We hosted a dinner party recently and it evolved into a potluck where our guests were bringing the salad, sides, and the main course. We whipped up a dessert, but we were feeling like we should be doing a bit more since we’re the hosts, and it felt like our guests were doing all the hard work. So, I decided to add some appetizers to the menu and whip up a batch of sourdough discard crackers to serve alongside some hummus and toum.
As anybody who maintains a sourdough starter knows, you end up throwing out a lot of the starter. Every time you feed it, you discard a portion of it. While flour and water aren’t expensive, it does feel like a waste, so sourdough discard recipes are great ways to use up this discard instead of throwing it out. I recently made sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies, and as I grow this site more discard recipes will appear on the recipe index page.
These sourdough discard crackers come together quickly and easily and are highly customizable when it comes to the flavourings. I used a few teaspoons of Herbs de Provence, which is a traditional French and Mediterranean blend of herbs, typically including thyme, rosemary, savory, marjoram, oregano, and tarragon. But if I didn’t have Herbs de Provence on hand, I would have gone with just rosemary. I made these crackers on a Zoom call with my bestie who was also making it in her kitchen—she went with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese, and they turned out excellent too.
How to make sourdough discard crackers
The first and most important thing you will need is a sourdough starter. If you haven’t got one going yet, you’ll need to do so and maintain it for at least a week before you start using it for recipes like this. You can find instructions on making a starter here.
For the dinner party I made these crackers for, I whipped up a double batch. I fed the starter an extra large helping the night before so I’d have a lot of discard on hand. Thus, all the photos in this post are for a double batch.
Step one: Setting up
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt two tablespoons of butter and let it cool slightly.
Step two: Mix the ingredients
Put a bowl on a kitchen scale and hit the tare / zero button. Then add 200 grams of sourdough starter discard, which will amount to approximately 3/4 cup of discard.
Add the melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon fine salt, and 2 teaspoons of dried herbs (or hard cheese like parmesan).
Give everything a good mix until it’s well combined.
Step three: Spread out on parchment paper
Scoop or pour the batter onto the parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Spread it out really thin. This can get a little tricky with the dough sticking to your spatula or knife and pulling up the parchment paper, so you may need to hold down the parchment paper as you do this.
Sprinkle the top with 1/4 teaspoon flaky or coarse salt. I went with coarse sea salt, but if you have a flavoured sea salt or butcher’s salt (coarse salt with dried herbs mixed in), these would work well too.
Step four: Bake the crackers
Put the baking sheet in the oven.
Optional: After ten minutes, if you want to score your crackers to make nice squares or rectangles, take the baking sheet out and gently run a knife or pizza cutter through it. If you prefer to break the crackers afterward for a more rustic look, skip this step.
Crackers may take as short as 20 minutes or as long as 50 minutes, depending on the variations in oven temperature and how thinly the dough was spread. Crackers are ready when they look dry and hard and are starting to turn golden brown. I found it took about 30 minutes to reach this point.
Step five: Let cool and enjoy
Let the crackers cool completely and then break them into appropriate sizes. Crackers can be eaten immediately or stored in an airtight container for about a week.
Sourdough Discard Crackers
Ingredients
- 200 grams Sourdough Discard (about ¾ cup)
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- ¼ tsp Fine Salt
- 2 tsp Dried Herbs or Seasonings (such as Herbs de Provence or black pepper and parmesan cheese)
- ¼ tsp Coarse Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt butter and allow to cool slightly.
- Into a bowl, weigh out sourdough discard using a kitchen scale.
- Add melted butter, fine salt, and herbs or seasonings, and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Spread dough thinly onto parchment paper. Sprinkle the top with coarse salt.
- Put in the oven and bake for 20-50 minutes, or until starting to turn golden brown. If desired, after the first 10 minutes, remove the sheet from the oven and score the crackers with a knife or pizza cutter.
- When done, remove from oven and allow to cool. Break crackers into appropriate sizes. Crackers can be consumed immediately or stored in an airtight container for about a week.
This was a super easy recipe, and I thought it was pretty tasty, too!