These are the most buttery, flavorful, crisp sourdough crackers you will ever have! Once you try these crackers, you’ll never want to do anything else with your sourdough starter discard. Enjoy these crunchy, flaky crackers with cheese and fruit for a perfect snack.
Sourdough Discard Crackers
We consider these “sourdough discard” crackers because you use sourdough starter in the recipe, but we don’t use it for rising, and it is not necessary for the baking process. So the starter is considered “discarded” into the recipe.
I use a stirred-down active, bubbly sourdough starter in these crackers. The starter adds such delicious flavor to these crackers, though.
It may not contribute to baking, but it gives the best tangy flavor. Jon and I think these crackers taste like high-class goldfish.
Sourdough Starter Crackers
You have options with these crackers. Mix the dough, refrigerate the dough for an hour covered, then bake.
Alternatively, let the dough ferment in the fridge for 24-48 hours before rolling, cutting, and baking the crackers. A longer ferment can make these easier to digest, especially if you have sensitivities to non-sourdough gluten products.
Sourdough Crackers Recipe
This is such a simple recipe for sourdough crackers, and it’s best to weigh all your ingredients for the best crispiest texture. Here is everything you need to make the best sourdough crackers:
- 200 grams sourdough starter, stirred down (starter should be fully hydrated, active, and ready to be fed)
- 120 grams of all-purpose flour
- 5 grams sea salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
- oil, for brushing
- Flake salt for topping
Rosemary Crackers
My favorite herb in these crackers is fresh rosemary, hence the name of this recipe, but you can change it up. Try adding cheese and garlic, or thyme, or basil instead.
I love sea salt and black pepper crackers too.
How to Make Butter Crackers
You are probably wondering how to make crackers by now. First, you mix the dough. Next, you wrap the dough with reusable bees wrap or plastic wrap and refrigerate it.
Then all that is left is to roll, cut, and bake the crackers. When cutting the crackers, you need to poke them with a fork to ensure they don’t puff up in the oven.
These are butter crackers, so once they are baked and cooled, you should store them in an airtight container at room temperature, so they don’t stale. I keep mine in a big sealed weck jar.
More Sourdough Recipes to Try
- Buttery Flaky Sourdough Biscuits From Scratch
- Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler with Sourdough Biscuit Topping
- Customizable Sourdough Focaccia Bread From Scratch
Buttery Rosemary Sea Salt Sourdough Crackers
These are the most buttery, flavorful, crisp sourdough crackers you will ever have! Once you try these crackers, you’ll never want to do anything else with your sourdough starter discard. Enjoy these crunchy, flaky crackers with cheese and fruit for a perfect snack.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 60 crackers
- Category: Sourdough
- Method: Baking
Ingredients
- 200 grams sourdough starter, stirred down
- 120 grams all purpose flour
- 5 grams sea salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped, plus extra set aside
- Olive oil, for brushing
- Flake salt
Instructions
- Mix the sourdough starter, flour, salt, butter, and rosemary. Knead until a smooth dough forms.
- Shape the dough into a small slab. Wrap tightly with reusable bee’s wrap or plastic wrap.
- To bake immediately, refrigerate for 1 hour. For a longer ferment, refrigerate for 24 hours, then proceed to the next step.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper sized to fit your baking pan and the top of the dough. (You may want to split the dough and work in batches. I had to use two sheet pans to fit all the crackers)
- Place the dough onto the floured parchment and roll it about 1/16 inch thick.
- Transfer the dough and parchment together onto a baking sheet.
- Cut the dough into about 1-inch squares; I suggest using a pizza or cracker cutter.
- Poke each cracker a few times with a fork; this will keep them from puffing up.
- Lightly brush with extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkle the salt over the top of the crackers.
- Bake the crackers for 20 to 25 minutes until they start to crisp and brown around the edges. Midway through, rotate the baking sheets.
- When browned and crisped to your liking, remove the crackers from the oven and allow them to cool.
- Store crackers in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a week or two. I like to store them in a sealed glass weck jar.
20 comments
Can these be made gluten-free?
Maybe, but I’ve never made them with GF flour and a GF starter so I’m not sure.
If you don’t need them 100% GF, I’ve used my normal starter/discard and almond flour. No gut issues thanks to the 24hr fermentation.
I made these twice this week! They are so delicious and totally easy to make. Thank you for such a great recipe! I will be the most popular person at the next charcuterie game night with my neighbors.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the crackers! I hope your neighbors enjoy them.
AMAZING! Made these with my kiddos and they both had so much fun being apart of the process. AND— they also loved them! Already have another cracker dough ball fermenting overnight 🙂
So fantastic! This one checks all the boxes — quick, easy, very flavorful, and the instructions are excellent!
These crackers were so good!! My mother-in-law took most of them home with her when I made them because she loved them so much! The tanginess from the starter is awesome and I imagine you could pretty much change up the flavor to whatever you want!
Nom nom nom. I’m still looking for the optimal thickness and the baking time with my not-so-consistent oven but darn these crackers are delicious. Even if they get a bit darker from the edges or stay softer. Nom.
These crackers are so easy and taste delicious! Such a fun way to use up discard and everyone that tried them raved about them!
Can you substitute olive oil for the butter in this recipe?
no, it needs to be a fat that is pretty much solid at room temperature. coconut oil could work.
These crackers are delicious! Made one batch, brought them to my grandkids who ate them up! Brought the rest to work, where they were gobbled up immediately! I’m surprised how subtle a flavor rosemary adds to baking! Love it-thanks!
These crackers are amazing! Love the sourdough flavor that comes through. We’ve made them with and without rosemary, just phenomenal! 🤌🏻
Fantastic taste and easy to make! I love Simple Mills rosemary sea salt crackers and was looking for something that would allow me to replicate them. This is the recipe! I decided to make an AP batch and an almond flour batch. Needed to add more flour to the almond batch, but both turned out great.
I was on the hunt for a sourdough discard cracker recipe and this is hands down soooo good and love how detailed and simple the instructions are. I did half without rosemary for my littles and added rosemary to half during the kneading.
I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Such a great snack for the kiddos!
I love these crackers. I am going to make them for my 10 month old tomorrow- these will be her first go at a cracker as well as her first wheat product. I’m excited!
I love this! I hope your little one enjoyed them!