This cheesy cracker recipe will satisfy any savory snack craving! I love how the nutritional yeast beefs up the tanginess of the sourdough and makes these crackers taste extra cheesy. Besides, I’m always hunting for ways to use sourdough starter discard in recipes!
One thing that has always bothered me about my sourdough baking addiction is that it can get a little wasteful. Every day I feed and discard, then feed and discard again and again. Luckily for me, it discard doesn’t always have to be… well, discarded! I’ve found several ways to use up sourdough starter discard over the years. While composting or feeding the chickens is great, my absolute favorite is finding delicious recipes to bake with it!
Come along with me and I’ll show you just how easy it is to whip up a batch of these gourmet crackers! If you know this is a recipe you want to try, I recommend storing your excess discard in a glass container in the refrigerator for a few feedings. The effort it takes to make a double or triple batch is really no different than making a single, and trust me, you’ll want more!
a few recipe notes
As an amazon associate, this post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
These Cheesy Sourdough Starter Discard Crackers are a nod to my original recipe that I posted a few years ago, but are definitely a flavorful upgrade. As I mention in my OG post, this recipe is based off of the King Arthur version that has been shared near and far. I tweaked a few things to make it more to my taste, but the ratios are basically unchanged. One other thing I want to mention is that I am using dried seasoning for this recipe. We are in the middle of winter here and my garden isn’t producing, but using fresh herbs would be really good, too. Experiment with your favorite seasoning shakers or fresh herb combos! I have used Everything But The Bagel seasoning as well as Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper grinder. Both were excellent!
If you are new to sourdough and would like to read more about the process, read this post first! I share step-by-step simple instructions to help you make your own sourdough starter from scratch. I also include how to use a sourdough starter discard plus how to bake a perfect loaf of sourdough! For more sourdough starter discard recipes, check out my Coffee Cake and 20-Minute Crepes. You won’t be disappointed!
Ingredients for Cheesy Sourdough Starter Discard Crackers
- 1 cup All-Pupose flour || Personally, I’ve been baking exclusively with Jovial All-Purpose Einkorn flour since last October. It has a soft texture like traditional white flour and reacts similarly to moisture. It has become a staple in my pantry. I also recommend King Arthur Organic All-Purpose flour.
- 1 cup unfed sourdough starter || This is the portion of sourdough starter that would ordinarily be discarded after feeding. This can be stored unfed in the refrigerator for several days before using in a discard recipe.
- ¼ cup butter || The butter should be room temperature or even melted. This will allow it to fully incorporate into the cracker dough. If you do not consume dairy products, substitute coconut oil.
- 1-2 tablespoons desired seasoning || Any seasoning or herb blend will work for this recipe. Today I am using a lemon pepper grinder linked above. If your seasoning blend does not contain salt, make sure to add ½ teaspoon of salt to this cracker recipe.
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Directions for Cheesy Sourdough Starter Discard Crackers
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, sourdough starter, butter, seasonings, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt (optional). Start by using a wooden spoon, then use your hands to work the dough into a ball. It will start out messy, but once the ingredients blend, it will be a soft and pliable dough. Flatten the ball into a rectangular disc, a visual example would be like the lid of a small shoebox.
- Using two sheets of parchment paper, sandwich the dough between the sheets. I put a tea towel or silpat mat under the bottom layer to prevent it from slipping. Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1/16 of an inch thick. It will nearly touch the edges of then parchment paper when it is thin enough. Thicker crackers will take longer to bake and could burn on the edges while remaining slightly doughy in the middle. Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare the dough by removing then top layer of parchment and drizzling it with olive oil. Smooth the olive oil over the entire surface. I use my hands for this step! Cut the crackers into one inch squares using a knife, pizza cutter, cookie cutters or pastry cutter. Leave the dough exactly as it is, do not try to separate the crackers. Sprinkle the crackers with coarse salt, pepper and any additional seasonings you desire.
- Bake the crackers for 25-30 minutes. Once they are fully cooked, transfer the crackers to a cooling rack. Do not leave them on the parchment paper to cool, this will cause the bottoms to be soggy.
