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Sourdough Cheddar Crackers with Discard

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Salty, crisp, sourdough cheddar crackers made with your discarded sourdough starter- a quick and easy recipe!

A delicious way to use your discard sourdough starter, this recipe for sourdough cheddar crackers is ready in under thirty minutes. The perfect salty snack to serve with cocktails!

glass canister of sourdough cheese crackers

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The age old problem of all sourdough bakers… what to do with the discard? There are many excellent ways to use sourdough discard, but this one might be my favorite. It uses a good amount of your unfed starter, it’s ready fast, and this recipe is very easy.

I know making crackers might seem a bit nuts, but I promise they come together very fast. The dough is easy to handle because you are rolling it out in-between sheets of parchment, and since you mix it by hand there aren’t too many dishes to deal with.

Give them a try! Not only will you happy you aren’t wasting any sourdough starter, but you’re actually making your own crackers. You should be proud.

These make a great snack to leave out when you are having friends over for drinks, or as a snack for you and your family that’s free of any unwanted ingredients.

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Tools and ingredients you’ll need:

cheddar cheese, discard sourdough, flour, and butter on concrete surface

Let’s make some crackers!

Mixing up the dough

grid of 4 images; mixing butter and flour, stirring in sourdough starter. adding cheese, and turning out dough onto counter

Okay! This is quick and easy, promise. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Begin by combining the butter and flour until the butter is broken up into bits. The best way to do this is the simply rub the butter and flour together. Then add the discard sourdough starter, and gently mix. Finally stir in the cheese. If you need too use your hands to get everything to come together into a ball, then go ahead.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper.

Rolling out the crackers and baking

grid of 4 images: rolling out dough, cutting into squares, adding salt, fully baked sourdough crackers

Place a second piece of parchment paper on top of the sourdough cracker dough and begin to roll it out. The thinner you can roll, the crispier they will be. I try to roll them until the cover the full piece of parchment paper.

Cut them into squares (or really any shape you’d like). You can poke a hole in the center which sometimes keeps them flatter.

Place them on two parchment-lined baking sheets, just using the same pieces of parchment that you used to roll the crackers out. They will not spread, so they can be placed pretty close together.

Make sure you sprinkle them with kosher salt before baking. Kosher salt sticks better and will add a lot of flavor.

Bake for 10-13 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.

They can cool right on the baking sheet, which won’t take long. They are tastiest when served right away, but they can be stored in an airtight container for a day or so once they are fully cooled.

close up view of sourdough cheddar crackers in glass jar

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sourdough cheddar cheese crackers in clear canister
4.59 from 48 votes

Sourdough Cheddar Crackers with Discard

Print Recipe
Salty, crisp, sourdough cheddar crackers made with your discarded sourdough starter- a quick and easy recipe!
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:12 minutes
Total Time:22 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup discard sourdough starter
  • 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • Kosher salt for sprinkling

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 with two racks in, spaced relatively equally apart.
  • Combine the butter and flour in a medium mixing bowl.  Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour until it looks like sand.  Pour in the sourdough starter and gently mix.  Add the cheddar cheese and combine.  If necessary, use your hand to make sure the dough forms a ball.
  • Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and top with a second piece of parchment.  Roll out as thin as you can using a rolling pin.  Cut into squares using a pastry wheel and place the squares on two parchment-lined baking sheets.  Sprinkle generously with kosher salt.
  • Bake for 10-13 minutes, switching the baking sheets halfway.  The crackers should be crisp with slightly browned edges.  Allow to cool directly on the baking sheet.  Serve immediately, or let fully cool and transfer to airtight container and store for up to 2 days.

Notes

These are delicious served with any creamy dip or topped with sliced ham or turkey.
Try adding dried herbs to the dough before rolling out.

Nutrition

Calories: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 212IU | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: appetizers
Cuisine: American
Keyword: sourdough cheddar crackers, sourdough cheese crackers, sourdough discard cracker recipe, sourdough discard recipe
Servings: 4 dozen crackers
Calories: 204kcal
Author: Katie Shaw
Did you make this recipe?If you loved it, please leave a review!
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59 thoughts on “Sourdough Cheddar Crackers with Discard”

  1. 5 stars
    Whoa! These are great! I made them today with my discard that was piling up. After the cheddar batch disappeared in 5 mins, I made another batch with parmesan (cheddar was waaaaaay better!). Anyway, I also have an odd sourdough starter that was given to me that feeds on sugar and mashed potato flakes. I like using it for sweeter recipes. Have you tried making a sweet cracker? If so, how much sugar would you add and would any of the other quantities change since it would omit the cheese? With some cinnamon, I’m thinking it’ll be like a churro or Cinnamon Toast Crunch cracker. Thanks for any help!

