Sourdough Discard Crackers Recipe with Parmesan + Rosemary

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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!

Need a vegan version? Try these vegan sourdough crackers. Or maybe these sourdough fruit and seed crackers are more your style.

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.

Ingredients for sourdough discard crackers recipe
Simple ingredients come together to make these magical sourdough crackers.

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.

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.

Sourdough Discard Crackers cut using a cracker roller
You can purchase a cracker roller like this one here.

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.

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!

Jars of sourdough crackers would make a lovely gift for someone special.

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.
  • Everything Bagel Seasoning - instead of the rosemary and salt, top these crackers with a few spoons of homemade Everything Bagel seasoning.
  • 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.

You'll find all the best sourdough cracker recipes in one place here.

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.

These over baked crackers make the most delicious bread crumbs!

Further Reading

If you love this sourdough discard crackers recipe, you will love these ideas:

Sourdough Discard Crackers Recipe

Sourdough Discard Crackers with Rosemary + Parmesan Cheese

These simple sourdough crackers use a lot of discard - and taste amazing! They are the perfect accompaniment to a cheese platter or a quick snack on the go.
4.28 from 172 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 60 crackers
Calories 16 kcal

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.

Notes

Notes on Discard - 
This recipe is based on a sourdough discard from a 100% hydration sourdough starter.
 
Notes on Cheese - 
You can substitute cheddar cheese if you'd prefer. If you want a cheesier cracker, add up to 50g.
 
Notes on Mixing Dough - 
This dough is easy to mix in a bowl with a dough scraper or your hands. I find it easiest to use a dough scraper until the dough has just come together. I then use my hands to knead the dough in the bowl until all the ingredients are combined. Don't add additional liquid - just keep kneading til it comes together. It's not a sticky dough - it should be soft and pliable.
 
Notes on Rolling Dough - 
The dough shouldn't be sticky and is easy to roll out using a rolling pin without it sticking. However, if you are working in a warmer climate or your dough is sticky for whatever reason, you can place the dough into the fridge before rolling it out. Alternatively, you can place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to stop it sticking to the rolling pin.

Nutrition

Serving: 100g Calories: 16kcal Carbohydrates: 2g Protein: 0.4g Fat: 1g Saturated Fat: 0.4g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g Trans Fat: 0.02g Cholesterol: 1mg Sodium: 108mg Potassium: 5mg Fiber: 0.1g Sugar: 0.01g Vitamin A: 16IU Calcium: 7mg Iron: 0.1mg
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4.28 from 172 votes (153 ratings without comment)

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45 Comments

  1. Could you please clarify if it's hard whole wheat flour, or soft whole wheat? Also, are the rolled oats the large flake old-fashioned rolled oats, or regular rolled oats? I've tried several recipes for sourdough discard crackers but none have had rolled oats in the dough. Thanks!

    1. Hi Sadie - I'm not sure the difference between soft and hard whole wheat? I just used regular whole wheat flour 🙂 And I'm sorry but there are no rolled oats in this recipe so not sure what you are referring to there 🙂

      1. Hi! Can the dough for your sourdough starter discard crackers be made in advance then rolled out and baked when needed?

      2. 5 stars
        Just made these for the 2nd time as the 1st batch was demolished before properly cooled by the grandkids. They are so yummy

  2. I can't use a digital scale and would love if you would also put the measurements in cups, etc. Me, my sister and our friend had trouble with using a digital scale for measuring. For some reason our recipes don't come out right when we measure for weight. We are not using the same scale or the same recipes - it just does not work well for us to use a scale. Who know why, it just is so I have to skip any recipes like yours that only show weight for ingredients - sob!

  3. Can this be done without whole wheat flour? And if so, would it be a 1:1 sub for regular flour or something different? Thanks!

  4. Hi Kate I've been travelling and I was terrified my starter would die, so I made a whole lot of plans, four sets at home with teenager having strict feeding instructions AND having one with me that died twice. Nett result was about 500g of excess starter. I just made the cheddar version with cayenne pepper, with my starter 100% rye they are tangy and spicy and cheesy. Just delicious, thank you so much for your site, newsletters and wisdom. Karen in Johannesburg, South Africa.

