These tangy sourdough crackers are the perfect easy way to use up sourdough discard. They are super simple and super tasty!
Here at Vegan on Board we are big fans of making the most of all of our ingredients and not wasting food. We’re also big fans of making sourdough.
Paul is great at looking after and feeding our sourdough starters so that we don’t usually have excess. But we know that it’s easy to end up with too much sourdough starter (especially when you are starting a new one), so we’re delighted to share this awesome sourdough discard recipe with you!
The recipe is adapted from our Easy Vegan Cracker recipe, and we love how the sourdough discard brings an extra complexity and richness to the taste. The method is really simple, and there’s so many ways you can customise and change up the flavour of these crackers.
These sourdough discard crackers have a tangy flavour that makes them really moreish! We hope you enjoy making them!
Ingredient tips
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Sourdough starter
- Flour
- Olive oil (you can also use vegetable oil but olive gives a richer taste)
- Salt and sugar
- Optional extras - such as dried herbs, black pepper, sea salt, or seeds.
The recipe is designed for white all-purpose or plain flour, for both feeding the sourdough and the extra to make the dough.
The sourdough starter should be fed equal parts in weight flour and water (100% hydration), which is pretty standard for plain white sourdough.
- If you feed your starter different proportions or use other types of flour, you might have to adjust the amount of extra flour in this recipe to get the right dough consistency.
You can use excess sourdough that you would discard before feeding the starter, or feed up your starter just to make these crackers. In any case, make sure that the starter has fully ripened, bubbled up and possibly also settled down again. This gives you the best flavour and makes sure that the flour to liquid ratio is right, as the starter gets more liquid as it eats up the flour you fed it.
You can also use a starter that has been stored in the fridge for a while. That’s where I put it when I find I don’t have the time to use a fed and ripe starter within a day. Starter kept in the fridge for more than a week is better refreshed with a bit of flour and water and rested at room temperature for several hours before using.
Step by step
You’ll find the full recipe and quantities at the end of the post, but here’s a handy visual overview of how to make these sourdough crackers:
Step 1 - Combine sourdough starter with other ingredients into a dough.
Step 2 - Roll out half of the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.
TIP: If you roll out on a piece of parchment paper, you can cut and cook the crackers directly on it to save time. If you have a reusable or silicone baking sheet which you can’t cut on directly, then transfer the crackers to the sheet after you cut them out.
Step 3 - Sprinkle on any optional toppings and firm them in with the rolling pin.
Step 4 - Cut the crackers into shapes, using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife.
Step 5 - Prick the crackers with a fork to keep them from puffing up.
Step 6 - Bake the crackers at 200°C for 12-15 minutes.
For us we find the crackers are perfect when they are light golden brown. The baking exact time depends on the thickness of the crackers as well as your oven, so keep an eye on them towards the end.
You might want to take some thinner crackers out earlier while leaving the rest to crisp up and brown a bit more.
Storage
Keep the crackers in an airtight container once they have cooled down. When they are baked to perfect crispiness, they will keep for a week or longer.
Eat them with
We often just munch through all these crackers as a tasty snack!
They are delicious served with dips like our mushroom pate, or spread with our vegan sunflower seed cheese.
These crackers also make a great side to soup. Why not try our Easy Nettle Soup or our Vegan Mushroom Soup?
🌱 This post is part of our USE IT UP! resource - helping you waste less in the kitchen. Be inspired to make the most of every bit of your produce, and learn ways to love your leftovers! 🌱
We hope you enjoy these sourdough discard crackers! Try these other zero waste inspired recipes next:
Sourdough Discard Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230 g) sourdough starter excess or discard
- 1½ cups (190 g) white flour all purpose, plain
- ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Optional Toppings (see notes)
- sesame seeds
- nigella seeds
- sea salt
- black pepper
- dried rosemary
- caraway
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter, white flour, oil, salt and sugar and knead into a dough. Divide the dough into 2 portions, each for one tray of crackers.
- On a lightly floured surface or directly on a piece of baking parchment, roll out the dough ⅛ inch (3mm) thick, using a rolling pin.
- Sprinkle on any optional toppings and roll to press them into the dough with the rolling pin.
- Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut the sheet of dough into squares (or any shape you would like your crackers to be).
- Prick each cracker with a fork a couple of times, to keep them from puffing up like a pillow.
- Transfer to a lined baking sheet and bake at 200°C (390°F) for 12-15 minutes, until the crackers are light golden brown.
Loved our recipe? Have a question we can answer? We'd love to hear from you! Sophie and Paul 💚