Sourdough Cheese Crackers with Aged Gouda and Cheddar

These are the cheesiest, crisp sourdough crackers you will ever have! Once you try these sourdough cheese crackers, you’ll never want to do anything else with your sourdough starter discard. Enjoy these crunchy, flaky crackers with fresh fruit and salted meats for a perfect snack.

Sourdough Discard Crackers with Gouda and Cheddar

We consider these “sourdough discard” crackers because you use sourdough starter in the recipe, but we don’t use it for rising. A starter 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. If you want to, you can even use a tiny fish cookie cutter to cut out the crackers for your little ones.

Sourdough Cheese Crackers

These sourdough cheese crackers are deliciously baked right after chilling the dough. However, you can long ferment the dough too.

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 Cheese Crackers Recipe

This is a simple recipe for sourdough crackers, and weighing all your ingredients for the best crispiest texture is best. 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

Cheese Crackers

My favorite cheeses to use in these crackers are gouda and cheddar. Hence the name of this recipe, but you can change it up. Try any of your favorite hard cheeses in this recipe. I think parmesan, Cojita, and Emmental would also be great in this recipe.

You can also add pepper and herbs to the recipe too. I love adding black pepper to my cheese crackers.

How to Make Sourdough Cheese Crackers

You are probably wondering how to make crackers by now. First, you mix the dough. Next, 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 with cheese, 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
• Sourdough Overnight Focaccia Bread From Scratch

Sourdough Cheese Crackers with Aged Gouda and Cheddar

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These are the cheesiest, crisp sourdough crackers you will ever have! Once you try these sourdough cheese crackers, you’ll never want to do anything else with your sourdough starter discard. Enjoy these crunchy, flaky crackers with fresh fruit and salted meats for a perfect snack.

• Author: Kaitlynn Fenley
• 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, melted
• 1/2 cup gouda and cheddar cheese, grated
• Olive oil, for brushing
• Flake salt, for finishing

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Instructions

1. Mix the sourdough starter, flour, salt, butter, and cheese. Knead until a smooth dough forms.
2. Shape the dough into a small slab. Wrap tightly with reusable bee’s wrap or plastic wrap.
3. To bake immediately, refrigerate for 1 hour. For a longer ferment, refrigerate for 24 hours, then proceed to the next step.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
5. 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)
6. Place the dough onto the floured parchment and roll it about 1/16 inch thick.
7. Transfer the dough and parchment together onto a baking sheet.
8. Cut the dough into about 1-inch squares; I suggest using a pizza or cracker cutter.
9. Poke each cracker a few times with a fork; this will keep them from puffing up.
10. Lightly brush with extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkle the salt over the top of the crackers.
11. Bake the crackers for 20 to 25 minutes until they start to crisp and brown around the edges. Midway through, rotate the baking sheets.
12. When browned and crisped to your liking, remove the crackers from the oven and allow them to cool.
13. 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.

Kaitlynn Fenley Author, Educator, Food Microbiologist

Kaitlynn is a food microbiologist and fermentation expert teaching people how to ferment foods and drinks at home.

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