Homemade Sourdough Crackers

These Quick and Easy Homemade Sourdough Crackers Pair Perfectly with Hummus and are Wonderful on a Charcuterie Board!

My search for the perfect homemade sourdough crackers really started with tuna salad. I love Tuna Salad. It’s not romantic to say but there it is. I’m not a tuna salad sandwich girl, though. I prefer to make up a big batch with plenty of bread and butter pickles, and then work through a sleeve of Saltine’s. A salty soda cracker topped with tuna salad might be my favorite food.

However, in an effort to avoid the grocery store, I’ve been determined to come up with a replacement for the soda cracker. It’s been quite a challenge, but I really think I’ve come up with an alternative that is, dare I say, superior to the club cracker!?

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This recipe is a sourdough adaptation of Peter Reinhart’s Lavash Crackers from the cookbook Bread Baker’s Apprentice. (If you’re looking for a good cookbook, I’ve learned SO much from this book!) I’ve managed to find an excuse to make them every week for the past month and I’ve become a little addicted. I absolutely love them with cottage cheese or tuna salad. My kids snack on them all day long and they are beautiful in a charcuterie spread.

If this is your first time making crackers, let me just say—you are in for such a treat. These are not the boxed kind that crumble the second you scoop into hummus. These are flat bread style crackers, rolled thin, baked as a whole sheet, then broken into rustic pieces. They’re crisp, sturdy, and deeply flavorful in a way only sourdough can be. Let me walk you through how easy it is to make these simple but delicious crackers!

Let’s Talk Ingredients (And Why They Matter)

Your sourdough starter discard is the heart of this sourdough discard cracker recipe. You can use unfed starter straight from the fridge, as long as it’s not overly acidic. It doesn’t need to be bubbly like an active starter used for sourdough bread. In fact, this is one of those sourdough discard recipes where unfed starter works beautifully. It brings tang, depth, and structure to the cracker dough. (You can also use active starter if that’s what you have!)

Flour is next. You can absolutely use all-purpose flour for a light, classic cracker, but I love incorporating whole wheat flour or other whole-grain flours for a nuttier flavor. Whole grain flour adds texture and pairs so well with toppings like sesame seeds or bagel seasoning.

Note: If you’ve been milling fresh flour at home, this is such a delicious way to use it. Simply sub part or all of the flour for fresh milled! Want to learn ALL about milling your own flour? Check out our complete guide! (We’re obsessed!)

Olive oil gives richness and helps create that snappy bite. Some people prefer melted butter for a slightly richer, more traditional flavor. Either works beautifully. The fat coats the flour and helps ensure a tender, crisp finish rather than a tough one.

Honey is the secret ingredient. you’d never know it was there, but it brings a balance and tenderness to the crackers that resembles the fanciest of crackers.

Salt matters here. I typically use kosher salt in the dough and then finish with a sprinkle of sea salt over the top of the dough before baking. That little crunch of salt on top makes these taste bakery-worthy.

Mixing the Dough for Sourdough Crackers

Start by measuring your dry ingredients into a medium bowl and your wet ingredients (including starter) into a small bowl. Mix up your wet ingredients with a fork to combine and break up the starter, and then pour thme over your dry ingredients. At this point I use my hands to stir everything until I have a cohesive but shaggy dough.

Let your dough rest for thirty minutes to give the flour time to absorb the liquid, then knead it for about a minute. It shouldn’t be sticky, just smooth and pliable. If it feels too soft, a bit more flour on your work surface will help. If it feels dry, a tiny drizzle of olive oil can bring it back together.

After kneading, cover your dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 4-8 hours at room temperature. If you’d prefer a longer fermentation period, place it in the fridge for 24 hours or as long as 3 days. If you store your dough in the fridge, you do not need to let the dough come back to room temperature before rolling out your crackers.

Rolling and Shaping for Best Results

Now comes the fun part—rolling it out.

The best way to roll out your crackers is to use parchment paper. I start by prepping two pieces of parchment paper that are the size of your baking sheet. Pour a dollop of olive oil on each sheet and use your fingers or a pastry brush to spread out the olive oil over the surface of the paper.

These Pan-sized pre-cut parchments make me feel like a Baking Princess 🙂

Divide your cracker dough into fourths. Gently place one piece of dough on top of a piece of greased parchment paper. Cover with the second piece of parchment paper. The side of the paper with olive oil should be touching the cracker dough. Now, use a rolling pin to roll back and forth, spreading the cracker dough towards the edges of the paper. The goal is thin. Very thin. As my dough just starts to become see-through, I stop rolling.

