Recipes / Sourdough & baking

Sourdough crackers with dried herbs

Thin, crisp crackers made with sourdough discard, from CarolAnn Leventhal’s recipe. The dough does not need to rise.

Recipe author: CarolAnn Leventhal · King Arthur Baking

1 hour and 25 minutes total, including 20–25 minutes bakingMakes: About 100 small crackers
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Sourdough crackers with dried herbs · Serving suggestion
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Instructions

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  1. Mix and chill

    Mix the starter, flour, salt, butter and optional herbs to make a smooth dough that is not sticky. Divide in half and flatten each half into a rectangle. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes to about 2 hours, until firm.

  2. Roll out

    Preheat the oven to about 175°C (350°F). Lightly flour the baking parchment, rolling pin and dough. Roll each piece evenly to about 1.6 mm (1/16 inch) thick, then transfer to a baking tray on the parchment.

  3. Cut and prick

    Brush with oil, sprinkle with coarse salt and cut into 3.2 cm (1¼-inch) squares. Prick each cracker a few times with a fork. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

  4. Bake and cool

    Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Halfway through, swap the trays from top to bottom and turn them front to back. Remove from the oven and set the trays on a rack to cool.

Tips

Choose any dried herbs you like, or leave them out.

Pricking the dough with a fork helps keep the crackers flat as they bake.

Storage

Cool completely, then wrap well and keep at room temperature for up to a week. Freeze for longer storage.

How to serve

Serve with hummus.

Ingredients / history / science

Discover the ingredients and their stories

What goes into the jar? Where does the flavour come from? Open a topic and explore its sources.

About the ingredientsStarter for flavour, thin dough for crunch

Discard from a mature starter gives these crackers a gently tangy flavour. There is no long rise to wait for: the dough is rolled very thin and pricked with a fork before baking. Pricking limits puffing, producing small, flat snacks that go well with labneh and other dips.

History on a plateA use for sourdough discard

A mature starter can be used for more than bread. CarolAnn Leventhal published her recipe for thin, herby crackers in the King Arthur Baking collection. It is a practical way to use the starter set aside during feeding.

A closer lookThin dough, less moisture, more crunch

The starter supplies flour, water and flavour here; the dough does not need a bread-like rise. Rolling it very thin helps it lose moisture in the oven. Low moisture gives crackers their crispness, so let them cool fully before sealing them in a container.

Recipe sources

This recipe is based on the sources listed above.

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