Cracker (Food)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A cracker is a baked good commonly made from unleavened grain flour dough and typically made in quantity in various hand-sized or smaller shapes. Flavorings or seasonings such as salt, herbs, seeds, or cheese may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking. Crackers are a nutritious and ready to eat way to use a staple food or cereal grain that is advantageous for storage and travel. A precedent for the modern cracker can be found in nautical ship biscuits, military hardtack, and sacramental bread. Ancestors of the cracker can be found in ancient flat breads such as Lavash, Chapati, Pita, Matzo, and Flatbrød or Crisp bread. In 1792, Theodore Pearson of Newburyport, Massachusetts, made a cracker-like bread product from just flour and water that he called Pearson's Pilot Bread. An immediate success with sailors because of its shelf life, it also became known as hardtack or sea biscuit. This was the first cracker bakery in the United States, and produced crackers for more than a century.