- Store the fully cooled crackers in an airtight glass container. They will start to go stale after about three days, but don’t worry! They won’t last that long.
how to ferment the cracker dough before baking (optional)
To ferment the cracker dough, after Step 2, place the baking sheet & dough into the refrigerator. It can ferment for up to one day. Once it has fermented, it's time to bake! Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit for thirty minutes before continuing on to Step 3.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead
Recipe
Cheesy Cracker Recipe: How to Use Sourdough Starter Discard
Equipment
- baking sheet
- Parchment paper optional, but makes it easier!
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup All-Purpose flour
- 1 cup unfed sourdough starter 227 grams
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1-2 tablespoons seasoning blend with salt
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- olive oil for drizzling
- coarse salt and fresh ground paper as desired
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, sourdough starter, butter, seasonings, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt (if using a seasoning blend that doesn’t contain salt). Use your hands to work the dough into a ball. It will start out messy and sticky, but once the ingredients merry it will be a soft and pliable dough ball. Flatten the ball into a rectangular disc, a visual example would be like the lid of a small shoebox.
- Using two sheets of parchment paper, sandwich the dough between the sheets. I put a tea towel or silpat mat under the bottom layer to prevent it from slipping. Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1/16 of an inch thick. It will nearly touch the edges of then parchment paper when it is thin enough. The reason for this is that thicker crackers will take longer to bake and could burn on the edges while remaining slightly doughy in the middle.
- Keep the dough between the layers of parchment paper and slide it onto a baking sheet. To ferment the cracker dough, place the baking sheet & dough into the refrigerator. It can ferment for up to one day. When ready to bake, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit for thirty minutes before continuing on to the next steps. If not fermenting the dough, move on to the next step!
- Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare the dough for baking by removing then top layer of parchment and drizzling it with olive oil and smoothing the olive oil over the entire surface. I use my hands for this step! Cut the crackers into one inch squares using a knife, pizza cutter, cookie cutters or pastry cutter. Leave the dough exactly as it is, do not try to separate the crackers. Sprinkle the crackers with coarse salt, pepper and any additional seasonings you desire.
- Bake the crackers for 25-30 minutes. Once they are fully cooked, transfer the crackers to a cooling rack. Do not leave them on the parchment paper to cool, this will cause the bottoms to be soggy.
- Store the fully cooled crackers in an airtight glass container. They will start to go stale after about three days, but don’t worry! They won’t last that long.
Carissa
I make these regularly, so good! 🤤
Meg
Carissa, thank you so much for taking the time to share this! I'm so happy you love these sourdough crackers!
Morgan
These are absolutely amazing + kid approved! Love adding seasonal herbs on top!
Meg
Thank you, Morgan! I'm glad they were a hit at your house with the kiddos! I love your suggestion of using seasonal herbs to dress the crackers up a bit. Sounds delish!
Tiffany Potter
So far this is my FAVORITE!!! Definitely making more!! These things don’t last long here!!!
Elisa
These are one of my go to’s for discard. Simple and everyone loves em!
Meg
I'm so glad! My family loves them, too. Thank you for the review!
Ibelka
I’ve made these a couple of times. Thanks for the recipe, I love them!
Anna Stutzman
I love these crackers as a way to use my discard. I love that uou can change up the seasonings for what you want. Highly recommend!
Meg
Anna, I love your suggestion to mix up the seasonings on this sourdough cracker recipe! Have you ever tried Everything But the Bagel seasoning blend on these crackers? It's really tasty! Happy baking!
Lori
I’ve made two huge jars of these sourdough crackers so far and they disappeared faster than I could bake them! So good.
Meg
You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that, Lori! I'm so glad your family loves the sourdough cracker recipe.Thank you for taking the time to share a review <3
Leah
I LOVE this recipe! I have made it every week when I make my bread since the first week I tried it. I use the everything but the bagel seasoning in mine and it is delish! I have also found it easier to roll (and I get more crackers) if I split the dough in half and roll each out individually then bake.