Homemade Wheat Thins

When I first saw this recipe (forever ago!), I didn't think there was any way that a homemade cracker would be nearly as good as a real Wheat Thin. Wheat Thins are my FAVORITE! I also thought that making my own crackers would be really time and labor intensive. While these probably aren't as good as real Wheat Thins, they can certainly hold their own as a good wheat cracker. They also were really quick and easy to make. My 5 year old helped with a lot of it. These are a King Arthur Flour recipe--you should browse their site. They have a lot of fun stuff. Don't eat them side by side with the real ones as you'd probably be disappointed, but if you haven't had them in a long time, you might think these taste a lot like a Wheat Thin! And don't be scared of vanilla in the list of ingredients! As crazy as it sounds, I think its what 'makes' the cracker! Oh, and please be impressed with the amount of pictures in this post! I'm nearly rivaling the Pioneer Woman with this one! Ha! I hope not! While I love looking at her recipes (though I can make very few!), she puts a few too many pictures of the steps for me! And her pictures are good. I don't pretend that I am a good photographer! Just trying to give you a visual!

Homemade Wheat Thins
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
1/4 tsp paprika
4 Tbs butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400F (205C). Line a baking sheet with silicone mats or parchment paper. Or you can very lightly grease it. Place flour, sugar, salt, and paprika in a bowl and whisk together.

Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl.

Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Combine the water and vanilla and add to the dry mixture, working it with your hands to make a smooth dough. If it is too dry, you can add more water a little at a time.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Keep them in a bowl with a damp towel overtop as you work with each individual piece. Lightly flour your work surface and place one piece of dough down. 

Using a rolling pin, roll dough into a thin rectangle if possible--about 1/16th of an inch thick (I didn't actually measure mine!). Pick up and flip as you are rolling to ensure that it isn't sticking. 

If you want perfect crackers, you can trim off the ragged edges. Using a pizza cutter or a knife, slice your crackers into squares. 

I took some of the little ragged parts and put them all back in the bowl and made a 5th ball that I rerolled at the end. Some crackers I just left ragged. Place crackers on prepared baking sheets. Separate just slightly. Sprinkle tops with salt. 

Repeat rolling and cutting with remaining dough. Bake in as many batches as you need to for your oven size. Bake until crisp and slightly browned--about 5-10 minutes. Check at 5 minutes and you can take out some of the thinner ones if they are browning quicker than others. Ideally, most of your crackers will be about the same thickness and size. It doesn't take much for these to over cook, so keep a close eye on them! Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Enjoy! 

Note: For those of you in China, I get whole wheat flour from this Taobao seller! It is cheaper than the places that sell it here in my city. It might be a good option for those of you that can't find it locally!