Sourdough Fermented Seed Crackers
Great news, you can use active starter or discard in these seed crackers. Either way, your sourdough starter is considered “discarded” in the recipe, since you don’t need it for leavening (rising).
I made these delicious crackers with some stiff starter from my fridge, but you can use any discard or active starter you have on hand. The only thing is, you can expect variations in texture and flavor depending on your starter. Discard will naturally be more sour than an active starter, but that isn’t a bad thing! As the seeds ferment in the cracker dough in the fridge, the acids and microbes in the starter really bring out some umami and almost cheesy flavors.
If you don’t know, “stiff starter” is just thicker than normal sourdough starter. It’s great for storing in the fridge for long periods. I really love the texture of seed crackers made with a thicker starter. It’s like the gluten strands in the thicker starter give the crackers a Triscuit-like texture. If you are not into that, use a thinner starter!
The Best Seeds to Use
My favorite seeds to use are hemp, shelled sunflower, chia, and flaxseed. I can’t really tell you the biochemistry of what goes on when these seeds ferment (I hated that class in college, lol), but this seed combo gives the best flavor. Next time I make them, I think I’ll try some roughly chopped pumpkin seeds in place of sunflower seeds, though. If you want to experiment with other seeds, let me know how it goes in the comments!
Things You May Need:
How to Store Seed Crackers
Once your crackers are fully baked and cooled, store them in a glass jar with an airtight lid, a silicone stasher bag, or a Tupperware. Just make sure the container doesn’t let in humidity or moisture, or the crackers will go stale.
You can also freeze the cracker dough for later. Sprinkle flour and shape into a rectangle, then tightly wrap in parchment paper and store in a zip-top bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then defrost, roll out, and bake.
Sourdough Discard Seed Crackers
Use active starter or discard in these delicious, 48-hour fermented, crunchy seed crackers made with sunflower, chia, flax, and hemp seeds.
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Cook: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 48 hours 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, shelled
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup flaxseed
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 cups sourdough starter (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix everything together in a big mixing bowl until fully combined. It should be kind of like a sticky dough ball, but the texture depends on the thickness of your starter.
- Cover and let ferment in the fridge for 48 hours.
- After fridge fermentation, 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. (should be the thickness of a sunflower seed)
- 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.
- Lightly brush with extra-virgin olive oil, 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 crisp to your liking, remove the crackers from the oven and let them 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 or a silicone stasher bag.
Notes
- You can use an active starter or discard in this recipe. Discard will give you a more sour flavor. Either way, the starter is considered “discarded” into the recipe because it’s not needed for leavening.
- The thickness of your starter will greatly impact texture. I recommend a thicker starter.
