Simple Sourdough Discard Crackers

Are you a fan of sourdough? Does your discard sit in the fridge for weeks without having a use or (gasp!) go into the trash?! You’ll love the ease and versatility of these sourdough discard crackers, and your kids will gobble them up in no time!

If you make sourdough, you need to make sourdough crackers. Unless you’re making a loaf of bread every day, you’re bound to have discard sitting around needing a purpose. Crackers! They are so fast and easy!

I will warn you, this is one of those “handful of flour” recipes that has no true recipe. I have yet to find a “wrong” way to make them. Of course I have my preferences, but they’ve all tasted amazing. Except the burnt ones. I’ve definitely had a few of those. But hey, when I bake on the regular (And have 3 kids under 4!) I’m bound to have a few things end up too dark to be palatable.

Ingredients for Sourdough Discard Crackers

Sourdough Discard- This is obviously essential for sourdough discard crackers. I often have a container in the fridge that I add to for several days until I have about 1- 1 ½ cups.

Melted Butter- I do about 3 Tablespoons per cup of discard to get my desired crunch.

Seasonings to taste- about 1-1½ tsp total per cup of discard- Salt, pepper, Italian, and garlic powder are my go-to flavors.

Flour (optional)- if I want a thicker cracker, I’ll often add a handful of flour. All purpose or freshly milled if I have some left over from another recipe.

Cheese (optional)- I like grated cheddar cheese. Pulse all ingredients in a food processor to combine and break up the cheese.

How It’s Done

Preheat the oven to 300-350^o. If you have the time, these do better slow and low. The edges burn too quickly if it’s over 350. It can be done, it just needs to be watched more closely.

Melt the butter.

Stir all ingredients together. I usually taste the batter to adjust seasonings, but it’s so sour at this point it’s hard to tell. 

Spread batter onto a silicone* lined baking sheet. Pick your preference of cracker thickness and spread it as evenly as possible. Thinner is usually better for us. If it’s too thick, it takes a long time to crispen all the way through the cracker. Uneven batter will lead to uneven cooking, which means it could burn and be chewy on different parts of the pan.

*Silicone works the best for me. Parchment and foil often tear when I remove the crackers.

Bake for 5-10 minutes then remove the pan and cut the crackers (it’ll still be doughy, but will mostly hold the cut at this point. If you forget this step, cutting near the end or once they’re done will cause the crackers to crack and crumble. Sometimes I’ll just cook the sheet and break it into pieces by hand once it’s cooled). I recommend a pizza cutter to make it quick and easy. Continue baking until golden brown and your desired level of crispy. Oven temp and cracker thickness change baking time. Mine probably averages about 40 minutes.

Keep an eye on the crackers near the end. I sometimes use a spatula to remove the edge pieces and let the middle continue to bake another 5-10 minutes.

Cool and enjoy! Comment below and let me know what flavors you made!