Homemade Whole Wheat Thins

So yummy!

One of my cousins asked me on facebook today how I make my crackers.
Funny she should ask, as I had recently taken pictures to do this little post & share my favorite cracker recipe!

This is adapted and tweaked from the "More Food that Really Schmecks" cookbook by Edna Staebler. ( I love this cookbook series by the way. I own both "Food that Really Schmecks" and this one, and they read like a letter from an old friend.)

Here is the original ingredient:

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt, (optional)
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup shortening
2/3 cup water or milk, more or less

I made a batch of these the other day for David- he had been complaining that we were all out of savory snacks, and we are doing our best to not buy pre-made anything if we can help it. These crackers are great for snacking on plain, or eating with cheese- I  plan on making more whenever we run out so we can always have them on hand. Today I made a batch of hummus... and hummus + these crackers made a very yummy lunch!

Edna recommends adding various seasoning to the top of the crackers while you roll them out, but this time I decided to try adding some herbs and garlic straight to the dough itself. Play around with whatever you feel like adding. That's the best part of her recipes and cookbooks- They are very chill and free- a happy framework in which you can play around with to suit your personal tastes.

Here are all of my ingredients & tools sitting out (You have to include on of those staged ingredients photos when you're blogging right? ;) )

You start by measuring out your dry ingredients- flour, herbs, salt, etc. (I didn't add any sugar to mine, and I honestly like them better this way) I used:
4 cups ofhome ground whole wheat flour
Approx. 1 Tablespoon parsley
Approx. 1 Tablespoon Oregano
Approx. 1/2 Tablespoon Basil
Approx 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
Approx. 1 teaspoon dill
Sea salt (not pictured- I didn't measure mine, but in the future I plan on a) putting in at least the recommended teaspon, and b) grinding it first- the stuff I have is a little course)

Cutest little kitchen helper ever!

Anyway, give that all a stir, and then when it is well blended, you can start working in your 3/4 cup of shortening.

If you have a food processor, you can use it to wiz the shortening and flour mixture together. If you're like me and have yet to invest in one, you can build your muscles and use a pastry blender:

Well blended dry ingredients

Next step is to add water. Edna says to add 2/3 cup of your liquid, more or less... and at least with this batch I needed to add more. I was probably closer to a 1/2 a cup. I dumped the full 2/3 of a cup to start, started mixing it with a fork, and quickly realized it needed more liquid, so I added in water a tablespoon at a time. (I always try to dump it on the flour that hadn't yet incorporated into the dough, rather than the dough itself- you end up with a more even dough that way)

This could still use a wee bit more water

Again, if you've got a food processor, this whole mixing thing should be pretty easy. If not, you might eventually give up on the fork and just use your hands for the last little bit- that's fine too.

Edna says to divide the dough into 4 parts and roll each one out as thin as parchment. I divide mine into 5 parts- my cookie sheets aren't big enough to hold 1/4th of the dough rolled out that thin. You might have to experiment with yours.

How thin?

As thin as you can manage. You should be able to see light through the dough very easily: I find it helpful to pick up the dough and flip it over frequently while rolling to prevent it from sticking, which also helps me roll it thinner too.

See all the light?

Transfer your super thin dough to your ungreased cookie sheet. If you've got random peninsulas of dough that are too wide or too long, just cut them off and use them to fill any empty spaces on the cookie sheet. Since they are all going to end up in cracker sized pieces anyway this isn't too big of a deal. Speaking of cracker sized pieces, go ahead and score them now, before they bake. I like to use a pizza cutter, and I am SO not OCD about the size and shape of the pieces. :)

One last thing that has to happen before you put them in the oven- they need to be pricked! Edna says "To prevent bubbling, prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork- let it bounce." I didn't really realize there was such a thing as a "bouncing fork technique" until I tried it thanks to this recipe- just hold your fork loosely at the end to control the bounce and let the fork fall semi-horizontally onto the dough. It's pretty fun!

Scored and Pricked!

Finally. Bake for about 10 minutes in a 400 degree F oven. They should look crispy, but not too brown on top. D Slide them off onto a cookie sheet to cool. Once they are cool, break them along your score marks and toss them into a tin or other storage container.

Or just eat them for a snack right away.

 Enjoy! Let me know if you make them- or if you have another favorite cracker recipe!