Sourdough crackers are one of our favourite sourdough discard recipes. Try them with our homemade Za’atar or any other flavours you like!
Photography by Sophie MacKenzie
These homemade sourdough crackers make excellent use of discard. Mix it with a few basic pantry staples, roll, cut, and bake! No rising time required.
If you don’t have discard (for example, if you use the levain method to bake your bread) you can also make this recipe with active starter. It will work the same and add delicious tangy flavour.
Speaking of flavour, we love our sourdough crackers topped with homemade Za’atar spice but don’t worry! If you don’t have, or want to make Za’atar, we have a list of alternative toppings below.
We recommend weighing your ingredients on a scale rather than using measuring cups. Scales are more precise, and generally yield more consistent results. If you don’t own a scale, you can still give sourdough discard crackers a go with measuring cups!
💖Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ It’s all made in one bowl, no extra dishes.
✔️ By making your own, you have flexible toppings so you can make the crackers exactly to your taste!
✔️ It’s a good use of discard, especially because the crackers last a long time.
📋Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Flour: we use a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. If you want a lower gluten recipe, try Alex’s sourdough rye and spelt crackers.
- Unfed Sourdough Starter: if you don’t have unfed starter, also called discard, feel free to use active, bubbly starter.
- Za’atar Spice Blend: Za’atar is best known as a Middle Eastern spice blend. We have a homemade version here, however, you can easily substitute it. We have a list of alternative flavour ideas below.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳Method
STEP 1: add all ingredients (except toppings) to a large bowl and mix.
STEP 2: knead into a ball of dough and divide into two pieces.
STEP 3: roll the dough out and brush with olive oil.
STEP 4: top with salt and any other toppings, cut into squares, and bake.
💡Top Tips
1. Roll in the toppings. Add the toppings and then roll once more between parchment for the best sticking power.
2. Rest the dough. If the dough seems a bit shaggy and doesn’t want to be kneaded into a ball, let it rest (covered) for 10 minutes. The whole wheat flour will absorb some of the liquid the gluten will relax.
3. Make it even. If your dough is really thin around the edges and not evenly rolled out, the outer crackers will burn. Try to make it all one even thickness.
📝Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have unfed sourdough discard, you can use bubbly active starter. Weighed is best for this as discard and active starter have very different volumes.
- For ultra thin crackers, try rolling the dough through a pasta roller. Divide the dough into four rather than two, then roll it out as you would pasta dough, getting progressively thinner. Transfer to parchment paper and proceed with the recipe as written. Keep in mind thinner crackers will take less time to bake!
- A pizza cutter is fantastic for cutting crackers, but a sharp knife does the trick if you don’t have one.
- To store, place into an airtight container and keep at room temperature for up to a week. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
❓Recipe FAQ
Depends how you define healthy! Whole wheat flour is a good source of whole grains, and some people might find these easier to digest because of the addition of sourdough.
Store it in the refrigerator for up to a few weeks. It might form hooch (liquid at the top), which can be poured off or stirred in, depending on what you’re using it for. We recommend a slightly fresher discard for these crackers to avoid an overwhelming sour flavour.
Whatever you like! We think that the stronger flavour of the crackers stands up really well to sharp cheeses and spicy toppings, so feel free to add to a fancy cheeseboard.
🌶️ Flavour Variations
- Everything bagel seasoning
- Sesame seeds
- Add a couple tablespoons of chopped herbs directly to the dough
- Try adding cheese to the dough (see these white cheddar crackers for inspiration)
- Poppy seeds
- Cumin seeds and black pepper
- Caraway seeds with lemon zest mixed into the dough
- Nigella seeds
- Seaweed powder
- Smoked paprika
🍞 More Sourdough Discard Recipes
Sourdough Cornbread
Chocolate Sourdough Cake (One Bowl)
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Blueberry Muffins With Cinnamon Streusel
Sourdough Morning Glory Muffins
If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.
Recipe
Sourdough Crackers
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Rolling Pin
- Pizza Cutter or sharp knife
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter, unfed
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for brushing
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Za'atar, optional, for topping
- Flaky salt, optional, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Have two baking sheets and two sheets of parchment paper ready.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the unfed starter, olive oil, both flours, and salt until all of the flour is just mixed in.
- Dump the dough out onto a work surface.
- Knead it by hand for about 30 seconds, or until smooth and pliable, then shape it into a ball.
- Sprinkle the top of the dough ball lightly with flour then slice it in half.
- Place each half of dough onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough quite thin, about 1/16-inch (2-mm) thick. The dough will have misshapen edges. This is normal.
- Brush the rolled dough lightly with olive oil.
- Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to slice the crackers into 1 ½-inch (4-cm) squares.
- Top the crackers with flaky salt and Za’atar (or any other seasonings or small seeds you like).
- Transfer the crackers, on the parchment paper, to the two baking sheets.
- Place the crackers in the preheated oven and bake them for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the squares are beginning to brown around the edges, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
- Move the crackers to a wire rack and cool them on the baking sheets.
- Once cool, the crackers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have unfed sourdough discard, you can use bubbly active starter. Weighed is best for this as discard and active starter have very different volumes.
- For ultra thin crackers, try rolling the dough through a pasta roller. Divide the dough into four rather than two, then roll it out as you would pasta dough, getting progressively thinner. Transfer to parchment paper and proceed with the recipe as written. Keep in mind thinner crackers will take less time to bake!
- A pizza cutter is fantastic for cutting crackers, but a sharp knife does the trick if you don’t have one.
Nutrition
This recipe was first posted in September 2020. It has been updated without changes to the recipe most recently as of June 2022.
Mal says
Amazing crackers! Have made these several times and they’re awesome!
Molly says
Tried these this weekend and they’re amazing! Now I need to keep stocked up on discard!!! They strangely remind me of cheezit crackers without the cheese. I absolutely love these!!!
Marja says
Just made the first batch with some leftover orange cheddar in the dough and za’atar on top.
Great taste!
jacque says
Do these crackers really have 34 gr of fiber per serving or is that a typo?
Kelly Neil says
Hi Jacque, We use a built in nutrition calculator which provides an estimate, however, isn’t always accurate. We will take a look at this one! Thank you for pointing it out to us!
Becky Thompson says
Hi there! I’m trying to convert your amazing fig pistachio cracker recipe to sour dough. I think I can use one cup of sourdough with 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of white flour. Then cut down the milk to half a cup and keep the buttermilk. Correct? Should I use milk powder equaling the other half cup? Does that sound right?
Sophie Mackenzie says
Hey Becky, yeah you can totally make them sourdough—your measurements sound good. You can add milk powder if you want, but I don’t think it is necessary. The buttermilk is more for rise than for taste, and the sourdough will help with the lift. Good luck!
Wendy says
Can you verify the olive oil measurement please? 1/4 c is only 43 ml. (Not 63 ml as noted in the recipe). Thanks very much.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Wendy, not sure why it says 63 as 1/4 cup is actually 59.14ml. It should be 60ml and is fixed now, thanks for pointing that out.
Teri says
I’ve made these multiple times and they are super simple and very delicious. I’ve used the Za’atar and I’ve made a pan with sesame seeds and a little salt. Thanks for the recipe!