August 8, 2008 (Friday)
I love crackers. I guess I like almost any kind you can name, but I am perfectly satisfied with the original “saltines.” What I have never considered before today is that crackers can be baked at home.
It takes only 9 to 12 minutes to bake the crackers, but it takes much longer to prepare them for baking. If you want them Sunday, you need to start on Friday. You’ll need yeast, sugar, flour, baking soda, buttermilk, salt, shortening, and water. The initial rise is 20 to 30 hours. The dough must be allowed to rest several hours also. Taking into account other procedures for preparing the dough, it takes a long time to prepare crackers. I’ve never eaten home made crackers, so I have no idea about whether they are worth the trouble it takes to cook them. But experience tells us that “home made” is better than “store bought” on any day.
I have the perfect solution for the time problem. Buy them. You can find them in boxes at the grocery store. And they are really good. If, by chance, you bring home stale crackers, you can put some in the microwave for a short nuking session, and in a few seconds after their removal from the microwave oven they’ll be as fresh and crisp as new.
If you prefer an exotic cracker, you can buy them, too. They come in all sizes and flavors, made from all sorts of finely tuned recipes. They have many brand names.
So, prepare them yourself if you like, or buy them. It’s up to you. But you will like them, no matter what. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go have some crackers, topped with something. Almost anything will work out fine.