So the problem if there is one person out there with a mild obsession with making homemade versions of snack aisle favorites — Goldfish crackers Oreos graham crackers Pop Tarts ice cream sandwiches and the like — is that people often think you're crazy. And if you're someone who already enjoys doing things that most people find dreadful — dicing vegetables into pieces that fit into every plate in the dishwasher (triumphantly humming the Tetris music) and apparently dotting the eyes of cheddar goldfish with the pointy end of a meat thermometer — you probably don't need any help convincing people that you're crazy. Unfortunately if people don't think you're crazy they might suspect that you have some sort of Sanctimommy/Down With Cheetos-esque agenda. But I'm no more concerned with putting things in the kitchen to make other people feel bad about themselves if they don't have the time or inclination to do so than the woman walking down my street right now with a perfectly wavy hairdo and a pair of $300 skinny jeans is there to make me feel bad about myself for not owning either right now.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 FOOD & WINE | 2018-12-10 21:17:42 |  10,066 Views |
DIY Wheat Bread | Mad Genius | Food & Wine
Yet because of these two things I’m often overly cautious about sharing recipes like the one I am today for Wheat Thin-style crackers at home. Let’s get one thing straight here before I tell you: Do we eat exclusively homemade foods and snacks 24/7? Blimey! Even 12/7? Maybe. On good days. But the point is I really love projects like this because the fact is we all need a snack every now and then and while the packaged options aren’t universally bad there are a lot of things in them that you would never put in your food at home. It’s liberating to be able to make the foods you love in your own kitchen and it’s a great idea to have stashed away for a rainy afternoon project when your kid is acting up again or you know you’ve gone a little overboard before your toddler’s birthday party.
And these were especially good to make at home. It turns out that the wheat thin crackers you buy in a box are small but thin wheat crackers (see what I mean? phew) that you can make at home. The dough is a simple combination of butter whole wheat flour and salt. The hardest part is rolling them really thin. If you’re like me you know this going in and roll them out beautifully thin and pat yourself on the back for getting it right the first time. I bet you know where this is going! By your second batch you’ll realize that even thinner is the way to go. I briefly considered running the dough through a pasta machine and would definitely want to hear about it if you try it at home. But fear not a regular old rolling pin will do the trick.
The result is what I would call a 97 percent match to the original. Of course I had to compare them to store-bought versions in my “test kitchen” and found them to be far less salty and far less… yellow. The ingredients list on the box tells me that the color comes from a dye derived from turmeric and hey it doesn’t hurt if you want to add a pinch for a warmer color. You can also salt them more liberally. I liked them right out of the oven but I have to say that the handfuls that survived the party I nibbled on this week are even better. With age the cracker tastes almost like a brown butter wheat thin. They even taste rich and luxurious which are hardly words I would normally associate with crackers but I never want to part with them.
