Sourdough Discard Crackers Recipe with Parmesan + Rosemary
This Sourdough Discard Crackers Recipe is so simple, you’ll wonder why you haven’t made them before.
An easy and delicious way to use up your sourdough discard … or you might love them so much you’ll find yourself feeding your starter extra. Just so you can make another batch.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Using Sourdough Discard To Make Crackers
As probably already know, you must discard your starter before you feed it. Discarding helps your starter to thrive and stops it from becoming too acidic (you can read more about this here).
It’s advisable not to use your discard until at least day 7. Before this, the bacteria in your starter is fighting a battle of good vs evil.
And you don’t want to ingest the bad bacteria.
Using your discard once your starter is over 7 days old makes it much less wasteful. Plus when you can make it taste as good as these sourdough discard crackers, why would you throw it away?
You’ll get the best results from this recipe if your starter is 100% hydration. If it’s less hydrated, you might find you need to add some water to the dough.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Crackers Recipe with Parmesan + Rosemary
This sourdough discard crackers recipe doesn’t get any easier. It’s a cinch to mix by hand too (although you could use a stand mixer if you want to).
It uses 220g of sourdough discard.
Here’s how to make sourdough discard crackers with rosemary + parmesan:
- Add sourdough discard, flour, salt, butter and cheese to a mixing bowl.
- Bring the ingredients together until it forms a smooth, pliable dough. You might need to work the dough around the bowl to ensure all the flour is incorporated.
- Roll out the dough to a thin layer.
- Cut into crackers.
- Top with olive oil, rosemary and salt.
- Bake!
Sourdough Discard Crackers Using a Cracker Roller
The easiest and fastest way to get professional looking crackers is to use a cracker rolling tool.
Honestly, I had no idea how good this was til I actually used it. You will have 2 trays of crackers cut in a matter of seconds!
It not only cuts the crackers, but pricks them too – so you don’t have to use a skewer or a fork.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with hand cut or rustic crackers. If you don’t have one of these, you can simply use a knife or even a small cookie cutter. You’ll also have to pierce each cracker with a skewer or the tines of a fork.
But if you are looking for a useful tool – and you make a lot of crackers – I highly recommend this one. It will allow you cut large and small square crackers in seconds.
The one used in this photo was purchased from a local kitchen shop.
Storing & Freezing Sourdough Crackers
There are a few things you can do to store your crackers or even prolong the baking timeline for sourdough crackers.
You can place the rolled dough into the fridge for up to 12 hours before baking. This is handy if you want to prepare them in advance.
You can store sourdough starter crackers in an air tight container or tin for 3 days. Any longer and they can lose their crunch. You could pop them in the oven for a few minutes to refresh them.
I prefer to store them in glass jars with tight fitting lids. I love reusing old coffee jars for this purpose. These are the same jars that I built my sourdough starter in!
You can freeze baked crackers. Make sure they are completely cool before placing into a ziploc bag. They will freeze for around 2 months without losing any of their texture.
Other Sourdough Cracker Flavors to Try
If you want to try some different flavors – you could try these suggestions:
- Sesame + Olive Oil – add 20g of black sesame seeds to the dough and top with 20g of white sesame seeds instead of rosemary.
- Seeded Sourdough Discard Crackers – find the recipe for these here.
- Cheddar + Pepper – substitute the parmesan cheese with cheddar and use black or pink pepper instead of rosemary.
- Spicy Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Crackers are perfect for something a little different.
- Cinnamon Sugar – Try these sweet sourdough crackers with cinnamon sugar for a twist on a savory cracker.
Tips for Burnt Crackers
If you find you have some burned crackers or ones that are a little hard to use – don’t throw them away.
Pop them into a food processor and turn them into bread crumbs! Because they have yummy rosemary and parmesan in the them they will be the most amazing bread crumbs ever!
Use these bread crumbs for breading chicken or fish (you can mix them in with other plain bread crumbs too). They also make a delicious topping on cheesy bakes like lasagne and tuna mornay.
Further Reading
If you love this sourdough discard crackers recipe, you will love these ideas:
- Find out why you must discard your sourdough starter for it to thrive.
- Try making this sourdough discard sandwich bread – just like these crackers, it’s a cinch!
- You’ll love these seeded sourdough discard crackers – with honey, oats and all the seeds – they are some crunchy goodness!
Sourdough Discard Crackers with Rosemary + Parmesan Cheese
Equipment
- Digital Scales
- Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Cracker Roller
- Baking Trays
Ingredients
- 220 g Sourdough Discard unfed sourdough starter
- 80 g All Purpose Flour
- 50 g Whole Wheat Flour
- 5 g Salt
- 30 g Butter soft
- 30 g Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 20 g Olive Oil for brushing
- 10 g Sea Salt for topping
- Fresh Rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Add sourdough discard, flour, soft butter, salt and parmesan to a mixing bowl and bring the ingredients together to form a pliable dough (see notes).
- Divide the dough into two portions (this makes it easier to roll).
- Place each ball onto a piece of parchment paper and flatten out with your hands into a rough rectangle.
- Sprinkle on the rosemary and push it into the dough gently.
- Now roll out to a thin sheet of dough using a rolling pin. You want it around 1/16" or 1.5mm thick. The thinner you can get it the better because thick crackers won't cook properly and won't crisp up in the oven.The dough should not be sticky at all and easy to roll – however see notes below for some troubleshooting if your dough is sticky.
- Use a cracker roller to perforate dough. If you don't have a cracker roller you can use a cookie cutter or knife to cut into crackers and then pierce each one with the tines of a fork.
- Place each parchment paper with dough on top onto a baking sheet. This recipe will generally need two baking trays.
- Brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake at 350F/180C for around 25 minutes or until crackers are golden and crisp.
- Let the crackers cool on a rack before breaking into individual pieces.
