Monday, April 13, 2009

Homemade Wheat Thins



The Cooking class was a huge success, and here is the recipe for some of the crackers we did. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have over the years. Not only have they saved my family budget in some really lean years, but they have allowed me to feed my kiddos the good organic stuff.

Wheat Thins

Mix in a large bowl:
3 1/4 cup whole wheat cake flour (50% barley 50% hard wheat if grinding your own flour).
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt.


whisked well :
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water
2T honey

Add liquid to dry ingredients, mixing well, but as little as possible.

Divide into 2 balls. Totally non-rocket-science, right?

Roll them out really thin. This is enough dough to make two pans of crackers. If you roll them thick they will be more like a teething biscuit, but I don't have any babies who would appreciate that anymore.

Pizza cutters or pastry cutters work well to cut into crackers. I did triangles here, but feel free to not get as fancy.
I added 3 T poppyseeds to the dough...so if you see some black dots it's not bugs.































Trim off extra dough and spray lightly with water. This will allow the salt to stick, and the crackers will be more crisp. Don't you just love this crisp new pan? I've been making crackers on it for 13 years.



















Ooo shiny. See, my ability to be easily entertained?







Bake 350 degrees from 20-30 minutes depending on how thick you cut your crackers.






Cornmeal Cracker Variation:
By and far my favorite of all the cracker recipes. The dough is very tender so be gentle. It takes patience to roll it out.

Garlic Parmesan cornmeal crackers

Combine in a large bowl:
1 3/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder

Blend well:
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water

Same mixing and baking directions as the wheat thins. I season them with all purpose Italian seasoning just before baking.

These had a Southwest Seasoning blend put on them just before baking:






























There you go. Homemade crackers. Now go impress your friends.

8 comments:

Amy said...

I am deeply impressed.

Truly.

Chef Tess said...

You're impressed because you are my friend. Love you!

deedles said...

You said that the water sprayed will help the salt to stick? Do you sprinkly salt on before or after they come out of the oven? I didn't see that mentioned. I want to make some for Thanksgiving and I don't want to screw it up! How long do these keep, if I may ask? Thanks so much for the great recipe!

Chef Tess said...

Spray with water then sprinkle with salt. Sorry I wasn't more clear there. Thanks for the great comment.

Juli Ann said...

I've been looking for a healthy cracker recipe, I am excited to try these! Do you spray/butter the pan or use parchment paper when cooking? I am one who needs every detail or I'm afraid of messing it up :) Thanks so much for posting!! I look forward to more.

Chef Tess said...

Usually easier to lightly oil the pan than to use parchment, as it tends to cut when I cut the crackers. Great question.

Unknown said...

Can these be made with a gluten free mixture?

Chef Tess said...

Excellent question. Gluten free flour would work with these. I'm partial to the blend I used in my gluten free class that uses sorghum and brown rice. You will need xanthan gum to keep them from falling apart.