These homemade Sourdough Crackers are crisp and delicious, and one of our favorite discard recipes. They also have just three ingredients: sourdough discard, melted butter, and salt. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
There’s no prep ahead, refrigeration, or rolling out the dough – and you end up with a crunchy cracker that keeps well and is perfect for dipping. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy this tasty snack is to make.
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We love sourdough recipes from Sourdough Pancakes to our classic Sourdough Bread. If you are on the Sourdough bus, these crackers are a must-try (and stay tuned for more sourdough discard recipes to come)!
Sourdough Discard Crackers Video
Watch Natasha make these Sourdough Discard Crackers. With just 3 base ingredients, you will be shocked at how easy they are to make and how delicious they taste. With their irresistible crunch and classic sourdough flavor, these homemade crackers are sure to become a staple in your snacking repertoire.
Sourdough Discard Crackers Recipe
For those of you who have started your sourdough journey, you will love this sourdough discard idea that my sister Svetlana shared with me (a friend shared it with her, and that is proof that a good recipe travels fast!). This is a brilliant way to use sourdough discard, which is essentially an unfed/stirred starter that is blended with butter and salt, spread thinly, and baked into the tastiest crackers.
We have struggled with finding the perfect store-bought crackers for our family. My kids are drawn toward those filled with questionable additives and preservatives, and they don’t like the healthier ones I prefer. I am happy to report that our homemade sourdough crackers have won over every member of our family.
What is Sourdough Discard?
When you feed a starter, you add fresh flour and water to make it grow. To prevent a sourdough starter from becoming too large and maintain it’s health and balance, a portion is discarded before feeding. The portion removed is the sourdough discard.
Sourdough discard is essentially an unfed or inactive starter. While it’s typically not strong enough for baking sourdough bread on its own, it still contains beneficial wild yeast and bacteria, along with a tangy sourdough flavor, and can be used in a variety of recipes from baked goods to savory dishes.
If you want to feed your starter just to make these crackers, that is perfectly ok (I do this all the time because the crackers are worth it).
Ingredients for Sourdough Crackers
If you’ve started your sourdough journey, chances are you have plenty of sourdough discard – this is a brilliant way to use it up.
- Sourdough discard – adds the tanginess of sourdough to the crackers and creates a light and crisp texture. All of the flour needed for this recipe is in the discard which means that the flour is already fermented, making it easier to digest.
- Butter -helps bind the ingredients together and contributes to the overall texture and moisture of the crackers.
- Salt – enhances the flavor of the crackers, balancing the tanginess of the sourdough while enhancing the other seasoning flavors.
- Seasoning – Customize the flavor to your preference with a variety of seasonings on top – sprinkle your favorite herbs, spices, seeds, or other flavorings (see the variations below).
Seasoning Variations
These sourdough crackers are totally customizable depending on your taste and accompaniments.
- Seeds – sunflower, sesame, chia, flax, or poppy seeds (or go for it all with Everything But the Bagel seasoning)
- Salt and pepper – sea salt or herbed salt
- Cheese – try grated parmesan or finely shredded cheddar cheese. You’ll love our Sourdough Cheese Crackers.
- Dried herbs – rosemary, thyme, basil, or oregano
- Hemp hearts
Time-Saving Tip:
You can make the batter in one large measuring cup. Melt the butter in the cup and let it cool until just warm. Set the cup with butter on a kitchen scale, zero it out, then add 200 grams of sourdough discard.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Crackers
- Preheat – Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Melt and Combine – Melt the butter in a large measuring cup or mixing bowl and let it cool until just lukewarm. Add the sourdough discard and salt, stirring together with a spatula until well combined.
- Spread – Pour the mixture onto your prepared baking sheet. Use an offset spatula to spread the batter into an even, thin layer that is almost transparent (my dough rectangle was 13×11 inches).
- Season – Lightly sprinkle the top with flaky salt or seasonings of choice. Avoid adding too much salt, as the crackers are thin and can quickly become overly salty.
