So simple to make with just a handful of everyday ingredients, these cheese crackers taste incredible.
Perfect for snacking or eating with cheeses, paté, dips, soups etc., the crackers should keep for 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Preheat the oven to 220° C /200° Fan /Gas 7 /425° F.
Cut two pieces of baking paper to fit the bases of two shallow baking trays each 31 x 21 cm. Cook in two batches if you only have one suitably sized tray.
Put the flour, garlic powder if using, salt and black pepper in a mixing bowl and stir together. Stir in the grated cheeses.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted butter along with 100 ml of the water.
Start stirring with a spoon to bring the ingredients together, adding a little more water if necessary. Switch to your hands to bring together into a dough that leaves the bowl clean.
Transfer to a clean work surface and briefly knead/fold into a smooth ball.
Cut in half (use scales for accuracy) then set one half aside, covered with the upturned bowl so it doesn't dry out.
Lightly flour one of the pieces of baking paper (using too much flour can make the crackers hard).
Place one piece of dough on it, sprinkle with a little flour, and roll out very thinly (no more than 1-2 mm or the crackers will be hard rather than crispy) until it covers the paper - roll past the edges of the paper if necessary to get the dough the correct thinness.
Neaten the edges of the dough with a knife or pizza wheel plus a ruler if necessary (keep the scraps to make extra crackers at the end).
Cut the dough into squares or rectangles of your preferred size.
Slide the paper and the uncooked crackers onto one of the baking trays.
Prick the crackers all over with a fork then sprinkle with the extra Parmesan.
Put the crackers in the preheated oven and cook until crisp and golden (12-18 min). Check after 10 minutes: crackers at the edges of the tray may cook much quicker, so remove these to a cooling rack and return the rest to the oven.
If necessary, turn the crackers over for even cooking.
While the first tray is baking, roll and cut another batch with the remaining dough and cook as above.
When done, crackers should be left on the cooling rack until completely cold before storing in an airtight container. Should keep for 2 weeks.