These easy sourdough discard crackers are perfectly crisp and slightly tangy. They are so easy to make because unlike most cracker recipes they require no kneading or rolling.
These crispy crackers make a great sourdough discard recipe and are perfect for your favorite dips, cheese plates, or just eating by the handful.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- These crackers are so easy to make. The batter is nice and thin so you simply spread it across a sheet of parchment paper, no rolling or kneading necessary.
- The best part about making your own homemade crackers is that they are a blank canvas. You can keep them plain or flavor them with a variety of herbs, spices, or cheeses.
- These homemade sourdough crackers are a great way to use up extra sourdough starter discard.
These sourdough crackers are one of my favorite sourdough discard recipes. You probably have all of the items in your pantry already, they are endlessly customizable, and they take just minutes to mix up. They taste delicious alongside this creamy oven-roasted tomato soup.
If you are looking for more simple ways to use your sourdough discard, try these sourdough discard flatbread, sourdough snickerdoodles, or this sourdough banana bread recipe.
What are Sourdough Discard Crackers?
Sourdough discard crackers are simply crackers made with sourdough discard. Sourdough discard is the part of your sourdough starter that you usually throw away when you feed it.
Sourdough discard is a 1:1 mix of flour and water. Theoretically, you could use it in any recipe that calls for flour and a liquid by making a few adjustments. In fact, I am using my sourdough starter for more discard recipes than loaves of bread.
This recipe uses sourdough discard that is at 100% hydration (fed with equal parts flour and water) from any step in the sourdough starter process. It can be bubbly and freshly fed, dormant from sitting in your refrigerator, or anywhere in between. It also doesn’t matter what type of flour your starter has been fed with. All-purpose, whole wheat, or any variety of flour will work.
Pro Sourdough Tip: Keep a glass jar in your refrigerator to store your sourdough discard. Continue adding to it until you have enough to make your chosen sourdough discard recipe.
What are the best containers for storing sourdough starter and discard?
How long does sourdough discard last?
What is the difference between sourdough starter and sourdough discard?
What do Sourdough Crackers Taste Like?
These crackers are thin and crispy with that signature sourdough twang. You can add a variety of ingredients like cheese, seeds, herbs, and spices to change their flavor.
The best thing is they have more flavor than store-bought crackers.
Ingredients
These crackers are so easy to make. There are only four main ingredients plus whatever herbs and seasonings you decide to add.
Sourdough Discard: Sourdough discard makes up the bulk of this cracker dough. There is no additional flour or liquid necessary.
Unsalted Butter: The fat in the butter helps to make these crackers crisp and adds some rich flavor. For a dairy-free version dry substitute olive oil for the melted butter.
Baking Powder: Baking powder adds just a bit of lift to the crackers.
Kosher Salt: Salt helps to enhance the flavor of these crackers.
Directions
These sourdough crackers are super simple to make.
I have tried a few other cracker recipes that required rolling out the dough but I always struggled to get my dough thin enough and an even thickness, which meant all of my crackers were cooking at different rates.
This is a very loose liquid batter that spreads easily using an offset spatula or by simply tilting the baking sheet.
Move your oven racks to the top and middle positions and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir the sourdough discard, melted butter, baking powder, and salt in a bowl until they are well combined. If adding additional seasonings, fold them into the batter.
Pour half of the batter onto each sheet pan.
Use an offset spatula to spread the batter into an even thin layer.
Bake crackers for 50 to 60 minutes rotating the baking sheets 180 degrees and moving the top pan to the bottom rack and the bottom pan to the top rack halfway through the baking time.
The exact bake time will depend on how thinly the batter was spread and variations in ovens. Be careful to not over-bake and burn the crackers.
When they are finished baking the crackers will be golden brown with a dull finish.
Remove the crackers from the oven and let them cool completely before breaking them into pieces. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 14 days.