    Reply
  2. Hi, I want to make these with Rosemary Salt (rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt – blitzed in food processor) instead of cheese. Since it’s a spice mix, not a solid, how much would I add? 1/2 c? 1/4 c?
    Have you made these crackers with other mix-ins? I loved the texture when I made them with cheese so I want to branch out.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  3. 1 star
    Ohhh so disappointed And I was so excited about trying these cheese crackers. I had to use cheddar and Monterey Jack because I didn’t have enough cheddar. I don’t know if that made the difference…it should not have. These had no flavor and certainly not worth the hype.

    Reply
  4. 5 stars
    I like these, I am a cheese cracker fan. I have a question about flour though. Which flour is better, all purpose or bread flour?

    Reply
  5. 5 stars
    Hi Katie,
    Thanks for this super easy and fast recipe! I’m proud I could make crackers. My family loves it so much! The taste is also heavenly even though I didn’t sprinkle salt. I mixed cheddar and parmesan.
    You’re right , I also thought making crackers might seem a bit nuts at first! 😄

    Reply
  6. How do you store them? I want to make a double batch but last time I made them I tried storing them and they became VERY SOFT and my grandson loves the crisp.

    Reply
  7. 5 stars
    YUM YUM YUM. Just made these and they are fabulous!!!! I too added a sprinkle of red peper flakes. These are dangerous. I can’t stop eating them!!!!

    Reply
  8. Wow – these look delicicous! I’m new at sourdough – just on Day 5 with my starter! I’m doing gluten-free and would like to try this recipe with brown rice flour. Have you, or do you know anyone who has tried that?
    🙂

    Reply
  9. 1 star
    Just made these and unfortunately didn’t work for me. I modified it by putting the cooked crackers in a big ziplock bag, added melted butter and a tablespoon of dry ranch dressing for flavor, then baked again for 12 minutes. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I am grateful.

    Reply
  10. Hello! I make some discard crackers but with olive oil. Have you tried these with olive oil? How much would you use for 1 cup of flour? I can’t imagine how good these will be with cheese! Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Stephanie I have never tried them with oil, I’m sorry! 🙁 the butter gives them sort of a flaky texture and I don’t know if it would work with olive oil. if you do try it, let me know! or try adding cheese to the recipe you’ve been using, I bet it will be great 🙂

      Reply
  11. 5 stars
    Hello Katie, Made the cheese crackers they are yummy I wish I had found your recipe sooner instead of giving the discard to the hens, couldn’t find kosher salt here so used the salt that goes in a salt grinder worked perfectly, cheers, Claudine

    Reply
    • Yes! First pulse the flour and butter. When you add the starter it will just take a few pulses. the only reason I don’t is because I don’t want to deal with washing it!

      Reply
  12. 5 stars
    I made this recipe after an oily fail with another discard cracker recipe. This dough is a pleasure to work with. I found that after much rolling, the middle was still too thick and the edges too thin. Since the dough is the exact consistency of a one egg pasta dough, I ran it through the pasta attachment on the Kitchen Aid to get the consistency and thinness I wanted! Success!
    I used a whole cup of cheddar and also threw in about a quarter cup of grated Parmesan. (Not the pizza kind) I used about a teaspoon of garlic salt and added red pepper flakes when it was almost done kneading. I also turned the oven off and left them in while it cools, to further crisp them. This was to imitate a commercial cracker my family loves. So far, my son keeps stealing them from the oven, so I guess it’s a hit! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Jennifer what a great idea with the pasta attachment! I’ve found that I have trouble rolling them as thin as I want a drop or two of water sometimes does the trick too. I’m so glad you liked them! 🙂

      Reply
  13. 5 stars
    Perfect crackers, naughty but nice! At the whole lot over the day ! I like the way some are crispy while others are crunchy and some soft. I thought this would make a great pastry base for any savoury pie/ tart.
    I loved making these and they are so easy, will definitely make again !

    Reply
    • 5 stars
      I made this recipe without the cheese and it was incredibly delicious. I stretched mine out in a pizza pan, ver thin. I baked it for 15 mins and turned the pan and added 15 more minutes. 30 mins total.

      Reply
  14. 5 stars
    I love this recipe!!!! Just tried it for the first time and it is straight forward and easy. Crackers turned out absolutely fantastic.

    Reply
  15. When you say place the crackers on two pieces of parchment paper, is this so you can flip them over have way through the baking process?

    Reply

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