As you’ve probably noticed by now, I’m sort of obsessed with attempting homemade versions of items I might otherwise buy prepackaged at the store – from graham crackers and croissants to puff pastry and pop-tarts, I’ve tried quite a few. A few weeks ago I came across a recipe for homemade Wheat Thins crackers on 6 Bittersweets, and realized it came from a cookbook I already owned – the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book (proof that my cookbooks are seriously under-utilized). It was inevitable I’d try them eventually, and because I’m prone to forgetfulness I decided to do it sooner rather than later. The funny thing is, I never buy Wheat Thins at the store because we aren’t really cracker eaters. That said, I have tasted them, and I just had to know how this homemade version compared.
This recipe couldn’t be easier and you’ll love the short ingredient list. I’m constantly amazed that you can take a few simple ingredients and turn them into something so terrific; I think it’s one of the big reasons I love baking so much. The only slightly tricky part of making these crackers is rolling out the dough, and if you’ve ever rolled dough before you’ll likely find this one pretty easy to work with. As long as you keep your work surface lightly floured and turn the dough to ensure it’s not sticking, you shouldn’t have a problem.
The crackers bake quickly, and you can fit a ton of them on each sheet since they don’t spread at all (meaning you’ll probably only need to bake 2 sheets even though the recipe makes a lot of crackers). You want to take them out when they’re brown and crisp, but keep in mind they will crisp up even further as they cool. The cooling happens in a matter of minutes, which means I didn’t burn my tongue when I tried one less than 5 minutes after it emerged from the oven. The verdict? I was impressed – King Arthur Flour really created a terrific homemade version of Wheat Thins. The flavor is spot on as is the appearance. As I mentioned, I’m not even a big fan of crackers, but these disappeared more quickly than I’d like to admit.
Homemade Wheat Thins
from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Cookbook
1 1/4 cups (5 oz) whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for topping
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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. Then, using a pastry blender, mix the butter into the dry ingredients thoroughly. Combine the water and vanilla in a small measuring cup. Add to the butter/flour mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. (My dough was still pretty dry so I added slightly more water before it came together.)
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 1/2 inches wide.
Transfer the dough squares to the prepared baking sheets. You don’t need to leave much space in between the crackers – they don’t spread at all in the oven. 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; reroll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers. (I covered the baking sheets with towels while I rolled the rest of the dough so the cut crackers wouldn’t dry out.)
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 to a plate and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. The crackers can burn quickly so you want to keep a close eye on them. Once brown and crisp, transfer to a plate to cool. Store the crackers in an airtight container.
One look at your crackers was all it took. I am now convinced that I need to make these tomorrow and fully intend to do so. I’ve now got crackers on the brain.
LOVE this recipe- I love that it’s all real, natural ingredients vs. the additives in the boxed variety. Awesome!
These look awesome Tracey! And better than the store-bought ones for sure.
I’m glad these worked out for you, Tracey! This was actually the first time I used that KA book even though I’ve owned it over a year, so you could say I have a cookbook underutilization issue too! 8)
Your crackers look great! I couldn’t believe how much better homemade wheat thins were when I tried them.
I keep meaning to make these but always forget to pick up ww flour! They look great.
These look great. I know I dont have the patience to cut them perfectly (lol).
Yum….I cold eat the whole tray..wow.
I LOVE wheat thins and I am totally going to try making these!!
Oh I Love Wheat Thins…(not that I buy them that often)
I’ll try these..
trying these. soon.
Wheat Thins are seriously my favorite cracker- these look SO good!!!
Wow these have inspried me to try to bake my own crackers. I never thought I would try but these look great! Just found your blog and am loving your honest and great feedback on recipes.
These look great! I never thought I would make my own crackers but this has inspried me to try. I just found your blog yesterday and am enjoying your honest and informative feedback on your recipes. I’m making a list of all the recipes you have inspried me to try! Thanks!
I love wheat thins, and like you, I think it’s fun to try to recreate storebought things at home. Unlike you, I don’t do it that often! Your crackers look amazing, Tracey.
They really look like Wheat Thins! I love homemade crackers because they don’t have any mystery ingredients.
ahhh i love love love homemade crackers. wheat thins are my favorite store-bought variety so i can’t wait to make these!
These look INCREDIBLE! I’m off to make them! Thanks 🙂
OMG I just made these and I honestly can’t believe that they taste identical to the ones in the grocery store…actually better! I made them vegan by using Earth Balance and it worked great. Thanks again so much!!
Angela
@Angela – I’m so glad they turned out well for you! Thanks for the info about the substitution, I bet other readers will benefit from knowing it works 🙂
Yummmm, thanks for this! I’d love for you to submit it to the M&T Spotlight: http://www.makeandtakes.com/spotlight
What a great idea! These looks so good and they must be so much healthier! Glad I found your beautiful blog!
Question? How many crackers did the recipe make? Thanks!
I am making these tomorrow!
@RevJen – I was kicking myself when I made these for not paying more attention to how many crackers the recipe wound up yielding. I’m pretty sure I got between 7 and 8 dozen. I’m going to make them again soon, and I’ll update the post with the yield when I do 🙂
These actually look like they are right out of the box – but I’m sure they are better!
