An easy recipe for crispy, savory, tangy Sourdough Crackers using your sourdough discard. Video in recipe card.

homemade sourdough crackers lying flat on baking sheet sprinkled with seeds and herbs.

What you can plan is too small for you to live. ~David Whyte

Now that you have practiced your sourdough baking skills, you may have extra sourdough discard on hand to use up. These sourdough crackers are deliciously crispy and flavorful, made with sourdough discard. Simple and easy.

Using heartier flours such as rye, teff, cornmeal, and with the addition of seeds and spices, the flavor and texture are elevated to almost perfection. I throw on whatever seeds I have around. Fennel seeds, sesame seeds, or nigella are favorites. These crackers are full of savory goodness and sturdy enough to dip or top with your favorite accompaniments.

Why You’ll Love These!

  1. Quick and easy! Once the dough has been refrigerated, only about 20 minutes of hands-on time is required.
  2. Very adaptable. Add herbs, spices, seeds, nuts, or zest to your crackers!
  3. Waste not. This is a perfect way to use up sourdough “discard”.
  4. Perfect texture and flavor. Sturdy enough for dips, a crunchy snack, and rich with flavor.
  5. Control your ingredients. Made with wholesome ingredients vs. a long list of unheard-of ingredients on a store-bought box.

what is sourdough discard?

sourdough discard in mason jar.

Sourdough Starter is often referred to as “wild yeast”, made from flour and water and the wild yeast in the air around us, and it is typically used as the “yeast” when baking Sourdough Bread. The sourdough “discard” – the part of the starter that often goes to waste- can be used to make flavorful crackers, biscuits, waffles and pancakes.

Sourdough Discard Crackers Ingredients

sourdough crackers ingredients- sourdough discard, flour, butter, salt, and fresh herbs on wood board.
  • All-purpose flour: Or use rye, whole wheat flour, teff, or cornmeal.
  • Sourdough starter or discard: Unfed. Cold out of the fridge or room temperature.
  • Unsalted butter: Or use olive oil.
  • Salt: Sea salt or kosher salt.
  • Fresh herbs: Or sub 2 tablespoons fresh herbs with 2 teaspoons dried.

Optional Additions

Add in seeds, spices, and fresh or dried herbs. Have fun experimenting with flavors!

  • Fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage, chives, etc
  • Dried herbs: basil, oregano, thyme, Herbs de Provence, etc
  • Spices: zaatar, dukkah, sumac, pepper, coriander, Aleppo, chili flakes, garlic powder, dukkah, etc
  • Seeds: fennel, sesame, poppy, nigella, Everything bagel seasoning
  • Finely chopped nuts: hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds
  • Zest: Meyer lemon, orange, or lemon
  • Coarse or flaked salt
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Parmesan cheese

How to make Sourdough Crackers

Step 1: Mix the dough. Combine together flour, sourdough starter, butter or oil, salt, and herbs in a large bowl.

making sourdough crackers by mixing together sourdough starter, chopped herbs, butter cubes, and flour together in large bowl.

Using your hands, mix or kneed.

using hands to mix the dough for homemade sourdough crackers.

The dough is very forgiving. Mix until everything is fully incorporated.

crumbly, mixed up dough for sourdough crackers.

Work with the sourdough cracker dough until it comes together into a ball.

a round ball of sourdough cracker dough.

Step 2: Refrigerate. Cut the dough into two pieces and refrigerate for half an hour or up to a day.

two separate balls of sourdough cracker dough in airtight glass container to be put in fridge.

Step 3: Roll it out. Working with one portion of dough at a time, place the ball on a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat. Flour your surface and dough as needed.

sourdough discard dough in round shape, with floured surface, next to rolling pin.

Roll out thinly and evenly to about 1/16 of an inch.

rolling out sourdough discard dough with rolling pin.

If adding spices and seeds, sprinkle on top of dough and lightly roll the rolling pin over to get them to stick.

Step 4: Transfer dough and parchment paper to a baking sheet.

cutting out sourdough crackers with a pizza cutter.

