No sourdough discard will ever go to waste once you start making these Sourdough Cheese Crackers! Crispy, crunchy, sharp with mature Cheddar and with a signature sourdough tang, these are great to take to work for snacking or served with hummus and dips at a party!
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Why Are Sourdough Cheddar Crackers So Good?
Cheese is unquestionably our favourite food. Any cheese, in any form. And with, what seems, a never ending sourdough discard amount in our house, this is a perfect recipe. I make these every couple of weeks for Seb to take to work to snack on when hunger strikes! But they are just as good as a simple party snack, served with some hummus, sweet chilli sauce-laced cream cheese or salsa (just make your crackers slightly bigger, so it’s easier to dip and scoop). Crispy, flaky and easier to digest, these Cheddar Sourdough Crackers won’t last long.
Method
The Day Before:
I normally start making these in the late afternoon/ early evening to allow enough time for the dough to ferment, rest and rise, before baking.
Melt the butter and leave to cool slightly. If it’s too hot when you add it to the dough, it will melt the cheese and cook the flour, so make sure it’s only lukewarm before adding. Mix together plain flour, sourdough starter, coarsely grated cheese, melted butter, water and salt. I then cover the bowl with clingfilm to avoid the dough drying out and leave it to rest at room temperature for 4 hours. Don’t expect to see much, if any, rise.
Pop the bowl in the fridge to rest overnight (but don’t leave it for longer than 14 hours, or the crackers will be too sour).
The Next Morning:
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Then cut two (or more if your baking sheets are small) large pieces of baking parchment approximately the same size as your baking sheets. Dust them with some flour.
Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into two. Place one half in the centre of the baking parchment and press down into a rough rectangle. Dust generously with flour and roll it out thinly (to about 3mm thickness). Try to not make the edges too thin, as they will burn. Repeat with the other half.
Use a sharp long bladed-knife and press it down to cut the crackers (rather than cut along) or simply use a rolling pizza cutter. There’s no need to pull the crackers apart. They will shrink slightly during the baking process and the ones that are still intact, you’ll be able to easily snap apart. Prick each with a fork to prevent them from rising too much in the oven.
They go into the oven for 20-25 minutes. Make sure to rotate the baking sheets and switch shelves midway through cooking, to ensure an even baking. Keep an eye on the edges of the Sourdough Cheddar Crackers as well, don’t let them burn. Burnt cheese can taste extremely bitter.
Other Crackers Recipes
If you fancy a different kind of cracker, try our:
- ‘Perfect-for-Snacking’ Herby Sourdough Crackers
- Fruit & Seed Sourdough Crackers
- Buttery Cheese Crackers with Smoked Paprika
Sourodugh Cheddar Cheese Crackers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 120 g sourdough starter discard/ unfed
- 120 g cheddar mature, coarsely grated
- 150 g plain flour
- 35 g butter melted
- 60 g water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
The Day Before:
- Start late in the afternoon/ early evening for freshly baked crackers the next morning. Mix all the dough ingredients until combined in a mixing bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel or cling film and leave to rest at room temperature for 4 hours.
- Put the bowl in the fridge, making sure the dough is properly covered to avoid drying it out. Let it rest and rise overnight for 8-10 hours (overnight).
The Next Morning:
- Preheat the oven to 180C Fan. Cut two large pieces of baking parchment to the size of your baking sheets. Lightly flour your baking parchment.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and divide into two. Place one half onto one baking parchment and pat down into a rectangle. With a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 3mm thick rectangle.
- Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Using a large knife or a pizza cutter, cut the rolled out dough into squares. Prick each with a fork once, to prevent from rising too much in the oven.
- Slide the baking parchment onto your baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes in the oven. You may want to switch shelves and rotate the sheets during the baking to ensure more even cooking.
- Let your crackers cool slightly before eating them!
Nutrition
Florence
2nd or 3rd or 4th time making these now… Great recipe and so difficult not to eat straight from the oven!
Only tricky bit I find is trying to make them all the same size squares so they don’t burn around the edges. This time I ended up cutting all the excess and re rolling.
Ieva
I know, I love them straight out the oven. I tend to take the trays out of the oven 3-4 minutes before they are done, remove all the edges before they burn and eat them, whilst the rest of the crackers finish cooking 🙂