These look awesome, and wheat thins are one of my favorite crackers. I’ll have to try this recipe this weekend! (My hubby laughs at me for my obsession with trying to make things that we usually buy prepackaged…good to know I’m not alone!) 🙂
Wow! I’m at a loss here. Phenomenal job and they look so flippin’ good!!
Ooh, something else for me to make. J eats a lot of crackers, and the girls like them too. I really need to use that cookbook more. Okay, that one and most of the rest of my collection… =)
I would love to make my own wheat thins! What a great idea! Can’t wait to try these-thanks! 🙂
Hi there first time here…baked wheat thins???wow this is a must try one then….
Hey, glad you liked these – I’ve always been a “make your own crackers” aficionado. There’s just something about crackers that throws the gauntlet at my feet – and I have to pick it up! Thanks for your kind words about this recipe – PJ Hamel, King Arthur Flour baker/blogger
I agree with you about the fun of baking is taking a simple list of ingredients and creating something wonderful. I love making crackers and will have to give these a try.
I always think it’s a lot of fun to make things from scratch instead of just buying it off a shelf–adds a special touch!
p.s. Would you take a minute and vote for my Pink Velvet POM cupcake here: http://www.pomwonderful.com/cupcakecontest/
You can definitely spread the word if you would like–thanks a million!
Definitely going to try these!
♥ Leia
I have to make these! I’ve seen this recipe in the King Arthur Flour cookbook, and always passed over it. Now I’m dying to give it a try.
Great recipe! I love wheat thins and to able to cook them at home is fabulous!
These look simply perfect. Homemade is always better than store bought.
Homemade crackers! Another fabulous recipe that I need to try. Thanks for the inspiration…they look delicious!!!
wow, these look amazing! I really want to make them. Love homemade things like this 🙂
Your homemade wheat thins look perfect! I haven’t had a wheat thin in ages and this makes me crave them.
these look fabulous love making crackers from scratch can’t wait to try yours!
I would love to try these. I’ll have to make them soon!
Okay, NOW we are talking…these are calling my name loudly. We are big fans of the Wheat Thins around here, how fun to learn to make them myself.
Thank you for the inspiration…I just made them and absolutely LOVED the crackers!
I made a double batch…one using regular whole wheat and another batch using spelt flour. Both were fantastic!
I can’t wait to try making these!! 🙂
I’ve had my share of wheat thins over the years… until I discovered the litany of unpronounceable ingredients. Can’t wait to try these!
I think you could use a pizza cutter to slice them and it would be easier
Don’t laugh, but I’ve been looking for a Wheat Thin cracker recipe to make my pet cockatiel, who loves Wheat Thins. Just made your recipe, and the flavor was incredible. However, I didn’t roll them thin enough for the bird’s liking. I used my pasta roller on the first setting, but next time will definitely roll them thinner. Here’s how they turned out: http://bit.ly/eSdTBI.
Thanks for sharing!
Im a poor college kid so I opted to only use ingredients I had, which did not include paprika..they turned out great! I also flavored them with Italian herbs and then some with sugar and cinnamon. My roommates and I ate them all up!
I made this recipe today for the first time. The flavor was great but the texture is not even close to that of the “real” Wheat Thins. Any suggestions??? I am looking for a very crunchy cracker. I didn’t use the King Aurthur flour but Hodgson Mill instead….are yours crunchy like wheat thins?
@Anon – Sorry you had trouble with the recipe. Mine were definitely crispy. It’s tough for me to say with complete certainty what might have gone wrong, but my best guess is that maybe the dough wasn’t rolled thin enough. You really want to get it super thin to make them crisp. Also, don’t be afraid to keep them in the oven a minute or two longer than the recipe says if they need it to brown and crisp. Just keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
Any idea on a serving size or nutritional info?
@Anon – According to the recipe source, serving size is 20 crackers, which has 101 calories and 5 grams of fat.
These were delicious and so easy! I used the same amount of oil instead of butter. I just put the oil in the freezer for a few minutes to solidify a bit and then once the dough was made I refrigerated the dough for another few minutes. Worked perfectly!
Thanks for posting! I posted my version this week for Daring Bakers. I thought vanilla in crackers was a bit odd, but the taste was spot on.
Do you think they could be colored and cut into other shapes? Thinking of green eggs to go with ham dip for a dr. seuss baby shower. Also, how long will they keep? Thanks.
@Laurie-Jo: I’ve never tried to dye them so not sure how that would work but I do think you could cut them into other shapes. You’ll probably get fewer from the recipe though. They should last for a week if stored in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Oh my goodness, these were delicious! They went perfectly with a goat cheese sampler I got at my local farmers market. The only thing i did different was to add some dried herbs and chili powder/cayenne instead of paprika. Thanks!
I know this recipe was posted a few years ago, but, do you know how long these will keep in an airtight container? I am making homemade food hampers for christmas and don’t want to make these too early. Can’t get white whole wheat flour here so will have to use ordinary whole wheat. Thank you
Hello thank-you for this recipe these bickys are yum, i vsried the recipe using gluten free plain flour, and they turned out perfect, although i cooked each batch for 18mins..
@Lesleym – They never last long enough here to really find out, but according to the authors of the recipe the crackers will stay crispy for several days. Hope that helps 🙂