Homemade Wheat Thin Crackers

There are some items which, unless you benefit from an unusual skill and assortment of resources, you'll have a tricky time making at home. Fancy cheese (or even homely cheese, really) falls into this category. I'd love to house-make cheese, but quite frankly the process is rather beyond me at this point. Therefore, when the nearby cheese shop posts a sale, that's where I go. There's also something very transporting about entering a cheese shop and seeing the creamy pale wedges lined up, slivers offered on butcher paper by a sharp attendant who possesses an uncanny knowledge about dairy products. I bought a beautiful wodge of brie. But it occurred to me that I could make crackers to go with them.

The particular recipe I've got here is quite a good take on the store-bought Wheat Thins. It's got the sweet bite from the whole wheat flour, tempered with a good dose of salt, and the texture has a slight give, unlike the straightforward crunch of your average saltine. I do have the advantage of possessing a pasta maker, which proved extremely handy in rolling out the crackers. A rolling pin also does the job quite well. They bake up in a snap and, from my experience, go very well with a good brie cheese.

From Smitten Kitchen's Homemade Wheat Thins

Homemade Wheat Thin Crackers

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 TBSP granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

4 TBSP butter 

Directions:

--Whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and mix with a fork until fully mixed in. Add 1/4 cup water and stir until a dough begins to form. Use hands to form into a cohesive dough.

--If you happen to have a pasta maker, you can run golf ball-sized pieces through the lasagna attachment. If using a rolling pin, divide the dough into two pieces before rolling out. Roll on a floured surface into a rectangle as thin as you can get it.

--Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut crackers into 1-inch squares and use a spatula or wide knife to transfer to two large baking sheets (line with parchment if your sheets aren't nonstick). Leave some room between crackers. Bake 5-7 minutes, or until crackers are lightly browned and crisp to the touch.