Learn how to make healthy, sourdough herb crackers with parmesan cheese from your sourdough discard starter. Delicious, crispy and healthy these are perfect sourdough snacks.
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If you have a sourdough starter, you may wonder what you can do with all of the discard. Well, consider this the answer to your question. These homemade sourdough discard crackers with cheese and herbs are easy to make, taste delicious and are a healthy snack option!
After creating a homemade starter, I have been making Artisan Honey Sourdough Bread, at least 5-6 times a week. Overnight sourdough recipes are also a favorite with homemade biscuits, sourdough pizza dough, and sweet honey sourdough dinner rolls.
The downside to a sourdough starter is the amount of waste. With organic flour costing more than $6 a bag, it can feel like throwing away money every time sourdough discard needs to be removed. Therefore, using recipes to use up the discard is the wisest way to make something delicious and save money!
What Can I Make With Sourdough Starter Discard
There are so many recipes that use sourdough starter discard, from tasty options like waffles to cookies. There is no reason to let sourdough discard go to waste. These sourdough herb crackers made with parmesan cheese and dried herbs are a favorite in our home.
So, do not throw away that discard! Make this sourdough crackers recipe, and you will find a delicious way to enjoy sourdough discard in a recipe.
The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can use any combination of seasonings or herbs to make these to suit your own taste. My recipe is loosely based off of the King Arthur Sourdough version. While the ratio of flour, sourdough discard and butter is the same, I added cheese and dried herbs to make a version that our family loves.
Sourdough Herb Discard Cheese Crackers
Sourdough herb discard cheese crackers with parmesan cheese are so easy to make, require a few pantry staples and are ready in about an hour.
The most important part of the recipe is sourdough discard. The other ingredients needed for the recipe are flour, butter, parmesan cheese, basil, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Kitchen Essentials
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheet (I use stoneware baking sheets)
- Knife or Pizza Cutter – something to cut the crackers into squares
- Small Mixing Bowl (I love stoneware bowls)
- Airtight Container
- Pastry Cutter
- Pastry Brush
Sourdough Herb Cheese Cracker Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose organic flour
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 cup unfed, active sourdough discard
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- melted butter for brushing
- salt for sprinkling on top
How to Make Parmesan Cheese Herb Crackers from Sourdough Discard
1) Mix the Dough
In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the butter into the flour. It should resemble coarse crumbs. Add in the sourdough discard, and mix in the parmesan cheese. Add herbs, salt and pepper.
Mix the dough until it is well combined.
2) Refrigerate
Cover the dough with a towel and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it in the refrigerator for a longer period of time but be sure the dough does not dry out. The colder the dough is, the harder it may be to roll out to the thinness that it needs to be.
3) Shape
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Divide the dough in half and form into the shape of a rectangle. Place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper .
Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/16″ thickness. Try to get the dough as thin as possible and the same thickness for all of the dough. The edges will not be straight, but that is okay.
4) Slice and Poke
Using a pastry brush, brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle the top with additional salt.
Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into rows of cracker squares into a size of about 1 1/2 inches square. Use a fork to poke holes into the the top of the dough. Do not separate the squares; as the crackers bake, the squares will separate.
5) Bake
Transfer the parchment paper with the cracker dough onto a baking sheet. Bake on 400 degrees for 20 minutes. every 5 minutes, I rotate the baking sheet to be sure that the crackers bake evenly on all sides. Crackers should be slightly golden brown once they are finished baking.
5) Store and Enjoy
When crackers have finished baking, remove them from the baking sheet and allow them too cool. If your family is like mine, I am sure you will have someone wanting to sample the crackers as soon as they are pulled from the oven!
Once crackers have cooled, place them in an airtight jar to maintain freshness. Homemade crackers are a huge hit in our home and by the end of the day the jar is empty.
Tips for Making Homemade Sourdough Crackers
- Roll the dough out in between sheet of parchment paper to get a really thin dough. If the dough is too thick, the texture will not be like a cracker, but more chewy.
