Sourdough discard cheese crackers are a tasty snack you can easily make at home using only a few ingredients! Not only do these crackers taste delicious, but they also allow you to make use of your sourdough discard and prevent wastage.

Why make your own crackers?

Prevent waste: Making sourdough discard cheese crackers is a great way to use up your sourdough starter discard and prevent waste. These crackers are by far my kid’s favorite use for discard!

Cost-effective: Making your own crackers is more cost-effective than buying them from the store. It only costs about $1 to make this recipe!

Quality of ingredients: Many crackers, even ones labeled “all-natural” have added sugars, vegetable oils, preservatives, and artificial colors and flavors. By making them at home, you have control over the quality of the ingredients.

Customizable: You can easily customize the recipe by adding different herbs, spices, or cheeses to suit your taste.

Customizations

Spice it up: Add some cayenne pepper, paprika, or chili flakes to make them spicier.

Herb it up: Add some dried herbs like rosemary, garlic powder, oregano, or everything bagel seasoning to give it a more herbaceous flavor.

Seeds and nuts: Chia seeds, hemp hearts, or crushed nuts can be added for some additional texture and crunch.

Cheese: Almost any type of cheese can be added to create a different flavor profile for the crackers. Most often I use a shredded Colby but smoked gouda is another great choice!

Size, shape, and thickness: You can make these crackers into any shape or size you’d like as well as alter the thickness. My kids like them a bit thicker which makes them a bit softer. If you are looking for a crunchy cracker, roll the dough out as thin as you can. Altering the size or thickness will affect the cooking time so just watch for the tops to turn golden brown.

The Process

You’ll begin by mixing the water and sourdough discard together until the discard begins to dissolve. Next, you’ll add in the flour, salt, olive oil, and any additional spices you’d like until it has come together enough to form a ball. The dough will be quite sticky.

Now it is time to add the cheese! Any shredded or easy-melting cheese will work here. I would, however, avoid using fresh mozzarella. Because of its high water content, it can make the dough too wet. Wet your hands and massage the cheese into the dough to distribute it throughout and shape the dough back into a ball.

Next, you will roll the dough out into a thin rectangle. I like to sandwich the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Spread the dough out to an even thickness using a rolling pin or your hands. You can choose how thick you’d like the crackers. 1/8″ thickness will give you a crunchy cracker while a 1/4′ thickness will be chewier. Remove the top parchment paper and transfer the paper with the dough onto a baking sheet.

The dough goes into 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven as a large rectangle and you will cut the crackers part of the way through baking. Par-baking before cutting makes it easier to separate the crackers without breaking them. Remove the baking sheet from the oven 10 minutes into cooking. Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut your crackers into 1″ square or rectangular pieces. You can make them larger or smaller but may need to adjust the cooking time slightly. Return them to the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. They are done when the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and enjoy!

I write my Sourdough recipes in grams for accuracy and consistency. This is the scale that I have used almost daily for years and it has worked great. If you do not have a kitchen scale, see my metric conversion chart.

Happy Baking!