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Sourdough Discard Crackers With Rosemary and Olive Oil

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I’m not going to lie. These sourdough discard crackers are too good and too easy.

Way, way, way too easy. If you have an hour, some sourdough starter discard, olive oil, and salt you can whip up a batch of the crispiest crunchiest crackers with incredibly big sourdough flavor. I apologize in advance if you get addicted to these crackers. But at least we can be addicted together.

A collage of sourdough crackers with text overlay.

100% Hydration Sourdough Starter

This recipe calls for a sourdough starter discard that is 100% hydration. For those of you not familiar with this term it means that the flour and water weight are equal. I keep my starter at 100% hydration so I can have a consistent starter for writing recipes. All my recipes now call for 100% hydration starter. While it’s not critical to the success of sourdough baking it keeps things much more organized and makes following my recipes a lot easier.

A pan of sourdough discard crackers fresh from the oven.

If you are new to sourdough or want to refresh your memory on some of the most used terms, health benefits, and instructions you can visit my free sourdough guide, Demystifying Sourdough – Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Sourdough Starter – Why It’s Better for You – And How To Start One.

A pan of freshly baked sourdough discard crackers are super crunchy and flavorful.

What Makes These Crackers So Easy?

No Extra Fermenting  

One of the most exciting things about these delicious crackers is the fact that you don’t need to take the time to further ferment the dough. You will be using fully fermented sourdough discard, most likely the portion that you remove from your sourdough jar prior to feeding in the preparation for baking. Fully fermented = easy to digest and more nutritious!

No Rolling Needed

I’ve written other sourdough cracker recipes like my Rustic Sourdough Butter Crackers and my Sourdough Cheddar Crackers. They both start with a stiff dough that ferments overnight and then needs to be rolled really thin the next day. I love those recipes but the ease of this no-roll batter is astounding.

A pan filled with sourdough discard cracker batter is ready for the oven.

Sourdough crackers with text overlay.

A pan of sourdough discard crackers fresh from the oven. #realfood #fermented #Sourodugh #starter #discard

Sourdough Discard Crackers With Rosemary and Olive Oil

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

The lightest and crispiest sourdough discard crackers with the best flavor. 

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. In a large bowl combine the discard, olive oil, salt, and half the rosemary. Whisk well to combine. The batter should be smooth without any visible oiliness. 
  3. Line a half sheet pan (18 by 13 inches) with parchment paper. Spread the batter out to the edges of the pan in a smooth even layer.
  4. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the remaining rosemary and some (2 grams) flaky salt if desired. 
  5. Place the sheet pan in the middle of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
  6. After 30 minutes remove the pan and use a pizza cutter to score the batter into cracker-sized squares. Or you can skip this step and break the crackers when fully cooked. 
  7. Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for 30 more minutes. 
  8. Remove the baked crackers from the oven and allow them to cool completely before breaking them along the scored lines. Store them in an air tight container.

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A close-up of sourdough crackers with text overlay.

 

 

Connie

Sunday 21st of January 2024

HI Courtney - thank you , thank you, thank you!! These are hands down the BEST sourdough crackers. I have made them many times and friends and family ask me to bring them ahead of gatherings. One thing I cannot quite figure out though is that sometimes the dough remains in one sheet (like one gigantic baking sheet size cracker, which I like :-)) Sometimes it cracks in many little pieces during the process of baking. Since you not that these are discard crackers and no new feeding necessary I wonder what else could be the reason. I always make sure the batter is well mixed. I have experimented with freshly fed starter at its peak and also with discard. I feel that may be the reason but was wondering if you have any tips. I love them in one piece or cracked but was wondering :-) Connie

Butter For All

Wednesday 24th of January 2024

Hi Connie!

That's wonderful to hear! Honestly it's a mystery to me as well. I completely understand what you are asking because it also happens to me. I think it must have to do with how broken down the gluten is from the lactic acid and possibly hydration plays a part as well. I feel like the more acidic the batter, the less the oil can adhere to the flour, and that might make those fractures and cracks. I'm curious now too, so I'll pay closer attention to what the conditions are when it does happen. The crackers never seem to last long enough for real analysts though 😂 Thanks for stopping by to ask, and please keep me posted!

Happy Baking!

Judy Miracle

Sunday 12th of November 2023

I made these tonight and I had low expectations. I’ve tried several discard cracker recipes which are a lot of work for forgettable taste. So I made half a recipe….and they are delicious! They are as easy as author states, and are irreducible. My rosemary is old, so tomorrow I’m buying a new jar, and combing the comments for more seasoning suggestions. Thank you!

Butter For All

Tuesday 12th of December 2023

This makes me incredibly happy! Thank you for coming back to leave such a nice comment :-)

Marcia

Sunday 11th of June 2023

There is only one problem with these crackers, I can’t keep them from disappearing! And they are always asking for more! I ship them out to my west coast kids in sheets so the grandkids get to break them up.

I make multiple batches with: Kolonji seeds Roses Harisa (from NY Shuk) Roasted onion flakes Dried amba (Syrian spice mix, Etsy) Ajika (Georgian mix, Trader Joe’s)) Za’atar mix Schwarma mix Caraway seeds (made with primarily rye flour discard)

The biggest family debate is which is the best. 😜

I also find that baking a bit longer at a slightly lower temperature, 300 degrees, gives more of an even baking. Edges don’t crisp too soon. Might just be my oven.

Thanks for this fabulous recipe!

Butter For All

Saturday 1st of July 2023

Marcia,

I'm so happy to hear how well you like this recipe! Thank you! Your flavor combos sound incredible and I love that you were able to play around with the temperature to get the perfect doneness. Bravo!

Courtney

Tom

Wednesday 25th of January 2023

great recipe.....a couple of my minor(?) changes

cut oil to 40g add 20g parmesan cheese add 30g shredded cheddar cheese add 5g everything seasoning after spreading in pan top off with additional everything seasoning and a bit of nutritional yeast (ran out of rosemary so that was eliminated) bake for 20 minutes then slice with pizza cutter bake for another 30+ minutes and as the thinner pieces are getting crisp, remove (I will do this several times, adding 3-4 minutes between checking and removing the "done" crackers)and spread out the remaining crackers for extra crispness. I can't keep the kids away from them ;-)

Butter For All

Tuesday 31st of January 2023

I love how you've adapted this recipe to work for you! Thanks for coming back to leave this valuable feedback for other readers! Removing the crisp edges as they are browning is a great tip. It also makes me so happy to hear that everyone is enjoying them!

Michaela

Sunday 18th of December 2022

I’m dying to try this, but what does 100% hydration mean?

Butter For All

Tuesday 20th of December 2022

Hi Michaela!

100% hydration is equal weights flour and water. This is now becoming pretty standard for sourdough starter due to ease in recipe writing and following.

Hope that helps!

Courtney

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