- The sourdough discard that I use is 100% hydration – meaning that I use an equal amount of water, flour and sourdough.
- Depending on the thickness of your crackers, they may take longer to bake or may not take as long if they are extra thin. Be sure to watch them closely as they bake.
If you have not made your own homemade sourdough starter and would love to know how, be sure to check out these simple step by step instructions. After a week, you should have your own healthy, active starter to begin making recipes.
Be sure to check out some of my favorite recipes. Homemade herb sourdough pizza crust, blueberry muffins, carrot cake muffins, sourdough biscuits, or sourdough dinner rolls.
Printable Sourdough Herb Cracker Recipe
Sourdough Herb Crackers from Discard
Learn how to make healthy, sourdough herb crackers with parmesan cheese from your sourdough discard starter. Delicious, crispy and healthy these are perfect snack.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose organic flour
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 cup unfed, active sourdough discard
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- melted butter for brushing
- salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions
1) Mix the Dough
In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the butter into the flour. It should resemble coarse crumbs. Add in the sourdough discard, and mix in the parmesan cheese. Add herbs, salt and pepper.
Mix the dough until it is well combined.
2) Refrigerate
Cover the dough with a towel and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it in the refrigerator for a longer period of time but be sure the dough does not dry out. The colder the dough is, the harder it may be to roll out to the thinness that it needs to be.
3) Shape
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Divide the dough in half and form into the shape of a rectangle. Place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper .
Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/16″ thickness. Try to get the dough as thin as possible and the same thickness for all of the dough. The edges will not be straight, but that is okay.
4) Slice and Poke
Using a pastry brush, brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle the top with additional salt.
Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into rows of cracker squares into a size of about 1 1/2 inches square. Use a fork to poke holes into the the top of the dough. Do not separate the squares; as the crackers bake, the squares will separate.
5) Bake
Transfer the parchment paper with the cracker dough onto a baking sheet. Bake on 400 degrees for 20 minutes. every 5 minutes, I rotate the baking sheet to be sure that the crackers bake evenly on all sides. Crackers should be slightly golden brown once they are finished baking.
5) Store and Enjoy
When crackers have finished baking, remove them from the baking sheet and allow them too cool. If your family is like mine, I am sure you will have someone wanting to sample the crackers as soon as they are pulled from the oven!
Notes
Tips for Making Homemade Sourdough Crackers
Roll the dough out in between sheet of parchment paper to get a really thin dough. If the dough is too thick, the texture will not be like a cracker, but more chewy.
The sourdough discard that I use is 100% hydration – meaning that I use an equal amount of water, flour and sourdough.
Depending on the thickness of your crackers, they may take longer to bake or may not take as long if they are extra thin. Be sure to watch them closely as they bake.
Thank you…always looking for a tried & true recipe! And the discard…I’ve been know to pour it into a second Mason jar and have two starters going at once! Looking forward to making these this snowy weekend! Mary
These crackers looks amazingly yummy, and I can hardly wait to try making some. Thanks for sharing
I am new to sourdough and I now have an active starter. When you say use unfed starter, do I use it after the raised starter has dropped? I also only have about 1 cup for my starter, so I’m thinking that I need to feed it more without discarding it to have a larger starter.
Thank you for any pointers you can offer this newbie 🙂
LuAnn
So with sourdough crackers, I often feed my sourdough in the afternoon. That evening, the starter is at the peak, and this is when I make bread. The next morning, I remove the amount of sourdough I need for the cracker recipe. So, yes, it is after the sourdough has dropped back down. You will probably want to build your sourdough up a little more if you currently only have one cup. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
You are so kind – thank you for all your help. I just made my first batch of crackers and not only does my home smell amazing they are so delicious. I will be making these on a regular basis! I am loving your blog and learning so much from you – thank you for sharing your recipes and your simple way of living.
Have a blessed day,
LuAnn