Copycat Wheat Thins Recipes

HOMEMADE WHEAT THINS RECIPE

Steps:

• For the Glaze: Combine corn syrup, malted barley syrup, and salt in a small bowl, then add hot water and stir with a fork until the salt is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
• For the Crackers: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, preheat to 350°F, and cut two parchment sheets to 11- by 16-inches. Combine whole wheat flour, sugar, bread flour, wheat germ, salt, turmeric, cream of tartar, baking soda, and coconut oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until coconut oil disappears into a fine, powdery meal. Mix barley malt and water in a small glass to dissolve the syrup, then add to dry mix and process to form a stiff dough. Knead lightly on an unfloured surface, then divide in half and drape with a damp paper towel.
• To Roll: Place a prepared parchment sheet on a clean work surface, and dust generously with whole wheat flour. Place one portion of dough in the center, sprinkle with flour, and, using a rolling pin, roll into a roughly 5- by 8-inch rectangle. Dust with flour and carefully flip the dough over, sprinkling more flour on top, wherever you notice a sticky patch. Continue rolling from the center out, until the dough extends just past the edges of the parchment and is no thicker than 1/16 inch; the crackers will puff significantly in the oven, so this thinness is key to keeping them thin and crisp.
• To Glaze and Cut: Trim away the ragged edges with a pizza wheel, and lightly brush the dough with glaze. If you like, use a docking tool to decorate the crackers. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares with a pizza wheel (they will shrink in the oven), then carefully transfer the parchment and crackers to an aluminum half sheet pan. This can be done by lifting two opposite corners and pulling the paper taut, or by sliding the parchment and crackers on and off a pizza peel.
• To Bake: Sprinkle with salt and bake the crackers to a light yellow-brown, about 12 minutes, rotating the sheet pan halfway through to ensure even browning in the ultra-thin dough. The bake-time is highly variable , depending on the exact thickness of the dough, the type of baking sheet used, and any variations in dough thickness. Keep a close eye on the crackers as they bake, as they may brown and crisp faster depending on these variables. Cool to room temperature directly on the baking sheet; the crackers will not be crisp while warm. Repeat with the remaining dough (if rolled/cut in advance, the crackers won't shrink away from each other as they should). Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to one month.

THIN SANDWICH BUNS

Steps:

• In a bowl sprinkle the sugar over the warm water, then do the same with the yeast. Add the egg and oil and combine. In a separate container, use a fork or a whisk to stir together the flour, bran, wheat gluten, and salt. Add 1/2 of this mixture to the wet ingredients and blend. This is the sponge.
• Let rise 30 - 45 minutes.
• Add rest of flour mixture and knead for about 5 minutes. I use my stand mixer with the dough attachment. This dough will be sticky.
• Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. This is a wet dough so instead of adding any additional flour, I weigh the dough on a food scale and divide it by 16. Then I weigh out each portion and put 8 on each cookie sheet. Don't worry about how it looks now.
• Take a 4" biscuit cutter and place it over one of the dough portions. If you wet the inside of the cutter as well as your fingers you can spread the dough into a perfect circle by using your fingers to flatten it to the inside edge of the biscuit cutter. (These will be very thin but they will rise). Remove the cutter, re-wet the inside and use it to do the same thing to the remaining 15 buns.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the buns rise until double in bulk, about 30-45 minutes.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Don't overbake. Cool the buns and then cut them in half for sandwich buns.
• Edit Note: Since I first started making these I've made 2 changes. One is that I make them in muffin top pans sprayed with Pam. No cutting involved.
• The other thing is that I use oat fiber instead of the wheat bran. I ordered oat fiber online. It is NOT the same as oat bran and is in many things these days, so I decided to try it instead of wheat bran. It is very high fiber, few calories, and pleasant tasting. Just use in moderation. In this recipe I use only 1/4 cup. It is 5 calories and 26 grams of fiber for the 1/4 cup. Also, it is more mild tasting than the wheat bran.
• Each bun has 108 Calories; 1g Fat; 5g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 13mg Cholesterol; 124mg Sodium.