Easy Sourdough Crackers
To skip the post and step-by-step instructions and go straight to recipe, click here.Every Monday, I start my day by pulling Jane out of the fridge to warm up. “Who is Jane, and why is she in the fridge?”, you may ask? Jane is my sourdough starter, of course!
I started Jane up from some dehydrated sourdough starter sent to me by an old friend from high school last March, and she’s still going strong. She lives in an old hot pickle jar in my refrigerator. Every Monday morning, I put her on the counter to warm up and get bubbly. And every Monday afternoon, I feed her her usual flour and water dinner, scoop out a couple tablespoons of discard, and use them to make these ridiculously easy and super delicious sourdough crackers!
I like to make a larger batch of these to last us a couple days, and serve them for lunch alongside salads or soups. They also make an especially impressive and customizable addition to a grazing board or cheese plate (this might be my favorite use)!
There are an unlimited amount of seasoning combinations that would be amazing on these, and I highly encourage you to have fun with it and come up with your own combos! But, if you need a little inspo, here’s a list of delicious toppings I’ve done in the past.
Cracker Flavor Ideas:
Everything Bagel: onion powder or dehydrated onion, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and caraway seeds
Ranch: seasoned salt (in place of sea salt), parsley, dill, onion powder, garlic powder
Triple Seed: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds
Italian: basil, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, fennel
Spicy mustard: ground mustard, paprika, turmeric, cayenne
Sweet: sugar, cinnamon, clove
Taco: cayenne, chili powder, cilantro, onion powder, cumin
Pizza: finely grated parmesan, basil, oregano, garlic powder
Cheesy: finely grated cheddar and parmesan cheeses
Step-By-Step Walk-Through
If you’re feeling confident in your cooking skills and want to skip the walk-through, click here.
Step 1:
Make Dough
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Measure out 2 tablespoons of active sourdough starter into a small mixing bowl. I like to use the discard from when I feed my starter for these.
Add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the bowl and mix it until a ball of dough begins to form.
Step 2:
Roll Out
Dump the dough along with all the extra flour onto a surface to roll, and give it a few kneads to bring it together into one small mass.
Sprinkle some extra flour onto the rolling surface and use a rolling pin to roll it PAPER thin - the thinner the better! Just keep in mind that the thinner you roll them, the quicker they’ll brown in the oven. Turn the sheet of dough and add extra flour as needed if it begins to stick to the surface or the rolling pin.
Once it’s all rolled out, either use a cookie cutter to cut shapes of your choice, or use a pizza cutter to cut into relatively even-sized pieces. If using the cookie cutter method, you can re-roll your leftover bits to get more crackers, but the more you roll it, the harder it will be to get thin, and the less crispy the crackers will be. Place the cut crackers on a parchment-lined baking sheet (you don’t need much room between them as they won’t really spread).
Step 3:
Top
Beat 1 egg well in a small dish.
Use a small pastry brush to brush the egg onto the surface of each cracker.
Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt to your taste and any seasonings you like on each cracker - have fun with it!
Step 4:
Bake
Bake crackers for 9-12 minutes until hard, crisp, and lightly browned.
Easy Sourdough Crackers
Servings: 2-3 Time: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: 🧡🧡🤍🤍🤍
Ingredients
2 TBS. active sourdough starter
3 TBS. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out
1 egg, beaten
Coarse sea salt
Seasonings of your choice (optional)
Directions
Step 1: Make Dough
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure out active sourdough starter into a small mixing bowl. I like to use the discard from when I feed my starter for these. Add all-purpose flour to the bowl and mix it until a ball of dough begins to form.
Step 2: Roll Out
Dump the dough along with all the extra flour onto a surface to roll, and give it a few kneads to bring it together into one small mass. Sprinkle some extra flour onto the rolling surface and use a rolling pin to roll it PAPER thin - the thinner the better! Keep in mind though that the thinner they are, the quicker they’ll brown in the oven. Turn the sheet of dough and add extra flour as needed if it begins to stick to the surface or the rolling pin. Once it’s all rolled out, either use a cookie cutter to cut shapes of your choice, or use a pizza cutter to cut into relatively even-sized pieces. If using the cookie cutter method, you can re-roll your leftover bits to get more crackers, but the more you roll it, the harder it will be to get thin, and the less crispy the crackers will be. Place the cut crackers on a parchment-lined baking sheet (you don’t need much room between them as they won’t really spread).
Step 3: Top
Beat egg well in a small dish. Use a small pastry brush to brush the egg onto the surface of each cracker. Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt to your taste and any seasonings you like on each cracker - have fun with it!
Step 4: Bake
Bake crackers for 9-12 minutes until hard, crisp, and lightly browned.