Cheese Crackers

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 ounce finely grated firm cheese
• 2 ounces soft cheese, cut in cubes

Directions

1. Add every ingredient to the stand mixer bowl. Work the dough with the hook attachment until it stretches and feels elastic; the cheese flecks mean it may look a little bumpy, and that is exactly okay.
2. The food processor route is a good one here too, and it will blend the cheese in a little more thoroughly because the blade chops as it mixes. Set everything but the water in the processor bowl; give it a few pulses, then keep the machine running while you pour in the water slowly, only as quickly as the flour takes it up. When the mixture gathers into a ball, continue processing for about 30 seconds, then feel the dough to make sure it is elastic.
3. Let the dough stay in the stand mixer bowl, or move it to a clean bowl if you chose the processor. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour.
4. Heat the oven to 250 degrees, and get 2 baking sheets plus parchment paper set up.
5. Divide the dough in half. Roll both pieces into thin rectangles, not fussy ones, about 14x17 inches. Set the rolled dough on the parchment, then dock it so it stays flatter as it bakes. Use a dough docker if you have one, or poke it all over with a fork.
6. Use a pastry cutter, pizza cutter, or a similar cutter to make rough 1-inch squares. Do not worry about matching edges or pulling every cracker apart; in the oven they tighten away from each other a little, and once crisp, they snap cleanly along the cuts.
7. Move the parchment with the dough onto the baking sheets. At 250 degrees, bake them for 30 minutes, until you see the crackers starting to take on the faintest color. If one pan is darkening faster than the other, rotate them.
8. Cut the heat, but keep the crackers inside for another 30-60 minutes. They will deepen in color and firm up as they dry, so keep an eye on them; if your oven holds heat like a champ and they are getting too brown, open the door a little to bleed off some warmth.
9. As they cool, they will keep drying, but before you take them out, aim for crackers that are mostly dry, crisp, and not soft in the centers.
10. Take the pans from the oven and wait until the crackers are fully cool before you put them away. If you want them extra dry and crisp, leave them uncovered at room temperature for at least a day; conveniently, this also makes them very easy to wander past and nibble.