Homemade ritz style crackers

I have such difficulty finding crackers Little S can have – most seem to contain traces of milk, nuts or seeds. These Tesco snackers are a good standby, but I thought an easy recipe for a homemade basic cracker would be a good addition to the repertoire, should Tesco run out of snackers we’d be at a total loss for bedtime snacks! Ritz crackers are such moreish little savoury crackers (although not for us as they may contain milk, eggs and sesame!), available all over the world and equally as good for topping, dipping or simply snacking, so they were an obvious choice to recreate at home.

The results were particularly pleasing and dare I say it, almost authentic (although I don’t have a fluted round cookie cutter so I lost a few authenticity points on that part!). I think the essence of a ritz is salty, but also sweet, a good crunch and a glazed top sprinkled with salt crystals and this ticked a lot of those. Also there’s the big added bonus of taking virtually no time to put together…

Homemade Ritz Style Crackers (dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

maakes about 40

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp dairy-free spread
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup cold water

To glaze:

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp salt

– Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade/Gas Mark 5
– Line two baking sheets with parchment
– Place the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt into a food processor, add the dairy-free spread and pulse until the spread is combined into the flour (or rub in with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs)
– Pour in the oil and pulse again.
– Pour in the water and pulse until it forms a ball of dough.
– Turn onto a floured surface and roll out until about 3-5mm thick
– Cut out any shapes you like, circles are classic.
– Place, well spaced on the baking sheets and pick with a fork.
– Bake for 10-12 minutes until starting to turn golden
– As soon as you remove them from the oven, brush with the oil and sprinkle with salt.
– These keep well for a few days in a sealed container.