Easy Whole Wheat Sourdough Discard Crackers
A surprisingly easy recipe for sourdough discard crackers – mix, roll out, and bake in less than an hour. Made with whole wheat flour and cold or fed starter, these easy-to-make snacks will be devoured by everyone while also adding a nutritious touch to your meals. Perfect for snacking, picnics, or parties, this easy recipe will have everyone asking for more!
If you’re looking for more discard recipes, be sure to check out this amazing list of 35 sourdough discard recipes!
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Making crackers is something I never thought I’d do. If I could get them for a dollar a box, why would I take the time and effort?
Besides, rolling out dough is not one of my favorite things (pie crust and cut out cookies, I’m looking at you).
But when you start reading labels and caring about what’s in the food you’re eating, those cheap crackers don’t look so good anymore.
Making Crackers with Sourdough Starter
If I was going to make crackers, I thought I should take the opportunity to use up the extra sourdough starter I often have on hand before and after feeding (the “discard”). And I found after making them that using starter brings a wonderful tang and flavor the crackers!
What’s more, this recipe for sourdough whole wheat crackers is one of very few sourdough recipes that doesn’t require an active starter.
Meaning, you can take your starter out of the fridge and make these right away. (Are the angels singing?)
It’s a great way to use some starter before feeding it again – or any other time you have extra starter, which if you grow and use sourdough can be quite a bit.
Wondering about sourdough? Here’s my easy guide to all things sourdough with how to grow a starter, tips, recipes, and my lazy method of storage.
What’s great about this recipe
- The dough is really easy to work with and rolls out beautifully without tearing.
- The crackers take only about an hour to make– start to finish.
- They are so delicious and my family LOVES them – they’d probably eat them all in one day if I didn’t ration them a bit!
Plus, one sure way to impress people is to make something that most people have only ever bought at stores their whole lives – just like my other classic pantry basic recipes!
Cracker Basket Gift Idea
Giving a container of these crackers along with cream cheese and a home-canned topping like Tomato Chutney or Honey-Sweetened Jalapeño Jelly would make a unique and yummy handmade gift.
If you keep them from being devoured by your family, that is.
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the basic ingredients you’ll need for this recipe along with substitution options:
- Sourdough starter – fed or unfed, cold or room temperature.
- Butter or coconut oil – I prefer the flavor of butter, but using coconut oil keeps these dairy free.
- Honey – just a small amount to balance the flavors, if you need a substitute try maple syrup or cane sugar.
- Whole wheat pastry flour – you can also use whole wheat white flour (or even all-purpose unbleached flour, though of course they wouldn’t be whole wheat anymore) – I’ve found regular whole wheat flour is a bit course, but of course you can try it to see what you like.
- Sea salt – you want a fine sea salt for this, even for the topping, as thicker salts make the crackers too salty in our opinion.
- Baking soda
- Olive oil – or other pure oil for topping like avocado oil.
How to Make Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Add sourdough starter. Pour 1 cup of sourdough starter into a large bowl. I always use my Kitchenaid stand mixer, but the dough can also be made by hand.
Step 2: Mix in butter and honey. Add the softened butter (or coconut oil) and honey and mix well.
TIP: If you like the flavor of coconut oil, feel free to use it in place of butter. Our family felt the flavor was too strong and we really like them with butter, but that’s one of the joys of cooking your own things – adapt to what you like!
Step 3: Add dry Ingredients. In a small bowl mix 1/4 cup of the whole wheat pastry flour (made from soft white wheat, so finer with less protein than hard red wheat flour) with sea salt and baking soda. Add this to the starter-butter mixture and stir until combined.
Step 4: Knead the dough. Add the remaining flour to the mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. This “kneads” the flour into a smooth dough.
TIP: I have found that when my starter is wetter I need to add a bit more flour- 1 tablespoon at a time- until I have a smooth and stiff dough. Other times, 1 cup flour is enough. Adjust yours as needed.
Step 5: Rest the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes and start the oven heating to 350 degrees.
Step 6: Divide the dough. Place the dough on a well-floured surface and divide into thirds. Roll out one portion at a time, while keeping the remaining dough covered with a towel.
Step 7: Roll the dough. Shape one portion of the dough into a circle with your hands and then start rolling it out on the floured board (or parchment – see update below), turning and flouring as needed to keep from sticking.
As you can see above, the dough can be rolled thin evenly and without tearing- it really is easy to work with. And it’s okay to use as much flour as you need to keep it from sticking- it doesn’t seem to affect the end product!
UPDATE: Following some advice from readers, I now roll this out right on parchment paper, then use the pizza wheel to score the crackers and lift the whole thing right onto a baking sheet – so easy!! (Don’t try to use silicone liners, though, thinking you’ll cut lightly – it doesn’t work, lol. Stick with parchment.)
A good cracker is a thin cracker, so keep rolling until the dough is about 1/8- inch thick.
This is how thin you want to aim for- I’m guessing this is about 1/8-inch thick, but I didn’t actually measure it (how?).
And it doesn’t tear even doing this, though you can see everything’s pretty well floured.
Step 8. Cut into squares. Use a pizza wheel (makes it so easy!) or a knife to cut the dough into square-sized crackers (the size is totally up to you- I was aiming for the Wheat-Thin size), trimming off any really ragged edges.
TIP: You can see above that I leave some of the larger edges and we have half-crackers as well as whole ones. The smaller, thinner edges do brown faster when baking, so you’ll need to keep an eye on them.