- Bake and Score – Immediately bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a pizza cutter to score the partially baked dough into bite-size squares.
- Final Bake – Return to the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the crackers are golden, hardened, and crisp to the tap. If the batter wasn’t spread thin enough, it could take longer to bake. Remove from the oven and let the crackers cool on the baking sheet to fully dry out.
Pro Tip:
Have your oven preheated and ready to go so you can bake the crackers right after spreading the batter onto the parchment paper. If you wait, it’s more likely your crackers will stick to the parchment.
What is the Best Tool to Score Crackers?
Use any of these tools to make clean cuts quickly and efficiently without dragging or tearing the dough. I personally love the pastry wheel because it adds a nice scalloped edge that looks fancy but is equally as simple as using a knife or pizza cutter.
- Pizza cutter
- Ravioli cutter or pastry wheel
- Knife
For a different style, use the back of a spoon to create small smears of batter on the sheet pan, or skip scoring altogether and break the baked rectangle into small pieces. This will give you rustic, artisanal pieces perfect for your spread.
Pro Tip:
Use the imperfect baked trimmings from the perimeter of your rectangle to use as a delicious, crispy salad topping.
What to Serve with Sourdough Crackers
Our preferred presentation for these sourdough discard crackers involves creating a captivating charcuterie board with a variety of enticing accompaniments:
- An assortment of nuts, cheeses, fresh vegetables, olives, and pickles
- Delectable spreads like olive tapenade, fig jam, honey, or flavored cream cheese.
- Indulgent herbed or honey butter, adding an extra layer of flavor.
- Diverse dips such as hummus, veggie dip, 7-layer dip, tzatziki, whipped feta dip, or spinach and artichoke dip.
In addition to perfectly enhancing the savory tang of these crackers, these options create a delightful culinary adventure for every palate to enjoy.
How to Store Homemade Crackers
Allow the crackers to cool completely and then store them in an airtight container, glass jar, or zip bag. For the best taste and texture, enjoy the crackers within a few days. While they may still be edible after this time, they might lose some of their crispiness.
Sourdough may seem trendy to some, but its roots stretch back thousands of years. While trends come and go, sourdough’s timeless appeal and cultural significance make it a beloved staple in baking and cuisine. Stay tuned—we’re just getting ‘startered.’
More ‘Made from Scratch’ Recipes
If you love good food but are starting to pay more attention to the ingredients in your store-bought favorites, then you won’t want to miss these delicious DIY swap recipes. You can easily make your favorites at home, knowing exactly what’s in them!
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Sourdough Discard Crackers
Ingredients
- 200 grams sourdough discard, 1 cup stirred and unfed starter
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- Seasonings to taste – flaky sea salt, everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, etc.*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter in a large measuring cup or mixing bowl and let it cool until just lukewarm. Add sourdough discard* and salt, and stir together with a spatula until well combined.
- Pour the mixture onto your parchment-lined baking sheet and use an offset spatula to spread it into a thin, even layer that is almost transparent (for reference, my dough rectangle measured approximately 13×11 inches).
- Lightly sprinkle the top with flaky salt and your seasonings of choice. Avoid adding too much salt since the crackers are thin and can quickly become overly salty.
- Transfer to the oven right away to prevent sticking to the parchment and bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a pizza cutter to score your crackers into bite-size squares.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the crackers are golden and hardened. If the crackers are not firm, it may be due to not spreading them thinly enough. Continue to bake until they are firm when you tap the tops with your nail.
- Remove from the oven and let the crackers cool on the baking sheet to allow them to fully dry out. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container or zip bag.
Notes
*Variations for Toppings:
- Seeds – sunflower, sesame, chia, flax, or poppy seeds
- Everything But the Bagel seasoning
- Salt and pepper – sea salt or herbed salt
- Cheese – finely grated cheddar or parmesan
- Dried herbs – rosemary, thyme, basil, or oregano
Nutrition Per Serving
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Discard really thin, added 2 tbsp of flour uses salted butter so did not add salt.sprinkled with garlic salt and everything bagel seasoning. Was able to spread by moving tray. They are in the oven now
These are great!