  5. Hi Kate I've been travelling and I was terrified my starter would die, so I made a whole lot of plans, four sets at home with teenager having strict feeding instructions AND having one with me that I fed twice during the week. Nett result was about 500g of excess starter. I just made the cheddar version with cayenne pepper, with my starter 100% rye they are tangy and spicy and cheesy. Just delicious, thank you so much for your site, newsletters and wisdom. Karen in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    1. Hi, just wondering if I can make the cracker recipe, and leave it in the fridge until the next day ,then roll it out and make the crackers the next day.

  6. 5 stars
    YUM! Great recipe, makes more than it says and you are right, you need to roll as thin as possible because they puff up in the oven. Best crackers I've ever eaten! And they look just as good as they taste. I used fresh rosemary and it takes way more than you'd think... I augmented with dry rosemary and it worked quite well. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.

  7. 5 stars
    The best sourdough cracker!! I love to use this recipe for using up a lot of discard. I usually make Rosemary Parmesan topped with flaky salt but the possibilities can be tailored to your preference. My advice…keep rolling and make as this as possible. I then use a pizza cutter to cut into squares. For sure satisfies my craving for crust crunchy munchies! Thank you Pantry Mama

  8. I baked a batch of the cheese rosemary crackers this morning. I think I need to work on getting the dough thinner. The crackers seem kind of tough, not crispy and dry like store bought crackers. I also went a little bit heavy with the salt. Maybe I will give it another try with a half batch rolled really thin.

  9. 4 stars
    My dough came out so dry and could not get all the flour to come into the ball. What could I have done to make the dough a little wetter to come together? It was sandy. Did the best I could to roll it out but still crumbly. 🙁

  10. Just made my second batch, increased to 1.5 ratios as yesterday's batch was eaten so quickly. Made one tray with dukkah sprinkled on top. So delicious and moreish.
    It's been hand written into my recipe book. Thankyou!

    1. Can I freeze the rolled out and cut dough? I was thinking of maybe a big batch and freezing half to take out and pop right into the oven when we wanted some!

  11. 5 stars
    This recipe sounds really good, I can't wait to try it. I see tiny purple pieces on the crackers with rosemary, is that the rosemary flowers? I would never have thought to try that.

  12. 5 stars
    These crackers are fantastic! The recipe is one of the best I've found for sourdough discard crackers. The dough came together quickly by hand. The crackers were light and crisp in texture and tasted great. I used dried rosemary and added a pinch to the dough as well as sprinkling on the tops. Instead of cutting the rolled dough into individual crackers I divided the dough into 4 portions, rolled each paper thin, baked them whole, then broke into pieces once they were completely cooled for a rustic cracker. They baked for 55 minutes at 300° and were a lovely golden brown when done. I've never had burnt crackers when I bake them at a lower temperature.

  13. 5 stars
    Love these crackers. I seem to make them every second day they are that popular. However I replace the cheese with nutritional yeast and they taste amazing.

  14. 5 stars
    SO delicious and EASY! I will make these with all of my discard so I can try lots of varieties!! Thank you Pantry Mama!

  15. 5 stars
    These crackers are amazing!!! I put Everything Bagel with jalapeño bits in my crackers and they are soooo delicious !! I make a double batch every few days!

  16. Did these need to be refrigerated after they’re made since they have Parmesan cheese in it? My concern is that refrigerating them will make them lose their crispiness.

    It’s a great recipe! Thank you so much.

    1. Definitely don't need to be refrigerated. I've kept them over a month with no problems. Storing in a cookie tin or glass jar is best so they stay crisp 🙂 Enjoy xo

  17. 5 stars
    I don't always have time to made items with the discard. The prep on this took less than 15 minutes. My family was giving me a hard time as I rolled them out. They were joking that I should make star shapes or goldfish, etc. I cut them with a pizza roller and poked them with a fork. They were gone within a few minutes of cooling. I will not be making shapes next time either, but I will definitely be making these again! Thanks for an easy recipe.

  18. 4 stars
    This is the first time I tried this style of SD discard crackers, (adding extra flour to the discard). I added in about 1 Tbl of Bohemian Forest herb blend we get from Savory Spice, left the dough balls in the fridge over night, rolled them out to 1/16", painted with some olive oil, sprinkled with salt flakes. With the oven set to 350°F. I had to baked them 40 mins to get them to cook through. They are very good. Because of the extra flour, they have more substance. I'll try other variations next.