Step 5: Cut and prick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife score into desired shapes. Prick with fork. This allows any steam to escape while baking and makes for fewer bubbles resulting in a sturdier cracker.

using a fork to prick the dough of the cut sourdough cracker pieces.

Step 6: Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350F, turning the pan halfway through baking.

homemade sourdough crackers laying on a cooling rack.

Storage

Let them cool completely before storing your sourdough discard crackers in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

pile of homemade sourdough crackers on wood serving board alongside dip and glass of rose wine with fresh rosemary for garnish.

serve Sourdough Discard Crackers with

FAQs

Can sourdough discard go bad?

You can store sourdough discard as long as you’d like, but be sure to inspect it for mold. You may find a grayish liquid on top (“hooch”). This can be poured off or stirred in. If stirred in, the flavor will taste a bit sour.

How do I store sourdough crackers?

These save beautifully in an airtight container for several weeks. Store the crackers at room temperature.

stack of homemade sourdough crackers piled up on wood board.

Enjoy how good it feels to use up your sourdough discard and make these homemade sourdough crackers. Have fun with this one and tell us about your creations in the comments below!

xoxo

More sourdough Discard recipes

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How to make homemade crackers from sourdough discard or starter.  A quick, easy and adaptable recipe.  These crackers are crisp, tangy and incredibly addicting! #sourdough #discard #crackers #crackersrecipe

Sourdough Crackers

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 28 reviews
  • Author: Tonia Schemmel | Feasting at Home
  • Prep Time: 45
  • Cook Time: 18
  • Total Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
  • Yield: about 80 crackers 1x
  • Category: sourdough, appetizer
  • Method: baked
  • Cuisine: american
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

Easy and adaptable homemade sourdough crackers are full of tangy wholesome flavor.  A perfect use for your sourdough discard! Add seeds and herbs or keep them simple! (Adapted from King Arthur Baking) Watch the video!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup or 113 grams flour (AP, or use 1/2 rye, teff, cornmeal whole wheat etc.) plus a little for rolling out if needed
  • 1 cup or 227 grams sourdough discard starter, unfed
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped or 2 teaspoons dried
  • optional: whole spices like fennel seeds, sesame seeds, everything bagel spice, zaatar (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Combine together flour, sourdough starter, butter or oil, salt, and herbs until in comes together into a ball.  Cut the dough in two pieces, and refrigerate for a half hour or up to a day.
  2. Set oven temperature to 350 degrees.
  3. Working with one portion of dough at a time, place on a piece of parchment paper.
  4. Flour your surface and dough as needed.
  5. Roll out evenly to about a 1/16 of an inch.
  6. If adding spices and seeds, sprinkle on top of dough and lightly roll the rolling pin over to get them to stick.
  7. Transfer dough and parchment to a baking pan.
  8. Using a pizza cutter or knife score into desired shapes. Prick with fork.
  9. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350F.  Turning pan halfway through baking.
  10. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Notes

Experiment with alternative flours for flavor and texture such as cornmeal, semolina, rye and teff.

Tailor to your tastes!  Add fresh herbs, spices, coarse or flaked salt, dukkah, zaatar, seeds, lemon zest, garlic, nigella, sumac, fennel, chili flakes, nutritional yeast…..have fun experimenting with flavors.

Optional: Brush top of crackers with olive oil or melted butter before baking if desired.  This is especially helpful if adding spices to help them adhere.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4 crackers
  • Calories: 64
  • Sugar: 0 g
  • Sodium: 58.7 mg
  • Fat: 2.5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 9.2 g
  • Fiber: 0.8 g
  • Protein: 1.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 6.1 mg

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Comments

  1. It was tough for me to roll to 1/16 so my first batch came out thick. Maybe I handled the dough too much? They are SO delicious, but taking longer to get crunchy. When they’re done, can they be a bit soft and then crunchy after they cool, or should they come out crunchy?

    1. Could be too much flour added. A softer dough is easier to roll, you can always add a little more oil or water if the dough feels stiff. Yes they will crisp more as they cool. You can leave them on the baking sheet after removing from the oven to just let them continue cooking a bit.

