I eat a lot of crackers.
I hadn’t realised the extent of my habit until I was dropping off my soft plastics recycling and saw all of the empty packets that I was responsible for.
In my mission to reduce my supermarket shopping to bi-monthly, I had a plan to simply stock up on crackers. But given the volumes and the packaging I was getting through, I started to wonder if there was a better way…
DIY styles
I’m not a baker.
Sometimes I get the urge, but about 20 mins after I start, both my language and mood deteriorate and I remember that it’s not my thing.
However, if I can find something with a few ingredients that I can knock out in less than 20 mins, I’m into it.
So I set about finding a cracker recipe that would fit my criteria, and I nailed it, real quick. Who knew it was so easy?
I made a triple batch, which will last us for a month, as they freeze really well.
No packaging waste, no nasty ingredients and I’m saving $5 a week! Yes it takes a bit longer, but it’s a cool activity to do with my kids or the recipe is so simple that I’ve managed to do it at the same time as prepping dinner so I can take advantage of the hot oven (look at me multi-tasking)!
Recipe: Basic crackers
YOU WILL NEED
1 cup flour I use spelt, but I’m sure various other flours would work too
1⁄4 cup water
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄2 cup finely grated cheese or a handful of herbs or sesame seeds (optional)
WHAT TO DO
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and form a dough. Leave to stand for 5 mins.
3. Roll out the dough as thinly as possible – about 1 mm is ideal. (Use or borrow a pasta maker if you’re doing a bulk bake.)
4. Cut dough into the cracker size you want, place onto lightly floured baking trays and bake for about 10 minutes.
TIP: I store these in a jar in the freezer – it keeps the crackers fresh and also puts them out of the line of sight of my family, so they aren’t all gone within hours. It sounds mean to hide them, but I know you’re with me.
Get amongst it.
Simple change – big impact (less shopping)
