Homemade Wheat Thins
Updated March 26, 2019
Wheat Thins – If you like store-bought Wheat Thins, you have to try making your own. Homemade crackers are easy to make and don’t take long at all! Try homemade Wheat Thins and you won’t go back to storebought!
Making Homemade Crackers – Wheat Thins!
Wheat Thins remind me of my high school days. They were my favorite snack. I used to keep a box in my locker, car, and munched on them when my dad forced me to do my math homework. We haven’t bought them in a long time, but when I saw a recipe for Homemade Wheat Thins, I knew I had to try them.
Josh loves working with dough, so he volunteered to make the homemade crackers for me. I didn’t object:) He mixed the dough, rolled out the dough, and cut the dough into squares. The Wheat Thins only have to bake for 5-10 minutes. They were golden brown and looked almost identical to the store-bought version.
Homemade Wheat Thins: A Taste Test
Now, it was time for the taste test. I was surprised at how close they tasted to the “real” Wheat Thins. The flavor and texture were very similar. I ate a few plain and then tried them with slices of cheese. I really enjoyed my snack. I think I like the Homemade Wheat Thins were even better than the original version. And they only took minutes to make – it would take you longer to go to the store and buy a box. Plus, everything made at home, with love, tastes better. Enjoy!
Homemade Wheat Thins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt plus extra for topping
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup water you might need to add a little more
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- 2. Add the flour, sugar, salt and paprika to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the bowl. Using a pastry blender, mix the butter into the dry ingredients thoroughly. Combine the water and vanilla in a small measuring cup or bowl. Add to the butter/flour mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. If the dough is still dry, add a little more water.
- 3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the others covered with a towel so they don't dry out. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle. Lift the dough and turn it as you roll to ensure it's not sticking. You want to roll the dough as thin as possible, try to make sure it's 1/16-inch thick at most. If you want all of your crackers to be perfect, trim the edges of the dough so you have a rectangle with even sides. Use a pizza cutter to cut the rectangle into squares about 1 to 1 ½ inches wide.
- 4. Transfer the dough squares to the prepared baking sheets. You can place them close together because they will not spread. Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Save all of your scraps under the towel to keep the dough from drying out; reroll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers.
- 5. Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, about 5-10 minutes. Check the crackers at 5 minutes, and if some of the thinner ones are browning too quickly, remove them from the oven. The crackers can burn quickly so you want to keep a close eye on them. Remove crackers from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Store the crackers in an airtight container.
Have you tried this recipe?
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If you like these Homemade Wheat Thins, you might also like:
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These are delicious. I used a special ground salt blend to sprinkle on top.
Mine didn’t turn out like Wheat Thins at all, but this recipe is about the same as all the other ones I’ve found. I would suggest that they need to be firmed up by reducing heat to around 300 degrees (after cooking them the first time) and cook them at that temp for around 8-10 minutes. I initially ended up with something that was the equivalent of little squares of bread following the cooking directions.
I needed to have some heat on them, but not so high that they might burn. They were still bread like, but at least they had a crunch the second time around. I rolled them out as thin as possible, and they were still too thick after cooking them. I didn’t salt the tops, but that wouldn’t have made that much of a difference. I think the real thing may contain stone ground wheat.
These took way longer than 10 minutes to crisp up in my oven at 400, and I wish I hadn’t added as much vanilla (or any) because that flavor came across too much, but overall these work.
I’m not much of a baker usually, but am trying to reduce processed foods for my daughter. These turned out great with sprouted whole wheat flour and Earth Balance instead of butter. Have you tried with add-ins, such as flax, Sesame seeds, etc?
I haven’t tried different seasonings, but play around and add your favorite!