Don’t discard it
Now that so many of you are getting into a rhythm of sourdough baking I received lots of questions about uses for sourdough discard, which is sourdough starter that is discarded before feeding. One of my favorite ways to use up extra sourdough starter is adding it to cracker dough.
I’ve shared a similar recipe in the past in Issue: Build of Taproot Magazine for an article I wrote about how to create a grazing board. This time I’m fermenting the dough in the fridge overnight to build up that sourdough flavor.
I love a rustic flatbread cracker but you can easily cut the dough into little squares before baking for a more uniform end result. The flavorings and add-ins can also be changed up as you see fit. The chives in our garden happen to be flowering right now so in they went. I really love the mild onion flavor they give these crackers and it goes really well with the hint of tangy cheesiness from the addition of nutritional yeast.
Feel free to swap chives with any other tender herb, but if you opt for stronger flavored woody stemmed herbs like rosemary, thyme or sage, for example, I would cut back the amount to 2-3 tablespoons, finely chopped. Rosemary especially has a very powerful flavor and aroma, but would be delicious in these crackers. You can also add seeds like sesame, poppy or caraway to name a few.
A note of caution when baking…
Because these crackers are so thin they tend to go from being done to overdone or burnt very quickly so be sure to keep an eye on them during the last few minutes of the bake time.
These crackers are delicious as a snack on their own or with tea, but obviously would pair perfectly with a cheese plate or spread. We tried some topped with soft goat cheese and drizzled with local honey. So good!
Are you new to sourdough baking? Check out my e-course page for step-by-step guides for making a sourdough starter from scratch, artisan sourdough bread and sourdough bagels! Stay tuned for more sourdough courses and look for more easy recipes for using your starter discard coming soon to the blog.
xx Kaity
Sourdough Discard Crackers
Ingredients
- 100 g mature 100% hydration sourdough starter sourdough discard
- 55 g or 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 62 g or 1/4 cup milk plant-based or dairy
- 15 g or 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 5 g or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 100 g or 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 60 g or 1/2 cup spelt or whole wheat flour
- 8 g or 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 6 g or 1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh leafy herbs such as chives dill or parsley or reduce amount to 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped strong flavored herbs such as rosemary, thyme or sage
Instructions
- Measure wet ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir with a fork to combine.
- Add flours, salt, nutritional yeast and herbs to the mixture and knead into ball.
- Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight or up to 24 hours before baking.
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and get four sheets of parchment paper and 2 half baking sheets ready.
- Divide dough in quarters and roll out one piece directly onto a sheet of parchment paper. Keep the other pieces of dough covered while you work. Roll the dough as thin as you can about 1/16-1/8" thick.
- Slide the dough and parchment onto a baking sheet and repeat with the second piece of dough.
- Bake the first 2 trays for about 15 minutes, rotating the trays half way through baking, at 350˚F, until they are golden brown. Keep a close on on them in the last few minutes as they can burn easily because they are so thin.
- Roll out the other 2 sections of dough while the first two sheets are baking.
- Transfer the cracker sheets to cooling racks and then bake the second batch on the baking sheets as before.
- The crackers should harden as they cool. Break them up in rustic pieces and store them in a airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Feel free to swap or change up the flours in this recipe to all whole wheat or a mix of whole grains.
- Add seeds or chopped nuts to the dough or press into the top when rolled out.
Kaity Farrell
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