally got hold of the recipe and then got searching online for more. To make a long story short, I found out that my kitchen pasta maker is absolutely IDEAL for making homemade crackers! To really make them crisp the way you want them, homemade crackers need to be rolled very thin. It's tough to do with a regular rolling pin, but it's short work with a home pasta maker.
And the results? Fantastic! My kids love them, my husband loves them, and I am saving tons. Crackers, it turns out, require very few ingredients and are very cheap to make. Homemade cracker recipes are also easily adaptable for people with specific dietary needs or preferences, and the Moms out there commenting on these recipes who have kids with allergies think these recipes are a Godsend.
And as I am sure anyone who has followed this far is wondering, my most favorite recipes for making homemade crackers with my kitchen pasta maker can be located here:
- Basic Homemade Cracker Recipe --I find this cracker recipe simple, cheap, and highly adaptable. Easily add in things like garlic, Parmesan, cheddar, herbs and more for flavor.
- Basic Wheat Cracker Recipe --this recipe is a good way to include more whole grains in your diet and is a very affordable alternative to pricy high-end wheat crackers and Wheat Thins.
is sturdy and seemingly well-built. As many people said on the CucinaPro pasta maker reviews on Amazon, I actually was a bit surprised by the weight and construction of this kitchen pasta maker, considering that I bought for only about $30. As we all know, these days 30 buck usually gets you a piece of flimsy plastic, but that is certainly not the case with this pasta maker. Solid, weighty stainless- steel construction has me thinking this kitchen pasta maker will be a stable, handy small appliance for quite some time to come!