Toppings, Egg Wash, and That Golden Brown Finish

Peel the top piece of parchment paper off your dough. You can reuse this piece for the next bit of dough. Slide the parchment and rolled out cracker dough onto a baking sheet. The top of your dough should be coated with olive oil from the parchment paper, so there’s no need to add any.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, bagel seasoning, parmesan cheese, flaky sea salt, or even nutritional yeast. Gently press toppings in with the palm of your hand so they don’t fall off after baking.

My Favorite Everything Bagel Seasoning

Before placing it in the oven, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to score the dough into long strips or squares. You don’t have to cut all the way through—just create guidelines. You can also dock the dough with the tines of a fork to prevent bubbling. This helps create a sturdier cracker and keeps the whole sheet flat while baking.

Bake until the entire sheet is evenly golden brown. Keep an eye on the edges, as they can brown faster. If needed, you can remove the crisp edges and return the center to the oven for a few more minutes.

Breaking Into Rustic Crackers

Once baked, let the crackers cool completely on the sheet pan. They will crisp up even more as they cool. Then simply break them along the scored lines. I love the rustic look of uneven edges and long strips mixed in with squares.

This method of baking a whole sheet first makes such a difference in texture. You get consistent browning and a sturdier cracker that holds up beautifully to dips and spreads.

How to Serve Homemade Sourdough Crackers

These homemade sourdough crackers are perfect for charcuterie boards, especially when paired with sharp cheeses, cured meats, and olives. They hold up beautifully to hummus, cottage cheese, and tuna salad. Honestly, they’re just as good plain, straight off the tray.

If you’re building a sourdough recipes collection, this one absolutely deserves a spot on your recipe card at the bottom of the post. It’s the kind of good recipe you’ll come back to again and again, especially when you have sourdough starter discard piling up in your glass jars in the fridge.

Storage Tips and Making Them Next Time

Storage is simple. Once fully cooled, place them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay crisp for several days—if they last that long. If they soften slightly, a quick reheat in the oven brings them back to life.

One thing I love most about this sourdough discard cracker recipe is how flexible it is. Next time, you might try mixing whole wheat flour with herbs, or adding cracked pepper and parmesan cheese. You can experiment with different toppings, different thicknesses, even cutting them into long strips for dipping. Sometimes I roll them a little thicker if I want something more like a pita chip.

A Simple and Delicious Way to Use Discard

This easy sourdough discard crackers recipe proves that discard doesn’t have to be an afterthought. It can become something intentional and beautiful. Something you proudly set out on charcuterie boards. Something your family reaches for instead of store-bought snacks.

And that, to me, is the heart of sourdough. Not just baking sourdough bread but learning to use every bit of it well. Turning unfed starter into something crisp and savory. Finding creative, delicious ways to stretch ingredients (and avoid a trip to the grocery!) Happy Baking!

Sourdough Crackers

These sourdough crackers are a naturally leavened adaptation of flatbread-style crackers. Instead of commercial yeast, we use sourdough starter for a subtle tang and deeper flavor. Rolled thin, brushed with olive oil, and baked until golden brown, they’re crisp, sturdy, and perfect for dipping or serving on a charcuterie board.

5 from 1 vote

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Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 50 grams Sourdough starter active or discard
• 180 grams bread flour or whole wheat flour or a combination!
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Honey
• 120 grams Water
• Toppings of choice sesame seeds, poppy seeds, bagel seasoning, sea salt, parmesan cheese, etc.

Instructions

 

• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. In a small bowl, combine water, starter, olive oil and honey. Mix quickly with a fork before pouring over your dry ingredients. Use your fingers to mix until a shaggy dough forms and all the flour is hydrated. Let rest for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, knead your cracker dough until it’s smooth and pliable, about one minute. Cover the dough and allow to ferment for 4-8 hours at room temp, or 24+ hours in the fridge.
• When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Brush two sheets of parchment with olive oil. Divide your dough into 4 sections.
• Place one section of dough between sheets of parchment paper and roll the dough very thin into a large rectangle. Peel off the top parchment and transfer dough to the baking sheet, keeping it on the bottom piece of parchment.
• Sprinkle evenly with desired toppings. Lightly press toppings into the dough.
• Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, score into cracker-sized pieces. Dock the surface with a fork to prevent bubbling.
• Bake until evenly golden brown and crisp, 10-15 minutes, rotating the pan if needed for even browning.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Allow to cool completely on the pan or cooling rack. Break along scored lines and store in an airtight container at room temperature.