Sourdough Discard Crackers
Homemade sourdough discard crackers can be prepped in just 5 minutes and made in a wide variety of delicious flavors to mix and match with your favorite snacks.
Even if you think you'll never make a loaf of homemade sourdough bread, it is well worth your time to keep sourdough starter on hand just to be able to use the discard in these homemade sourdough discard crackers!
I will gladly feed my starter every morning just to collect a tub of discard that is so full I can make a double or triple batch of crackers on the weekend.
My family eats these as quickly as I can make them. Endless variety of seasonings ensure we'll never tire of this quick and easy homemade snack.
Why This is the Best Recipe
- Quick & Easy: You can stir together the batter and have the crackers ready for the oven in just 5 minutes.
- Utterly Addictive: I keep making batch after batch because a pan of crackers disappears in a flash at our house. My family loves them warm from the oven.
- Easy Flavor Swaps: There are dozens of unique flavors you can bake from this simple recipe, just switch up the seasonings included. You can see my suggestions below.
Ingredients
To make homemade sourdough crackers, all you need is:
- Sourdough Starter Discard: When you feed your sourdough starter, the remaining portion that's left is called the "discard." I store it in my fridge for up to 2 weeks and collect enough from the feedings to make double or triple batches of this recipe at one time.
- Butter
- Seasonings: See my notes below
- Sea Salt: I've been loving my tub of Maldon flaky sea salt for sprinkling over these crackers. If you don't have this unique ingredient, you could substitute kosher salt.
Sourdough Starter Tips
You can learn all about how to feed sourdough starter here. It's a step-by-step guide for absolute beginners.
However, for this recipe you just need to know that I collect my sourdough discard after every feeding and store it in a large plastic tub in my fridge. The discard keeps for two weeks. So I just make sure to bake a batch of crackers or sourdough discard waffles to use up whatever has been collected in the container at least once every two weeks. If you need a treat, try these sourdough discard brownies some week, too!
When you bake these crackers, you can use the discard straight from the fridge or you can use the room temperature discard after a recent feeding. Whatever works best for you!
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Seasoning Options
We have had so much fun mixing and matching the seasonings that go into these crackers.
Italian Herb Crackers: One of the most common spice blends in an average home pantry, this blend uses basil, oregano, and thyme. This is a perfect basic cracker seasoning to use. You can buy the one we use here.
Mediterranean Herb Crackers: This was the first flavor swap we tried. Our favorite blend has a mix of rosemary, garlic, lemon, dill, sage, and fennel. You can buy our mix here.
Bloody Mary Crackers: Our all-time favorite so far. This blend includes celery, onion, garlic, shallots, and peppercorns. We also love a 50/50 mix of Bloody Mary and Mediterranean Herb. You can buy it here.
The other spice blends in my pantry that make excellent crackers all have some variation on salt, garlic, onion, lemon, shallots, and a variety of herbs. I've loved our Greek flavored crackers, this peppery lemon blend, and this herby onion mix.
Prep the Batter
NOTE: I collect so much sourdough discard in my fridge, I love to make a double batch (or more) of crackers at one time. However, I wrote the recipe card for just a smaller portion of discard so you can test them out.
The pictures below represent a baking session where I made a double batch of crackers, so your visual results may vary.
Set an empty mixing bowl on a food scale and turn it on. Set the unit to grams. If the scale doesn't read "0", press the button "Tare" so that you are just weighing the starter.
Scrape 200 grams of sourdough discard into the mixing bowl. Since discard is very sticky, it can be tricky to measure precisely. It's ok if you're over or under by a few grams. This is a very forgiving recipe.
For every 200 grams of starter, add 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the bowl and stir it in well.
Sprinkle in the seasoning blend you plan to use and stir it all together so it is well incorporated.
Spread the Batter
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. (For my double batch, I needed two pans.)
Scrape the cracker batter into a pile on one far end of the parchment paper. You'll be spreading the batter across the pan and it is easier to spread from side to side than it is to put the batter in the center and spread it out in two directions.
Use an offset spatula to press and scrape the batter across the pan so that it forms a smooth, thin, even layer.
Sprinkle your sea salt or kosher salt evenly over the top.
Baking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the crackers for 10 minutes.
Then use a pizza wheel to run lines up and across the dough to score your crackers.
Place them back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.
Depending on how thinly you were able to spread the cracker batter, this may be all the time you need. If your crackers were more on the thick side, you may need an additional 10 - 15 minutes.
Just note, they can go from underdone to burnt quite quickly so you'll want to check them every 5 minutes or so at the end.
My daughter loves them deeply golden brown and crispy throughout. My husband and I love them a little on the paler side and slightly chewy in texture. I recommend experimenting with shorter and longer cooking times to see which texture you and your family prefer.
Storage Tips
Once the crackers have completely cooled, you can store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Not once have our crackers lasted that long! My family gobbles them up almost as quickly as I can make them.
Next time I'm entertaining, I plan to make several batches of crackers in advance and store them in a sneaky hiding spot so they last long enough to fill out a cheese board!
Serving Suggestions
My kids love to take sourdough crackers to school as a snack. They are so flavorful all by themselves.
However, they'd make an amazing addition to a charcuterie board like my easy cheddar snack board with a batch of rosemary cashews and fresh fruits.
You could also upgrade this easy cream cheese and pepper jelly appetizer with homemade crackers. The thicker, chewier version of them could hold up to a hearty dip like my cold spinach dip, too.
Getting Started with Sourdough
Just getting started with sourdough starter? Here are some of my favorites discard recipes:
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Discard Crackers
Ingredients
For the Sourdough Crackers:
- 200 grams sourdough starter discard see notes
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 seasoning blend see variations below
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt optional, only use if your seasoning blend is salt-free
- Pinch kosher salt or sprinkling salt for the cracker topping (optional)
Seasoning Variations: CHOOSE JUST ONE
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend classic choice, will pair well with anything
- 2 teaspoons dried Mediterranean herb blend has hint of lemon and dill in the mix
- 2 teaspoons Bloody Mary mate our favorite!
- 2 teaspoons dried ranch seasoning
- 2 teaspoons custom blend of your favorite herbs see notes for suggestions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sourdough starter discard, melted butter, the seasoning blend of your choice, and the fine sea salt. I only use the sea salt when using a salt-free herb blend or the crackers get too salty.
- Scrape the cracker batter onto one side of the prepared parchment paper. Use an offset spatula to spread the batter into an even and very thin layer across the paper. It is easier to spread if you start at one side of the pan and sweep your spatula across from the first side to the other, rather than trying to spread it out from the center in two directions.
- Bake the crackers for 10 minutes. Use a pizza wheel to score the crackers (see the post above for visual reference.) Continue to bake the crackers for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. We prefer to leave ours just this side of chewy but you can bake them until completely firm and crispy if you prefer.
- NOTE: Your baking time may differ if you are using room temperature vs. chilled sourdough starter as well as how thick or thin you spread the cracker batter. A good rule of thumb is to start with the initial 20 minutes and add baking time in 5 minute increments as needed to get the color and texture you desire.
- Let the crackers cool for 5 - 10 minutes. Then break them along the scoring lines and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
Seasoning Suggestions:
These crackers taste amazing with a blend of basic herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and sage. You could also mix in a pinch of garlic salt, onion powder, or lemon pepper.Note on Batch Size:
These crackers are so popular at my house that I made a double batch of them when taking the photos for this recipe. You'll notice my food scale reads "400 grams" and there are 2 baking pans featured in the step by step photos above. For just 1 batch of crackers, as written, you'll use just the 200 grams of starter listed and only need one baking pan.Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box
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