Simple Sourdough Crackers

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour, White Whole Wheat Flour, or AP Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup unfed “discarded” sourdough starter
  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter - room temperature, or softened in microwave
  • 2 tablespoons dried herbs of your choice (optional)
  • oil for brushing
  • coarse salt (such as kosher or sea salt) for sprinkling on top

Utensils

  • Pizza wheel
  • Mixing bowl
  • Baking sheets
  • Rolling pin

Instructions

  1. Mix together the flour, salt, sourdough starter, butter, and optional herbs to make a smooth, cohesive, but not stick dough. Starting with a fork and transitioning to mixing with your hands tends to work well.

  2. Divide the dough into halves or thirds and shape each into a small rectangular slab. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to firm them up. You can also use the freezer to speed the process. If you want, you can freeze one or more of the slabs to roll out and bake at a later time.

  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

  4. Very lightly flour a piece of parchment (if using, otherwise the surface you’re rolling on), your rolling pin, and the top of the dough.

  5. Working with one slab at a time, roll the dough to about 1/16” thick. The dough will have ragged, uneven edges; that’s OK. Just try to make it as even as possible.

  6. If using parchment, transfer the parchment and dough together onto a baking sheet. If not using parchment, lightly oil the baking sheet to avoid sticking, then transfer the dough to the oiled baking sheet.

  7. Lightly brush dough with oil and then sprinkle the salt over the top of the crackers.

  8. Cut the dough into 1 1/4” squares; a rolling pizza wheel works well here. Don’t worry about separating the crackers; they will shrink and pull apart slightly during baking and won’t stick together.

  9. Prick each cracker with a fork.

  10. Bake the crackers for 20 to 25 minutes, until the squares are starting to brown around the edges. Midway through, reverse the baking sheets: both top to bottom, and front to back; this will help the crackers brown evenly. If you notice some crackers have browned faster, remove them from the baking sheet so they don’t burn.

  11. When fully browned, remove the crackers from the oven, and transfer them to a cooling rack. Store airtight at room temperature for up to a week; freeze for longer storage.