Variations
Garlic Herb Crackers
- Garlic Powder
- Dried Herbs like basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, etc
Spiced Cheddar Crackers
- Cheddar Cheese Powder or Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- Paprika
Black Pepper Parmesan Cheese Crackers
- Black Pepper
- Parmesan Cheese
Mexican Spice Crackers
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
You could also sprinkle the crackers with other ingredients once you have smoothed the batter out and before they are baked. Other toppings to try include:
Chopped Fresh Herbs or Dried Herbs: rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, chives, and basil
Nutritional Yeast: For a dairy-free cheesy flavor
Chopped Seeds: pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, fennel, flax, or sesame seeds
Cinnamon and Sugar
Flaky Sea Salt
What if You Don't Have Any Sourdough Discard?
If you don't have any sourdough discard you can still make these crunchy crackers.
Before you begin you will need to make a poolish. A poolish is simply a one-to-one mixture of flour and water.
For this recipe, I would combine ½ cup (120g) of flour with ½ cup (120g) of water plus a pinch of yeast (active or instant is fine). To replicate the sourdough flavor, allow the poolish to ripen at room temperature for at least 12 hours before continuing with the sourdough cracker recipe.
If you would like to make your own sourdough starter, I have a tutorial on how to create and maintain a small sourdough starter to reduce sourdough discard.
Tips
- This is a very loose liquid batter that spreads easily using an offset spatula or by simply tilting the cookie sheet.
- I use a piece of parchment paper to line the baking sheet but you could also use a silicone baking mat.
- Check your crackers around the 45-minute mark. Baking times for all recipes are only suggestions. The actual baking time will vary depending on your oven. It is helpful to know your oven and worth purchasing an inexpensive oven thermometer. Oven temperatures can vary as much as 50 degrees plus or minus.
Storage
Once your sourdough crackers have cooled completely store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Limiting their exposure to air will help them to remain crispy longer.
If your crackers do begin to taste stale, pop them into a 225 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes to dry them out again.
If you are new to sourdough starters, I've created a sourdough gift guide that lists all of my favorite sourdough products.
📖 Recipe
Quick Sourdough Discard Crackers {No-Kneading or Rolling!}
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough discard
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Garlic Herb
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried herbs basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, etc
Spiced Cheddar
- 2 teaspoons cheddar cheese powder or finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Black Pepper Parmesan
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2.5 teaspoons grated Parmesan
Mexican Spice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Move your oven racks to the top and middle positions and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Stir the 1 cup sourdough discard, 3 tablespoons melted butter, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in a bowl until they are well combined. If adding additional seasonings, fold them into the batter.
- Pour half of the batter onto each baking sheet.
- Use an off-set spatula to spread the batter into an even thin layer.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes rotating the baking sheets 180 degrees and moving the top pan to the bottom rack and the bottom pan to the top rack halfway through the baking time. The exact bake time will depend on how thinly the batter was spread and variations in ovens. Be careful to not over-bake and burn the crackers. When they are finished baking the crackers will be golden-brown in color with a dull finish.
- Remove the crackers from the oven and let them cool completely before breaking into pieces.
- Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 14 days.
Notes
- If you don't have any sourdough discard you can make a poolish. A poolish is simply a one-to-one mixture of flour and water. For this recipe, I would combine ½ cup (120g) of flour with ½ cup (120g) of water plus a pinch of yeast (active or instant is fine). To replicate the sourdough flavor, allow the poolish to ripen at room temperature for at least 12 hours.
- This is a very liquid batter that spreads easily using an offset spatula or by simply tilting the baking sheet. I use parchment paper to line the baking sheet but you could also use a silicone baking mat.
- Check your crackers around the 45-minute mark. Oven temperatures vary, so your crackers may be ready sooner.
Nutrition
More sourdough recipes:
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Paige says
I’ve made these twice now and they’re really good- but my batter is never liquidy like you say. Do you think it’s because my discard is coming from the fridge? They still taste great but they’d probably be easier to spread on the parchment paper if my batter was thinner!
Thanks for another great recipe!
Erica says
Hmm. Is your starter that you are discarding from at 100% hydration meaning it is equal parts flour and water? Some people make starters that are dryer meaning they are made of more flour than water. You could also try letting the discard sit at room temperature for an hour or two. As it warms it should become more liquidy. If you are still having trouble spreading the batter you could add a little water until it reaches the right consistency.