I don’t know why people would wonder are crackers bread. They can be absolutely delicious snacks, something to grab and enjoy by a handful or served with a number of toppings. The toppings can be anything from cheese to salami to fruits to finely chopped meats.
Regarding our question, there’s one direct answer: crackers are not bread because they’re not made with yeast. Furthermore, some recipes can contain a leavening agent (baking powder) but others will not.
Are Crackers Bread? Simple Answer: No
The basic ingredients for a cracker recipe are just 3: flour, water, and oil. It’s like pasta without the eggs. You can use olive oil, coconut oil or whatever type you prefer.
Sugar and salt are added for flavor.
Moreover, some will add seasoning, maple syrup, cheese, and whatever other extra ingredients they can think of.
The dough once mixed by hand or in a food processor is divided into 2 balls and left to rest for 10 minutes.
The basic ingredients for a bread recipe are 4: water, yeast, salt, flour. Yeast is where these two carbohydrates go on their different paths in the food world.
Crackers are a grain product because they’re made with flour. Being a grain product is what they have in common with breads, pasta and rice.
Are crackers bread? No. Just like they’re not pasta even though the recipe shares some similarities.
Even more proof of that is that if you take any book about bread, you’ll not find a recipe for crackers.
Are crackers dried bread?
Once again, no. Crackers have their own recipes and they’re baked in the oven for a short time. Holes are poked in the dough before baking to make sure that they stay flat during baking.
So, they’re definitely not dried bread.
If we have stale bread, we can make croutons. Or we can have homemade bread crumbs. Those are totally different things.
If people go on a diet and they decide to stop eating bread, they might include crackers on the list, too. But that’s because they’re both carbohydrates, grain products.
According to this website, two multigrain crackers have 64kcal compared to approximately 250kcal in two slices of multigrain loaf.
Moreover, instead of eating butter as a thin scraping, you should replace it with a cheese triangle.
Another healthy option for a topping can consist of fruits or tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers.
The Exception When They’re Bread
If you truly want to experiment with making wonderful recipes at home, you should check out this book: Salty Snacks: Make Your Own Chips, Crisps, Crackers, Pretzels, Dips, and Other Savory Bites by Cynthia Nims.
This is the kind of cookbook that will absolutely surprise you with its diversity. I think you will discover that the world of snacks can spread way beyond the shelves of a supermarket.
The main chapters are: chips and crisps, breads and pastries, crackers and savory cookies, meat and seafood, nuts and nibbles, vegetables and grains, dips and spreads.
However, the amazing recipes are not the only reason for choosing this particular book.
It’s because the recipe for “the best crackers” actually has one surprising ingredients among the rest: active dry yeast.
Frankly, if you read that recipe, you’ll believe that it’s one for a small loaf of bread or for pizza dough maybe. This is the exception where the answer to the question are crackers bread changes to a surprising yes.
The rest of the recipes are made with baking powder or with no leavening agent at all. That’s the only example where yeast is used.
Are crackers bread can only receive the general answer no but bruschetta crackers are definitely a thing, if you don’t have a baguette or a ciabatta at home.
