The Best Sourdough Discard Crackers

these are the absolute BEST sourdough discard crackers – they’re so simple and are completely delicious and irresistible

These are truly the Best Sourdough Discard Crackers, and worth every single minute of effort – but it’s really only about 12-15 minutes of work start-to-finish. My oldest son thinks they taste like homemade cheez-its, which is an incredible compliment.

Making your own crackers will probably ruin you for all other crackers, I’m telling you right now. These are perfect for entertaining, holiday cheese plates, charcuterie boards, extremely gorgeous appetizers…the possibilities are endless.

My hope is that they become you “house cracker” as they have become in my home. I always have a jar on the counter for snacking, or hungry passerby’s. Make the once the way the recipe is written below, then make them your own!

Want more great sourdough recipes? Check out:

Lazy Girl Sourdough

Sourdough Baguettes

Sourdough Challah

Key Ingredients

all purpose flour – I use unbleached all purpose flour from King Arthur Baking Company. It has a higher protein content than most AP flours. You could use bread flour if that’s what you have.

unsalted butter – I prefer to use European grass-fed butter in all of my recipes. The higher fat content makes everything richer and more delicious. Not to mention, the flavor is incredible! My favorite brand to use is always Kerrygold Irish Butter.

nutritional yeast – This may be your first time using nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is a highly nutritious vegan food product with several potential health benefits. With it, you can easily add extra protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to meals. It’s commonly used as a vegan cheese sauce flavoring, as well as a topping for soups and salads. In these crackers, it adds an incredible cheesy flavor, so much so that my son calls these “homemade cheez-its”!

sourdough starter discard – if you haven’t made a sourdough starter yet, now is the time! Here’s my full tutorial and guide to make your own in 7 days, start-to-finish. You can use your sourdough starter when it is fed and ripe, or you can use straight out of the fridge when it’s in a dormant state. We’re using it primarily for its flavor and tang, not for its rising capabilities, so it’s totally fine if it’s not active.

kosher salt – I always use Morton’s kosher salt, because I love the salinity and flavor that it adds. If you’re using Diamond Crystal brand, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon.

black pepper – be sure to use freshly ground black pepper here. it adds a bit of warmth and peppery background notes to the crackers that really elevate the flavor.

granulated onion – totally optional, but granulated onion adds a grown-up umami flavor to these crackers that is unmatched. I highly recommend adding a bit.

ingredients

sourdough starter

How to make Homemade Sourdough Crackers

Making The best Sourdough Discard Crackers couldn’t be simpler, and takes about 5 minutes to mix up the dough.

1. Melt the butter, allow to cool slightly.
2. In a bowl, mix up the flour, salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast and granulated onion.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the sourdough starter discard, and the melted butter. Use a wooden spoon to mix up the dough, it will be shaggy and that’s perfect.
4. Sprinkle with bit of flour, and knead the dough 5-6 times until it comes together in a smooth ball. Wrap the dough in plastic or cover with a clean tea towel, and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.
5. Roll out the dough on parchment very thinly (1/16-inch), then use a pizza wheel the slice into whatever cracker shape you love.
6. Drizzle with a little olive oil on top, and sprinkle flakey sea salt as well. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool, then store in an airtight container.

Pro tips for making The Best Sourdough Discard Crackers

• Make sure that your sourdough starter is alive, and doesn’t have any mold on top or discolored “hooch.” Hooch is totally normal and the alcohol-like liquid that sometimes forms on top of a dormant starter. Just pour it out, then you can use the sourdough starter.
• If you’re using salted butter to make these, reduce the added salt by 1/2 teaspoon.
• Mix the ingredients until they are just combined, and a smooth dough is formed. We don’t want a chewy cracker, rather a short pastry like crackers with a crispy “snap”! Minimal kneading just until the dough comes together prevents gluten formation.
• Store the finished crackers in an airtight container. This will keep them crispy and crunchy for 3-4 days at room temperature.
• Bake the sourdough crackers for an extra 3-4 minutes for a rich, nutty flavor.
• Don’t throw out the edges! I use a pizza wheel to slice the dough, but I always bake up the misshapen edges. They are usually the tastiest because they’re extra thin, crispy, and deeply golden brown.

