Sourdough Discard Crackers with Cranberry & Flaxseed

Easy sourdough discard crackers with cranberry and flaxseed is an amazingly delicious way to re-purpose discard or overproofed dough. Great for cheeseboards and edible gifts.

Jump to:

• Recipes for Discarded Sourdough or Over-proofed dough
• What Kind of Flour and Discard to Use
• How to Make Sourdough Cranberry Crackers
• Easy Ratio for Different Types Sourdough Crackers
• How to Store Homemade Crackers
• Recipe

Recipes for Discarded Sourdough or Over-proofed dough

Sourdough discard crackers has become my guilt-free reason for keeping my sourdough starter alive week after week during this stay-at-home period. In the beginning of my sourdough baking journey, I baked some not-so-great loaves that progressively got better and better but in the meantime, I had a dilemna... What to do with all that sourdough discard?

At first, I did actually discard my starter while making some terribly dense sourdough loaves along the way. After my sourdough bread failures, I just couldn't bear to waste anymore time in the kitchen making sourdough discard pancakes, waffles etc. I still had to take care of Little Miss Bibi and chronicle our adventures over at IndulgeWithBibi. But as time wore on, I discovered a great way to use up my sourdough discard without having to spend an exorbitant amount of time in the kitchen or waste anymore precious ingredients via this recipe for sourdough discard crackers, which this recipe is based on. (Please follow Jenny's work and the other sites I will list below as I humbly admit I am still learning everyday when it comes to sourdough. For maintenance of the actual sourdough starter and boule shaping and baking, I refer a lot to Alexandra Cooks, Breadtopia and Theperfectloaf)

I am now convinced that sourdough discard crackers with cranberry and flaxseed is the most perfect way to make use of all that discard. The great thing about this homemade cracker recipe is that it's pretty forgiving and I encourage you to use different types of flour or starter you have on hand (more on that below). I even tried it with over-proofed dough and it was also a huge success! A great discovery as I suffer from serious guilt when I waste ingredients in the kitchen. This recipe has been wonderful for both my belly and my conscience 🙂

What Kind of Flour and Discard to Use

Let's go over all the ingredients needed for this sourdough discard cracker as there are a lot of variations that could still make the recipe work:

• Flour: I like to use wholewheat in mine for the nutritional value, I prefer Flourist's stone-milled organic Einkorn. I've also tried it successfully with a variety of different flours like regular unbleached white AP, sifted red fife, and a 60/40 blend (white/whole grain sprouted wheat, spelt, rye). How much flour you need will depend on the hydration of your starter. As you mix the ingredients together, gradually add more flour until you can make a smooth pliable dough ball that you can eventually roll out. For reference, I am using a 70% hydration starter in this recipe.
• Starter: The starter should be mature and can be fed or unfed. It should ideally be at room temperature to better incorporate with the other room temperature ingredients but I have tried it straight from the fridge will no ill effects after some additional kneading.
• Over-proofed dough can also be used instead of the starter. Depending on how long it has been proofing for, the taste will become more sour.
• Butter (unsalted): The butter adds a rich buttery flavor and gives a flakey texture that makes this cracker so good, I prefer it over using oil. Butter should be at room temperature so that it can incorporate readily with the rest of the ingredients.
• Sea salt: to substitute with table salt, use half the amount. I also like to add an extra ¼ teaspoon if I don't plan on sprinkling any salt flakes on at the end.
• Dried Cranberry: I usually use the sweetened kind from Ocean Spray with 50% less sugar. A bit of tang is what we're looking for, not necessarily the sweetness.
• Flaxeed: Use the whole seed kind, it gives the cracker an interesting texture and is just more nutritious. You can leave it out as well.
• Honey
• Optional: Sea salt flakes: sea salt flakes are great for sprinkling on top of the crackers right before baking. I like to use Maldon sea salt to infuse mine with the whole vanilla pod and it's seeds (removed from the pod) for a minimum of 2 days.

How to Make Sourdough Cranberry Crackers

Pre-heat oven to 350F. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together starter, flour, butter, salt, cranberries and flaxseed.

Use enough flour to form a pliable dough ball.

Knead it together until it becomes a smooth ball.

On a lightly floured surface, roll it out to a 3 mm thickness. (If it is too soft for rolling, refrigerate it for a minimum of 30 minutes.)

Use a cookie cutter to cut out desired shape or use a knife to cut dough into squares.

Transfer to silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Prick each cracker a few times with a fork.

Put honey and water into a small bowl, microwave it for 7-10 seconds, mix together. With a pastry brush, brush the tops of the crackers with the honey mixture.

Optional: lightly sprinkle sea salt flakes on top.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges becomes golden.

Easy Ratio for Different Types Sourdough Crackers

Here's an easy ratio for making this sourdough cracker recipe with varying amounts of sourdough discard you have on hand. You can also modify it by adding other ingredients to make different flavored crackers.

• Starter
• Flour - 50% of the starter and increase as you mix all the ingredients together to make a smooth pliable dough ball.
• Butter - 25% of the starter
• Salt - ¼ teaspoon for every 50 grams of starter
• Flavor Idea: 1 tablespoon of dried herbs or seeds for every 50 grams of starter
• Topping Idea: Parmesan Cheese

How to Store Homemade Crackers

These sourdough discard crackers will stay fresh for one week in an air-tight container at room temperature. They are so resilient at room-temp that I plan to make them for gift-giving during the holiday season. When giving edible gifts, it's always important to find one that will require low-maintenance from the receiver in case they don't have access to a fridge right then and this one is perfect for that reason. I can imagine delicious these will be served with some cheeses, jams and marmalade.