🥗 Course: Snack | 🌍 Cuisine: American | ⭐ Difficulty: Easy | ⏱️ Prep: 5 mins | 🔥 Cook: 30 mins |🥭 Servings: 4 | ⚡ Total: 35 mins | 🔥 Calories: 180 kcal
Hey there, sourdough lovers! Are you wondering what to make with your leftover sourdough discard? Well, let me tell you, sourdough crackers are literally the best way to use up your discard!
Seriously, it’s just three ingredients, so quick and easy to make, and you’re gonna love the flavor and texture of these.
And if you’re as obsessed with sourdough and cozy snacks as I am, you’ll also love my Sourdough Croissants: The 3-Day Process That’s Totally Worth It and Hot Honey Baked Brie with Nuts & Cranberries—these crackers are actually perfect on a board with that melty brie.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This
- Zero Waste: You will never throw away your sourdough discard again! This puts all that unfed starter to delicious use.
- Just 3 Ingredients: No grocery run needed. All you need is your discard, some butter, and a little salt.
- Way Better Than Store-Bought: I struggle with finding good crackers for my family because you look at the ingredients and see preservatives and who knows what else. These are made with so much better ingredients, they’re better for you.
- The Flavor is Unreal: Because it’s mostly starter, it has tons of good tangy sourdough flavor. Honestly, they almost taste like cheese crackers! And that melted butter just enhances the crispiness.
These crackers are amazing on their own, but they also make the best little sidekick to fancier dishes like my Treating Cabbage Like a Steak: Brown Butter & Miso Sabayon! or that gooey Hot Honey Baked Brie with Nuts & Cranberries for a full-on appetizer spread.
What You’ll Need
Special Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- Offset spatula
- Parchment paper
- Large baking sheet (at least 13×11 inches)
- Pizza cutter or ravioli cutter
The Ingredients
- 200 grams (about 1 cup) sourdough discard (stirred/unfed)
- 5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Toppings (optional but delicious):
- Flaky sea salt
- Sesame seeds
- Everything but the bagel seasoning
Let’s Get Baking!
1. Prep & Melt the Butter
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- First up, you’re gonna start by melting your butter. I like to melt it right into my measuring cup, then let it cool completely to room temperature.
2. Mix the Dough
- Next, we’re gonna add your sourdough discard. This is just stirred or unfed starter, you know?
- If you place your measuring cup or bowl on a kitchen scale and zero it out, you can measure exactly 200 grams right into the cup!
- Then, last but not least, add your ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt.
- Stir that all together until it’s really well combined.
3. Spread It Out (Super Thin!)
- Once the butter and salt are well incorporated, transfer that mixture onto your parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Now, it’s important to spread this out really thin. You want it to be almost transparent!
- Using an offset spatula definitely makes the process easier. Just for reference, I always spread my dough out to a rectangle that is roughly 13 inches by 11 inches.
4. Add Your Toppings
- Sprinkle the top of your dough generously with your chosen toppings.
- I like variety, so I use flaky sea salt, sesame seeds, and everything but the bagel seasoning (which I think is my favorite!).
- Tip: Don’t go too heavy on the flaky salt since these are very thin crackers!
5. The First Bake
- Start by baking in your preheated oven for just 10 minutes.
6. Score the Crackers
- Then, take it out of the oven and you’re gonna cut out the shapes.
- You can use a pizza cutter, or I also love using a ravioli cutter which gives it a fun fluted edge!
- Cut the semi-baked dough into strips, and then cut across to make your desired cracker shapes, whether that’s squares or rectangles.
7. The Second Bake
Pop the pan back into the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them! You’ll know they’re ready when they are golden brown and sound hard when you tap on them.
8. Cool Down & Crunch Test Time!
Remove from the oven and let them cool right there on the baking sheet! The residual heat from the baking pan will help them to really crisp up perfectly. Once they’ve cooled down, they are so hardened and crisp. Snap them apart along the cut lines and transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy!
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FAQs
Why are my sourdough crackers soft?
If your crackers are soft after cooling completely, they might just be underbaked! You can pop them back into the oven for a few more minutes to crisp them up. Also, remember you have to spread this dough really thin—like, almost transparent! Thinness is the key to getting that perfect, loud crunch.
How do you store sourdough crackers?
These keep really well! Once they are completely cooled down on your baking pan, just transfer them to an airtight container (like a mason jar or tin). They’ll stay super fresh and crispy at room temperature for several days.
What can I do with sourdough discard besides crackers?
There are so many things you can make, like pancakes, waffles, pizza crust, and cookies! But honestly, these 3-ingredient crackers are literally the best way to use up your discard. They’re just so quick and easy.
How long is sourdough discard good for in the refrigerator?
Your discard can hang out in the fridge indefinitely as long as it doesn’t show any signs of mold. But just a heads up—older discard will give you a way tangier, more sour flavor. If it sits in there too long, the taste might get a little overwhelming!
The BEST 3-Ingredient Sourdough Discard Crackers
Course: SnacksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes30
minutes180
kcal35
minutesQuick, easy, and super crispy! These 3-ingredient sourdough crackers taste almost like cheese crackers and are literally the best way to use up your discard. Perfect for dipping in hummus!
Ingredients
- Equipment Needed:
Kitchen scale
Offset spatula
Parchment paper
Baking sheet
Pizza cutter or ravioli cutter
- Full ingredients list
200 grams (about 1 cup) sourdough discard (stirred/unfed)
5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Optional toppings
Flaky sea salt
Sesame seeds
Everything but the bagel seasoning
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter and let it cool completely to room temperature.
- In a bowl or measuring cup, mix together the 200 grams of sourdough discard, cooled melted butter, and fine sea salt until really well combined.
- Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Using an offset spatula, spread the dough out as thin as possible (almost transparent), to about 13×11 inches.
- Sprinkle your desired toppings over the dough (go light on the flaky salt).
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and immediately score the dough into cracker shapes (squares or rectangles) using a pizza cutter or ravioli cutter.
- Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and hardened when tapped.
- Let the crackers cool completely on the baking sheet so the residual heat crisps them up.
- Once cool, break apart and enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: Keep these in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay fresh and crispy for several days!
- Pro Tip on Salting: Just make sure you don’t over-salt! Because these are a very thin cracker, adding too much flaky salt on top can easily overwhelm them.
- Cooling is Key: Do not skip letting them cool on the baking pan. This is the secret to getting that perfect, loud crunch.
