Moreish herby sourdough crackers with a satisfying snap. Salty, herby and slightly sour, these Sourdough Discard Crackers are one of our favourite snacks to take to work instead of crisps, but also perfect to add to any cheeseboard! And it’s an absolutely wonderful recipe to use up heaps of the starter discard!
Jump to:
- Why Use Sourdough Discard To Make Crackers
- How To Serve Sourdough Discard Crackers
- What Ingredients Will You Need?
- Christmas Sourdough ebook
- Extras & Variations
- How to Make Sourdough Discard Crackers?
- Video
- How to Store the Crackers?
- Other Savory Crackers Recipes
- Don’t Keep Sourdough Starter Yet?
- Sourdough Starter Discard Crackers
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Why Use Sourdough Discard To Make Crackers
I started making this sourdough cracker recipe when I was desperate to use up some sourdough discard. I had almost a litre of the starter and I’d never been able to throw any of it away (I just can’t waste food! Just can’t…). This recipe is a good use of your sourdough discard, and not much of anything else, but the result is… well, empty baking sheets before the homemade sourdough crackers have even cooled, let alone made it to a snack bag for work…
- Prevents food waste by using a lot of sourdough discard that would otherwise be thrown away. The recipe uses 225g of discard, so it’s a great recipe to put your excess starter to good use.
- Gives crackers an incredible flavor (that sourdough tang everyone talks about…).
- Bacteria in sourdough starter discard will ensure longer shelf-life, so you can make a double batch and enjoy them for longer.
- And these are so much better than store-bought crackers!
How To Serve Sourdough Discard Crackers
- As a snack – just as you would serve potato or tortilla chips.
- With a cheese or charcuterie board – these crispy crackers perfectly replace water biscuits that are typically served with cheese.
- With your favorite dips, like hummus or guacamole.
Equipment Needed
- A large metal bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
- Dishes for chilling the dough in (ideally rectangular shape).
- Cling film (plastic wrap).
- Large baking sheet pan/ Cookie sheet
- Baking parchment.
- Rolling pin: we highly recommend stainless steel rolling pins.
- Pastry brush.
- Sharp knife or a pizza cutter.
What Ingredients Will You Need?
- flour: we use plain (all-purpose flour) but these discard crackers work well with a little spelt, wholemeal or rye flour mixed in too.
- herbs: use any dried herbs (fresh herbs are likely to burn and give a bitter taste). We like shop-bought mixed herbs (thyme, oregano and basil).
- sourdough starter discard: this is an unfed sourdough starter. It is ok to use a starter that hasn’t been fed for days, however, if your starter has started forming a layer of liquid on top, these sourdough crackers will be extremely sour. We recommend getting rid of the ‘hooch’ (alcohol on top of the starter) before using. We use a 100% hydration starter, that is, the one that has been previously fed equal parts of flour and water.
- butter: we use unsalted butter and add some salt to the crackers. You can substitute it with salted butter and reduce the salt in the recipe.
- oil: olive oil is our preferred type of oil, but vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil will work well too.
- salt: coarse salt, like rock salt or sea salt will add nice little crystals to the top.
Christmas Sourdough ebook
Celebrate the holiday season with a unique twist this year with our 24 Christmas Sourdough recipes! Discover the magic of using active sourdough starter, sourdough discard, and leftover baked sourdough bread to create a memorable and flavoursome Christmas feast.
Extras & Variations
These crackers can be a perfect way to let your imagination shine. Put your own twist by introducing different flavors and your favorite toppings. Here are some of our favorite things to add:
- Substitute half of the flour with whole wheat flour for more fibre and a deeper flavour profile.
- Add ½ teaspoon of garlic powder to the dough for an extra savoury twist.
- Mix in 2 tablespoon of nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour without adding extra moisture to the dough. Adding dry ingredients (instead of cheese) will ensure crispy crunchy crackers. But we also have a recipe for Sourdough Cheddar Cheese Crackers.
- Use finely chopped fresh rosemary instead of dried herbs.
- Add a good amount of freshly ground black pepper to the dough.
- Scatter some sesame seeds (or poppy seeds) on top and press them down gently to stick to the surface. Dukkah is another great addition to these homemade crackers.
- Add some Everything Bagel seasoning. Italian seasoning works well too.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Crackers?
First, melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan. Make sure to take the butter off the heat before it starts bubbling. Then leave it to cool down slightly.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and mixed herbs. Tip in the sourdough discard and butter, and mix well. Whilst you can mix by hand on a work surface, it may be difficult to distribute the butter evenly across the dough, so a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment really helps here. However, don’t knead the dough for long, just enough to combine the ingredients. You do not want to encourage gluten development which may result in an overly stiff dough.
Line two medium square/ rectangular dishes (Tupperware boxes work great for this) with clingfilm. Divide the cracker dough between the two and press down into two rectangles. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. The reason I chill the dough for at least 30 minutes is to make the fat in the dough solidify and make it less sticky to roll out. Chilling the dough will also ensure flaky crackers.
One of the most difficult tasks (but totally worth it) when making these crackers is rolling them out as thinly as possible. It is easiest to do on a piece of parchment paper cut to the size of your baking sheets: that way, you can easily transfer the rolled-out dough onto the baking sheet and into the oven. Rolling requires both strength and patience. And most importantly, keep sprinkling the flour on top of the dough to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin. Using a stainless steel rolling pin also helps heaps.
Using a pastry brush, cover the surface with oil and then sprinkle some coarse salt (sea salt/ kosher salt) on top. Use a sharp knife and press it down to cut the crackers (rather than cut along) or simply use a pizza wheel. There is no need to pull the crackers apart as they’ll shrink slightly when they cook and the ones that are still intact, you’ll be able to easily snap apart.
Bake the sourdough crackers for 15-20 minutes in the oven, preheated to 180 C Fan. The time will depend on how thinly you managed to roll the dough out. The edges will turn golden brown quicker, so I tend to remove the crackers all around the sides after 15 minutes, then return the rest to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Video
How to Store the Crackers?
These crackers rarely last longer than a day, but you can definitely store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Pack them into bags and take them to work picnics or as a snack for a long drive/hike. Or try them with cheese and chutney to accompany your glass of wine.
Other Savory Crackers Recipes
For more cracker ideas, have a look at our other recipes below:
Don’t Keep Sourdough Starter Yet?
Jump on the sourdough bandwagon and start making your own sourdough bread and a whole plethora of other sourdough recipes. We have put together a FREE guide to Sourdough Starter for beginners, that tells you all you need to know about how to make your starter from scratch and how to maintain it. Download it below!
And if you are looking to use up more of your sourdough starter discard, visit our Sourdough Discard Recipes.
Sourdough Starter Discard Crackers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 110 g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt plus extra for sprinkling on top
- 225 g sourdough starter discard/unfed (100% hydration)
- 60 g unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoon mixed herbs
- 3 tablespoon olive oil for brushing
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, sourdough starter discard, melted butter and herbs to make a smooth dough. It shouldn't be too sticky: if it is, add a teaspoon of flour.
- Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a small rectangular slab and put them in square/rectangular Tupperware boxes, lined with cling film. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until the dough is firm, but don't leave it longer than 2 hours or your crackers will be very sour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Whilst it preheats, lay down 2 pieces of baking parchment that are each roughly the size of your baking sheets. Lightly flour your rolling pin, and the top of the dough.
- Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough out onto your baking parchment as thinly as possible (1mm thin, if you can). The dough may have uneven edges but try to make it as even as possible.
- Transfer the rolled out dough onto a baking sheet. Lightly brush the surface with oil and sprinkle your coarse salt over the top of the crackers. Cut the dough into squares with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.
- Bake the crackers for 15-20 minutes, until crackers are starting to brown around the edges. You may want to reverse the baking sheets after 10 minutes: both top to bottom, and front to back – for a more even bake. Check the crackers after 15 minutes and remove the edge crackers that should now be cooked. Return the rest of the crackers (the ones in the middle) to the oven for a few more minutes to crisp up.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Florence Greber
These are SO addictive. You are right about them not lasting long on the tray! I used half mixed herbs and half dried thyme and they are so tasty with lots of maldon salt sprinkled ontop before baking. They were also really easy, it’s nice to have a quick way to use sourdough discard with not too long resting and rising I can make them in the midweek!
Ieva
I know…I always eat a third of them whilst they’re still warm 🙂
Clare greber
These are seriously delicious! Lovely and crispy and so quick to make. I was even surprised how thin I managed to roll them. Think my oven was a bit too hot so after 15 mins they were done. Next time will try rye flour mix too. Thanks for another great recipe Ieva .Having for lunch with homemade hummus. Yum!
Ieva
Thank you! We love them because they’re so quick to make, but they don’t last long…