Whole Wheat Crackers

I'm always looking for healthy snacks to keep around the house, because, well, I'm a snacker. Phil is too, but I am big time. Now that I fought off my potato chip addiction (when I walk past them, I cringe! it's awesome!) I figure snacking is OK as long as I'm eating good things.

Which leads me to crackers. I like crackers. They taste good, they're fun to dip into things. But they're not usually very good for you, and the ones that are can be pretty expensive. Since I'm trying to make as much stuff from scratch as possible, I decided to get some extra use from my pasta maker and make my own damn crackers. That way I know exactly what's going into them, and plus you can use cookie cutters to make them even better. As whole wheat bread flour is only 69¢/lb where I buy it (sure to be raised soon), these end up being so inexpensive, and so much more fun to eat then anything else that comes in a box.

That being said, I also made these with the intention of eating them with a spread, i.e. hummus. If crackers are too flavorful, I just shovel them in my mouth. These aren't bland, per say, but I kept them plain so I'd couple them with something tasty and nutritious. You can do whatever you want-- microplane some garlic, sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper, etc. Go nuts if you want.

I used a recipe by Heidi Swanson from 101 Cookbooks and modified it very slightly. Instead of white whole wheat flour, I used whole wheat bread flour because my neighborhood health food store doesn't have white whole wheat. You can also use all whole wheat instead of half semolina if you want. I also used canola oil instead of olive because the only olive oil we have is super expensive high quality stuff that we try to use sparingly for flavor. I haven't tried making them without the oil-- I'd imagine it would be fine and would just bake a little more quickly. Finally, I sprinkled my baking sheets with cornmeal and did not oil them at all. I really liked the flavor the little bit of cornmeal provided.

I hope you try making these! Have fun with any cookie cutters you have on hand or simply cut into triangles or squares. Enjoy!