    1. Crackers are pretty adaptable, though I have not tried with kefir I bet it would work. You may need to play around with the amount to get a roll-able consistency.

  2. Delish!!
    Very easy (as long as you have a pizza cutter).
    I intentionally make more sourdough starter and don’t throw anything away (I never liked pouring the discard down the drain).
    I use rosemary from my yard and my husband and I enjoy Trader Joe’s, “Everything but the Bagel” seasons blend to top it off.
    I have NEVER submitted a rating before — that is how much I/we (friends, too) enjoy these crackers.
    Thank you!
    PS — I use all purpose:wheat flour in ~ 1:1 ration. All whole wheat was too dry.






    1. We really appreciate your review Julie! Using every drop of the starter feels so resourceful, I am with you!

  3. The best tasting, no palm oil,
    EASY recipe for delicious homemade custom crackers. Parmesan cheese combined with everything bagel spice topped with melted butter disappear quickly…






  4. The sourdough bread was delicious, but the sourdough crackers are the best. Very easy to prep and bake. My gourmet, homemade cheese its!

  5. Excellent recipe. I made these with onion powder, garlic powder and oregano. So good. My four kids (ages 7-1 year old) have been eating them all afternoon; makes me think next time I’ll make a double batch! My oldest said he wants to help make his own variation with Parmesan and garlic next. Excellent recipe.






  6. Hi Sylvia – I made these wonderful crackers. they are the best sourdough I’ve tried so far. Absolutely delish – when I put them in an airtight container though, they don’t stay crisp for me. I wonder if you’ve any tips. Thx Eric

    1. Glad you enjoyed them! I wonder if you let them just sit out, with out sealing?

  7. Love these crackers and having a delicious use for the discard.
    I added about a cup of cheese with some cayenne. Delicious.
    In another batch added grated parmesan cheese to the top and a little extra salt on tops like my hubby likes. He loves them and thinks these crackers are the best recipe for the discard.

  8. I really liked this discard cracker recipe. After experimenting with a few others, I’ve settled on this as my favorite.






  9. Has anyone tried adding cheese?? Wanting to make cheese it’s style and we love these crackers!

    1. Hi Hayley, I have used parmesan, it gets toasty but was pretty yummy. I think it would also work fine to add in some grated softer cheese like sharp cheddar. 😋 Curious to know how it goes!

  10. These are so good! They are delicious and the first batch is practically gone. Love having ideas like this to use the starter discard, because I don’t like wasting. I will definitely be making more of these in future.






    1. These are a favorite in our house too. I hear you on not wasting. Glad you enjoyed!

  11. I doubled the recipe but then realized that the multiplier didn’t change the amount of starter and flour. Still came out ok.

  12. Thank you! These crackers are perfect and so versatile. In addition to the sourdough, I use oat pulp strained from my homemade oat milk instead of flour.






    1. Thanks Doria, what a great suggestion! I tried adding oat pulp to my latest batch of crackers and it turned out absolutely brilliant! So good to have another use for this oat milk by-product.

  13. I’m hooked on these crackers. I’ve tried them with a bit of cornmeal added (for more delightful crunch), whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds and other seeds, too. To those adding cornmeal, be aware that it will make the baking time slightly less and will brown the crackers sooner. This is a good, reliable recipe that produces a consistently great cracker. Thank you to Sylvia for this recipe!






  14. I just LOVE this recipe and have been making these crackers regularly for almost three years now. I purchased one of those adjustable rolling pins so my crackers are beautifully thin (2mm) and even.
    My preference is to use wholemeal flour and freshly chopped rosemary from the garden. I always have confit garlic in the fridge and using the garlic oil from this process imparts the most amazing flavour. A tablespoon of onion flakes in the dough with sesame seeds & sea salt flakes sprinkled on top and these crackers are simply divine! Everyone is so impressed with them…I will never buy crackers again. A huge, sincere “Thankyou” for this simply brilliant recipe!






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