As every recipe I have tried of yours.
Thank you so much 😊
Thank you so much, Heidi! I’m very happy to hear that.
So 25 crackers is a serving; how many servings per recipe? Don’t know for sure how big your crackers are
Hi J, this recipe makes 25 crackers, but if you look at the nutritional facts towards the bottom of the printable recipe card, you’ll see 5 crackers makes for one serving. Like you said, it does depends on how bug you cut the crackers, but if you make 25 crackers, you should get 5 servings. I hope that helps.
I’ve got some in the oven right now as well. Used garlic powder and curry powder and some chilli flakes.
Made these, as I had a batch of discard to use up and they turned out delicious! Followed recipe and they turned out perfect. Paired them with everything bagel and freshly grounded pink Himalayan salt prior to bake. Looking forward to making these again. As always, Natasha your recipes are delicious. They never have failed me.
So excited to try these- they are in the oven now
Let us know what you think!
Can those with gluten allergies eat these?
Unfortunately I am not able to provide specific diet suggestions since I’m not a licensed nutritionist. I do recommend looking through the recipe comments for what other readers have tried to substitute. I wish I could be more helpful.
These are so crisp and delicious and SO easy!
Hi there! I’m excited to make these! Quick question: do they freeze well? If so how and for how long? Thank you!
Hi Becca, I have not tried freezing these to advise, they just never last quite long enough. But to store, allow the crackers to cool completely and then store them in an airtight container, glass jar, or zip bag. For the best taste and texture, enjoy the crackers within a few days. While they may still be edible after this time, they might lose some of their crispiness.
My dough wouldn’t spread well due to the oiliness of the texture after mixing well. I wasn’t able to get the crackers to be as thin as I’d hoped they’d be. Still tasted good, but more like a flatbread texture and not very crispy.
This recipe is simple, delicious and will become your new obsession. I chose not to score and to break up by hand. Used flaky salt as the only seasoning to keep the flavor neutral and my total baking time was 30 minutes at 350. You won’t regret trying this recipe!!
Hello
I really enjoy your recipes and videos. I want to make these crackers but need to ask you a few questions. I have some sour dough starter which I’ve used before to make some excellent sour dough bread. But it’s now been in the back of the refrigerator untouched and unfed for about 6 months. I just opened the jar and it’s very gray in color with about an inch of liquid on top. There are gray spots in the muck that’s in the jar beneath the unpleasant smelling water. There does not appear to be anything in this science experiment that makes me think I want it in something I would care to eat. 😕😕😕
Can I really use this as is to make some crackers OR should I feed this mixture with 100 grams of flour and 100 grams of room temp filtered water and try to revive it OR should I wash out the contents, throw everything down the disposal and start anew making a new starter? While I’m being a headache with all my questions, may as well add one more. Can I use all purpose flour if I have no whole wheat or rye flour?
Thank you so much for your time and expertise.
Hi Dan! It would be wise to toss it out and start over. You don’t want to risk mold or bacterial contamination. You can use all purpose flour to make a starter, but it’s best to stater with wheat or rye, it helps give it a boost. Using all purpose flour will take longer for the starter to establish. Be sure to wash your jar with hot and soapy water, then submerge it in boiling water for about 10mins to sanitize it.
Help…I made these and they taste burnt. It took a long time for them to become hard. What rack do you recommend using in the oven? I really want to try again because both myself and my husband loved the 3 middle pieces that were perfectly baked?
Hi Kelly, are you using regular bake mode? Also, IT sounds like maybe your oven is running to hot? We have not had that experience to advise. I would recommend ensuring you have regular bake more and the oven is calibrated.
I think sourdough crackers are amazing
They really are! Great way to have a snack that’s easy and homemade!