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Sourdough Crackers (Easy Recipe with 5 Flavor Options)

These easy sourdough crackers are light and crispy, and a great way to use up sourdough starter discard. We include five different seasoning ideas so you can make a wide range of crackers. The boys have been making them regularly since we got our sourdough starter fired up.

basket of sourdough crackers

Prep Time and Tips for Your Sourdough Crackers

We usually start the cracker dough one day and bake the next day. In a warm kitchen, six hours would probably be enough, but 8 hours or more is preferred.

Using a recently fed starter will make your crackers lighter, but the starter doesn't need to be active.

We use Gold N White Organic Whole Wheat flour, or fresh ground hard wheat berries. The sourdough cracker texture is different depending on your flour choice, so experiment to find your favorite.

We like to use melted butter, but you can also use coconut oil, ghee, olive oil, lard or palm shortening. Like the flour, oils add unique flavors, so switch things up as you like.

The plain cracker recipe is seasoned only with seas salt, but we've added some spice blends below for flavor variations. You can also mix in 1/2 cup of finely shredded cheese, or cheese powder.

We like Parmesan and Cheddar, but feel free to try your favorite cheese.

You can also try add ins like dried vegetables, bacon bits, caraway (with rye) – use your imagination!

Easy Sourdough Crackers

First, you start with a cracker base, which rests for 8 to 24 hours at room temperature.

The sourdough cracker base is:

  • 1 cup sourdough starter
  • 1/3 cup melted butter (or other fat/oil)
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour (plus more, if needed, for a stiff dough)

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup sourdough starter and 1/3 cup melted butter. Mix until combined, then add in flour. Knead until blended. Add extra flour, if needed, to form a stiff dough.

Cover dough at let rest for 8-24 hours.

After rest period, add in 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt and other seasonings (if desired).

Knead cracker dough until ingredients are evenly distributed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide sourdough cracker dough into four equal parts. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin, one quarter at a time, on parchment paper. (We use reusable parchment paper.)

Sprinkle dough lightly with sea salt and additional seasonings (like paprika), if desired.

Cut crackers to size using a pizza cutter, or try a cookie cutter to create different shapes. Slide parchment paper onto baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or so, checking after 10 minutes

Do your best to roll the dough thinly and evenly, so they finish baking at the same time. If the crackers on the edges get done faster, remove them from the pan. Then return the rest of the crackers to the oven to finish baking.

Transfer the sourdough crackers to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough.

Store the crackers in a sealed container.

It's fine to double or triple the recipe. You can also freeze the dough and bake it later.

pizza flavored sourdough cracker

Sourdough Cracker Flavor Blends

Plain sourdough crackers are great, but sometimes it's fun to mix things up a little. These are four different seasoning blends that you can use on your crackers.

To prep the blends, simply grind together in a spice mill or coffee grinder. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.

Garlic and Onion Blend

  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of dry mustard

Pizza Flavoring

  • 2 Tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon dried basil
  • 1/2 Tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed
  • 1/2 Tablespoon dried thyme
  • 1 Teaspoon garlic granules
  • 1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper flakes

Taco Seasoning

Adapted from Barefeet in the Kitchen.

  • 4 tablespoons of chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon each – garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper

Ranch Seasoning

Adapted from Keeper of the Home.

  • ½ cup dried parsley
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 4 Tbsp onion flakes
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
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Sourdough Crackers

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5 from 3 reviews

These easy sourdough crackers are light and crispy, and a great way to use up sourdough starter discard.

  • Author: Laurie Neverman
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Snacks

Ingredients

Units Scale
Cracker Base
  • 1 cup sourdough starter
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1 cup plus more whole wheat flour

Add just before baking:

  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese (if desired)
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning
  • additional seasoning and sea salt, for topping

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup sourdough starter and 1/3 cup melted butter. Mix until combined, and then add in flour. Knead until blended. Add extra flour, if needed, to form a stiff dough.
  2. Cover dough at let rest for 8-24 hours.
  3. After rest period, add in 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt and other seasonings (if desired).
  4. Knead cracker dough until ingredients are evenly distributed.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  6. Divide sourdough cracker dough into four equal parts. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin, one quarter at a time, on parchment paper. (We use reusable parchment paper.)
  7. Cut crackers to size using a pizza cutter, or try a cookie cutter to create different shapes. Slide parchment paper onto baking sheet.
  8. Bake for 15 minutes or so, checking after 10 minutes
  9. Transfer the sourdough crackers to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough.
  10. Store the crackers in a sealed container.

Notes

Do your best to roll the dough thinly and evenly, so they finish baking at the same time. If the crackers on the edges get done faster, remove them from the pan and return the rest of the crackers to the oven to finish baking.

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

sourdough crackers in mason jar

Sourdough A-Z eBook and eCourse

These crunchy and delicious sourdough crackers are adapted from Sourdough A-Z by Traditional Cooking School by GNOWFGLINS.

In the book, you'll also find:

  • How to start a starter
  • The science of sourdough
  • The surprisingly healthy “left-overs” your starter will gladly eat
  • The “Bucket” method for creating a sourdough starter that raises itself (no more waiting overnight for your breads to rise)
  • How to adapt any recipe to sourdough (and give new life to your favorite family meals)
  • and more!

Visit Traditional Cooking School to order your copy of the Sourdough a to Z e-book or online sourdough course.

They are good people with good information, and I'm proud to be an affiliate. Your purchase helps support this site.

Easy Sourdough ... from A to Z!

More Made From Scratch Recipes

Don't forget to check out the Common Sense Recipes and Kitchen Tips page, with over 100 recipes (sorted by category), including:

Easy sourdough crackers

Originally posted in 2011, last updated in 2020.

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27 Comments

  1. Is the baking soda necessary? Just curious.

    Thanks. I just fed my new starter and can’t wait to try this.

    1. Yes, since the sourdough we’re using for these is less active, the baking soda interacts with the acid of the fermented starter to help them rise a bit, making the crackers less chewy. If the starter that you make crackers with is more active, feel free to experiment with not using the baking soda and see if you like the results.

  2. I’ve tried several sourdough cracker recipes but I must say these are the easiest and tastiest! Very easy to roll super thin. Bake up nice and crispy. Love them! Now I’m going to have to try the pizza variety ???? Thanks for the recipe!

    1. This recipe is pretty forgiving because it has some baking soda added and doesn’t need to rise very much. I’ve used everything from starter that’s been fed once since being out of the fridge to nicely active starter.

  3. Tammy – I'm feeding the starter again, so it'll be time for a new batch of crackers soon.

    Cyn, I added some information on the cheese powder I use in the post. I'll bet Parmesan would work, too. Your variation sounds tasty!

  4. We love our sourdough crackers, and I am always messing with variations! What is dried cheese powder? I have used green can parmesan mixed with dried basil and garlic granules to top our most recent batch. They disappear immediately!