Substitutions

You can substitute 1/2 of the total amount of flour with whole grain flour. It will change the flavor and texture slightly, but will still be very delicious.

I would leave the ratios the same, but feel free to add different toppings and flavorings.

Get Creative

Like any good recipe, make these crackers the way the recipe is written the first time. Then, feel free to get creative. Think of this recipe for sourdough discard crackers as a blueprint.

Once you get the base dough made, feel free to get creative and experiment with different toppings and flavorings.

Some of my favorite toppings to add are za’atar, sesame seeds, every-but-the-bagel seasoning, and black nigella seeds.

The sky is the limit, and I can’t wait to see your takes on this recipe!

How to Store

• Store the finished crackers in an airtight container. This will keep them crispy and crunchy for 3-4 days at room temperature.

The tools I use

*direct links in yellow 

baking sheets – Airbake cookie/baking sheets – my Mom has been using these baking sheets for 20+ years (!!!), and they’re what I use too! There is a layer of cushioned air built into the pan, which prevents your crackers/cookies from burning. it also bakes them beautifully and evenly. Another plus is that you can slide the baking sheet right under the parchment paper, which makes it really easy to transfer.

scalloped Pizza Cutter/Pizza Wheel – you can use a regular pizza wheel or this incredibly adorable mini wheel to make scalloped edges.

parchment paper – I use parchment paper for some many baking and cooking tasks, but here it helps to prevent these semi-delicate crackers from sticking. Parchment also makes transferring the dough a breeze.

my favorite mixing bowl – this gorgeous bowl is the perfect size for mixing up dough and cookies, but is also beautiful to serve in.

I can’t wait to see all of your takes on these Sourdough Discard Crackers. 

Remember to tag me in your pictures so that I can see what you’re baking from the blog, @lions.bread

Want to save this recipe for later? Just tap the “P” on any of the images to save it to your favorite Pinterest Boards.

-LeAnne

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below to let me know what you think! 

5 from 3 votes

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The Best Sourdough Discard Crackers

very simple and incredibly delicious sourdough crackers that are completely irresistible

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword crackers, sourdough, sourdough discard, sourdough starter

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

chill time 1 hour

Servings 40 crackers

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder optional
• 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
• 1 cup sourdough discard, fed or unfed
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• flakey sea salt

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the unbleached all purpose flour, kosher salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, and nutritional yeast. Use a whisk to combine all of the dry ingredients.

2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the sourdough starter. Next, pour in the melted butter as well.

3. Use a wooden spoon to combine all of the ingredients until a shaggy, slightly sticky dough forms. Try not to over mix.

4. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with a bit of flour, and use your hands to gently knead the dough into a round smooth ball. This should only take about 4-5 turns of the dough.

5. Place the dough in a clean small bowl, and cover with a plate or clean towel. You can also wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 48 hours.

6. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

7. Remove the dough from the fridge, and let soften slightly. Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Generously dust the parchment with flour, and place the dough on top of the parchment. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well. Roll the dough out to the edges of the parchment sheet, or until it is about 1/16 of an inch thick.

8. Slide the parchment on top of the baking sheet. Use a pizza wheel the slice the crackers into your desired shape and size - make squares, rectangles, diamonds, circles, or long thin batons.

9. Drizzle the tops of the unbaked crackers with the olive oil, and sprinkle with flakey sea salt, or your favorite toppings (see notes below).

10. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Bake for an extra 5 minutes for a delicious deeper toasted, nutty flavor.

11. Allow the crackers to cool completely at room temperature. Then place the cooled crackers in an airtight container, and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Recipe Notes

• This recipe calls for sourdough discard from an existing sourdough starter. The sourdough starter can be ripe and "fed" or "unfed" straight from he fridge. The flavor might slightly different, but I have made these crackers using both, and they are both delicious!
• Feel free to get creative with the toppings! Some of my favorites are sesame seeds, za'atar, everything-but-the-bagel seasoning, and nigella seeds.

The post and recipe The Best Sourdough Discard Crackers first appeared on Lion’s Bread Blog