Don’t waste your perfectly good sourdough discard–let’s put it to use! Learn how to make the easiest tangy and cheesy sourdough discard crackers at home. These crackers are super addicting and my favorite way to use discard dough.
This recipe uses a sourdough discard, butter, and salt base to make oven-baked crackers that rival processed and expensive store-bought crackers at home. The best thing about them is that you can customize them based on ingredients in your own pantry.
Ingredients in sourdough discard crackers
The beauty of these sourdough discard crackers is that you don’t need too many ingredients to make them at home. It’s a simple base of three foundational ingredients:
- Sourdough discard (you only need about ¾ of a cup of discard)
- Unsalted, melted butter
- Kosher salt
And while the base ingredients make good crackers on their own, we love a little seasoning. To add more flavor, I add for this recipe:
- Italian seasoning
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Everything but the bagel as a topping
Experimenting with other discard cracker flavors
I’ve also tested some other flavorings for these crackers, since they’re soo addicting. Here are some notes to set you on an experimentation path:
- 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast is nice for 200g of discard batter. 2 tbsp becomes a bit overwhelming.
- If you’re out of onion powder or garlic powder, doubling up on one of those types works well.
- Everything But the Bagel Seasoning contains salt. If using this make sure to reduce the salt in this recipe by about 25%.
Tips for making sourdough discard crackers
While this recipe is super easy to follow, there are still some tips I’ve learned after making dozens of crackers:
- Try to spread the batter evenly and thinly over the pan–especially the edges. You’ll find that the edges are the first to burn if they are thinner than the rest of the crackers.
- Use a spatula to help spread the batter evenly, and then lightly tap the pan on the counter to even out the layers.
- Try to keep the crackers’ sizes the same shape, so they cook evenly and don’t burn.
- To reduce waste, I use a silicone baking mat! They are reusable and give the same crispy effect as parchment paper. I also switched to this to avoid the BPAs in recycled parchment.
- I use a jelly roll size sheet pan (15” x 10”) so you have enough space to spread out the crackers and make one sheet worth it. If you have a bigger oven, by all means go for a half sheet pan.
- During the last 10 minutes of baking, watch over the oven because the crackers brown quickly. Sometimes, there is uneven cooking, so remove the golden brown crackers and continue to cook the rest of the crackers for an additional 5-10 minutes.
- I tried using convection mode for faster results, but it resulted in less evenly baked crackers. If you’re using this make sure to lower temperatures and keep an eye on the crackers since timing may change too.
- Reducing butter by 50% still resulted in good flavor, and it’s still nonstick especially on the silicone mat.
How long do these crackers stay fresh after baking?
Once your crackers have cooled on the counter, keep them in an airtight container. If you don’t wait for them to cool properly, they may end up soggy from the condensation in the container. These crackers stay fresh and crispy up to five days after baking.
What else you can make with sourdough discard
While it’s primarily used in recipes to reduce waste, reusing sourdough discard also imparts a fermented flavor into different recipes. Here are some of my favorite recipes for sourdough discard:
All of these recipes are super easy to use!
Other seasonings to customize your crackers
There are unlimited options if you want other custom seasoning ideas for your sourdough discard crackers. What’s great about this recipe is that you can really mix seasonings and flavors based on what you like and your pantry at home. Here are some ideas:
- Sweet: cinnamon and brown sugar
- Zesty: dill and lemon
- Spicy and savory: chili onion oil and red pepper flakes
- Ranch seasoning powder
Sourdough Discard Crackers
Ingredients
- ¾ c (200 g) sourdough discard
- 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter melted
- ½ tsp (.5 g) Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp (2 g) onion powder
- ½ tsp (2 g) garlic powder
- ½ tsp (1.5 g) kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
- 2 tsp (6.4 g) everything but the bagel seasoning optional, reduce salt above by 25% if using this
Equipment Used
- mixing bowl
- spatula
- quarter sheet
- Silpat or parchment paper
- oven
- knife
- turner
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients: ¾ c sourdough discard, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, ½ tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp kosher salt.
- Place the silicone baking mat or parchment paper onto the baking sheet. Spread the discard mixture over the sheet pan in one thin, even layer. If it’s too uneven, it won’t cook evenly and some parts may burn or brown too much before the rest of the crackers are finished. Optional: Sprinkle 2 tsp everything but the bagel seasoning on top.
- Bake for 10 minutes so the dough is just set enough to cut, but not fully cooked. The surface will be dried out and cracked, but not browned.
- Remove the baking sheet and carefully use a knife or something with a thin edge to cut the crackers into your preferred shape. I cut 1” squares so once they separate, there’s even airflow around them to cook evenly.
- Place the baking sheet back in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes. Then flip all the crackers over with a spatula/turner then bake about another 10 minutes.
- Check to see if any of the crackers are done by looking at their coloring. They should be golden brown and firm. Remove the cooked crackers from the oven and cool in a single layer on a plate or baking sheet for 5 minutes on the counter before eating or storing.
- There will remain some paler crackers that haven't evenly browned all the way through. Spread them out on the baking sheet continue baking, checking on doneness every 3 minutes or so. The rest of the crackers on the tray should finish cooking in one session.
- Once the crackers are cool to the touch, store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to five days.
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