BHA & BHT Free Classic Saltine Crackers
Most store-bought crackers rely on preservatives like BHA and BHT to extend shelf life, which makes finding a clean option surprisingly tricky. These homemade saltines are built from just a handful of pantry staples — flour, baking powder, salt, a touch of sugar, and cold fat — so you know exactly what's going into every bite. The technique is straightforward: work cold shortening or butter into the dry ingredients, bring the dough together with cold water, and roll it out as thin as you can get it for that signature crisp snap. Docking each square all the way through to the parchment is the key step that keeps them flat and gives them those classic little holes. A brush of melted butter and a scatter of flaky sea salt before baking takes them from plain to genuinely craveable. They come out of the oven pale golden at the edges and firm up even more as they cool on the rack. Once you've made a batch, it's hard to go back to the boxed version.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable shortening butter or unsalted butter, cold butter and cut into small pieces
- ½ cup cold water
For brushing
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For topping
- ½ tsp flaky sea salt or coarse salt
Instructions
- 1
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, fine salt, and sugar until evenly combined.
- 2
Add the cold shortening (or butter pieces) to the flour mixture and work it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, slightly sandy crumbs with no large pieces remaining.
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