Homemade crackers are a snap to make, with lots of room for improvising. You can blend pretty much whatever you’d like — cheese, nuts, garlic, herbs, and spices, for starters — directly into the dough or replace up to half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat, rye, or cornmeal. Or, just before baking, dust the tops with coarse salt, poppy seeds, or your favorite spice blend.
Flatbreads are daily staples throughout much of the world — think, for instance, of tortillas and chapati — that are made with no yeast, baking powder, or soda to make the dough rise. But this doesn’t mean they’re dense: Each has a unique texture, and they’re all unlike any of their leavened cousins. As an added plus, they’re generally much quicker and easier to make: You can whip up a batch of tortillas, for example, in half an hour.