Olivia Piepmeier

Sourdough Crackers

Friday, February 24, 2023
Categories: pantry staples sourdough
A watercolor illustration of four crackers of varying sizes, arranged like they were dumped on a table or something (no distinct pattern, some overlapping).

inspired by King Arthur Baking

Ingredients

  • 113g white whole wheat flour (AP is fine)
  • 1 tsp Diamond Crystal salt
  • 227g sourdough discard
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • EVOO & flaky sea salt (or more Diamond Crystal) for topping

Directions

  1. Mix together the flour, salt, sourdough starter, and butter to make a smooth, cohesive dough. I usually use a stand mixer with a dough hook but you could hand knead it.
  2. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a small rectangular slab. I recommend weighing them at least on your first few tries, just so you have a nice visual cue of what half looks like.
  3. Cover each slab with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes up to…? I’m going to be honest with you, I’ve gone weeks. The outside turns a little grey (as often happens with discard kept for a long time) but it’s fine! It’s fermenting!
    4 Preheat the oven to 350F.
  4. Take out one slab of dough and plop it on a sheet of parchment paper.
  5. Very lightly flour your rolling pin and the top of the dough, keeping more flour easily accessible to add as needed.
  6. Roll the dough reaaaaally thin. It will have ragged, uneven edges - this ain’t Ritz. Just try to make it as evenly thin as possible.
  7. Transfer the dough & parchment onto a baking sheet.
  8. Roll the other dough slab out just as you did before and transfer to another baking sheet.
  9. Lightly brush each dough with oil and then sprinkle salt over the top.
  10. Cut the dough into whatever shape you want. A pizza cutter would work great, but I have little square biscuit cutters that I use. Don’t pull them apart or anything, just leave them as they are.
  11. Prick each square/shape a couple timeswith the tines of a fork.
  12. Put each baking sheet on its own rack in the oven, baking for 13 minutes.
  13. Switch the pans on the racks from top to bottom, and also turn the pans around 180. We’re trying to get an even doneness here.
  14. Bake for 13 more minutes.
  15. Good luck making them last longer than a few days!

Thoughts

I think this is one of the few recipes with measurements that I actually have memorized. It’s easily one of the most miraculous recipes I know, too. First of all - it’s made with “discard” - the stuff you’re “supposed” to discard! Then, IT TASTES CHEESY. WHAT. Honestly, I think they must make Cheeze-Its with discard (and a bunch of other more gross stuff). The original recipe suggests adding something else into the dough - herbs, garam masala, seeds, etc. Sure, try it out. I just prefer them plain as they are much more versatile in terms of pairings, though most of the time I just eat them as they are.

I’m a little embarrassed to reveal what I did within the recipe re: letting the dough sit for weeks in my fridge. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it but it’s happened a few times and I’m still here! When my discard jar is starting to fill, I’ll whip this up quickly and then not feel like tackling the full rolling and baking and then just kinda forget about it for awhile. If you do sourdough, please please try this. I never buy crackers.