Step 9: Top & Bake. Transfer the crackers to a silicone (black silicone liners are my favorite for better browning) or parchment lined cooking sheet with a little space between them (they don’t spread) – IF you’re not rolling and cutting on parchment like the updated technique.
Spray with a little olive oil, using a Mr. Misto or other oil sprayer.
TIP: I found that trying to brush each cracker took way too long and moved them all over the tray as I was brushing, so I just spray them. Make sure that each cracker gets some oil, but don’t worry about each cracker being covered evenly (as you can see above!) – it doesn’t seem to make a difference when they’re cooked, so it’s not worth the extra time it takes.
After spraying, lightly sprinkle them with fine sea salt. When I tried a coarser salt, they were just too salty, so I’m very careful with salting the tops.
As soon as one baking sheet is filled (this recipe makes three large baking pans of crackers), place them in the oven to cook while repeating the rolling and cutting with another portion of dough.
Bake the crackers about 8-9 minutes (rotated halfway through) until they are medium-browned.
Check the sheet and remove any dark crackers around the edges and place the sheet back in the oven for a few more minutes so the lighter colored crackers can get done.
The crackers that are lighter never crisp up and are chewy rather than crisp, so do take the time to cook them longer.
TIP: Leaning towards the side of too dark is better than too light, since crisper is better than chewy for crackers- just keep them from actually burning.
Step 10: Cool & Store. Remove the crackers to a metal rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container, like these cute retro-style glass jars at a great price (which are actually called ‘cracker jars!’).
How long do the crackers last? The crackers stay nice and crisp up to a week when stored like this – the few times they’ve lasted that long!
More Sourdough Recipes To Try:
- Sourdough Whole Wheat English Muffins
- Sourdough Waffles (they may spoil you for anything else…)
- Sourdough Artisan Bread
- Sourdough Bagel Tutorial
What readers are saying about this easy recipe:
“I just made mine and it was so successful! I sprinkle with salt and herbs, they are lovely! Your recipe is brilliant!!” -Zhi
“These are so good and so easy! I may never buy store bought crackers again!” -Courtney
“YES YES YES!!! I was wondering what I should do with my discard so I stumbled across your site. I tried this recipe yesterday and we were all eating them for dinner. I never even knew you could make your own crackers before.” -Brandi
I hope you love these whole wheat sourdough crackers! If you make it, be sure to leave a recipe rating so I know how you liked it!
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Easy Whole Wheat Sourdough Discard Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter, discard or fed
- 1/4 cup softened butter (or coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon honey (or maple syrup or cane sugar)
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour + extra for rolling (or white whole wheat flour)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- olive oil + more salt for topping
Instructions
- Mix the starter, butter, and honey in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of the flour with the salt and baking soda. Add to the large bowl and mix until smooth.
- Add the remaining 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until a smooth, stiff dough forms. You may need to add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the sourdough starter had more liquid.
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Turn the dough out to a well-floured surface and divide into three portions. Roll out one portion, keeping the remaining dough covered, until quite thin (1/8″ or thinner). Use plenty of flour and turn as necessary to keep from sticking.
- Use a pizza wheel or knife to cut into squares and place on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet. Fill the pan- the crackers don't expand, so place them quite close together without touching. -OR-
- Updated rolling & cutting technique: I now roll the dough out right on a piece of parchment paper, then use the pizza wheel to score the crackers and simply lift the whole thing right onto a baking sheet – so easy!!(The crackers separate some while cooking and it's easy to remove the outer browning crackers as needed and continue to cook the remaining crackers.)
- Spray (or brush) the crackers with olive oil- it doesn’t need to be even, just make sure all the crackers get a bit of oil- and sprinkle very lightly with a fine salt. Don’t use too much- it really makes them too salty.
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, rotating the pan as needed, until medium brown. Remove crackers to a cooling rack as they brown and return pan to oven as needed to brown all the crackers.
- Repeat with remaining dough while the first batch is baking.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2011.
Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn’t change your price. Click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.
We absolutely love these crackers! So easy and so delicious. One question – can they be frozen after baking? Can the dough be frozen? Thanks!
So glad you like these, Michelle! I actually haven’t tried freezing either the crackers or the dough. Pretty sure the crackers would be okay, but not sure about the dough.
Just made these today and they were great! You left a couple of things out, though; you didn’t say whether the butter should be softened or melted, and you forgot to add that the pan should be covered with parchment or silicone. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you liked these, Caitlin! Thank you for your suggestions – I do have in step 7 to transfer them to a silicone or parchment lined pan. I’ll go ahead and update the ingredients to say softened butter if you’re using that. 🙂
These are so good that I have made them twice this week! I don’t have pastry flour so I just used whole wheat and they turned out great! The second batch I used 1 cup of almond pulp leftover from my almond milk making. I just roll mine right onto the stone as another commentor suggested and bake and then cut into cracker size pieces. Thanks for sharing this recipe for a healthy, delicious and unprocessed cracker. Love ours with some hummus and kohlrabi.
I’m so glad you like this, Audra! It was a revelation to me, too, just how amazing they taste.
Thanks for those tips to make it easier!
I made these crackers and they are SO good! But mine puffed up like pillows??? Any idea why that would have happened?
I’ve had some do that, but not all, Kellie. I like the ones that have more air pockets, but I know full on pillows aren’t the best. I wonder if it may be overworked dough? Did the later ones puff more? I’m just guessing here, though!
If you poke them with a fork they won’t puff. Like better cheddars. My kids love that job
Good idea, though I like the puffed ones the best. 🙂
Do you have a recipe for sourdough starter. I had one for many years, but it ‘died’ during a siege of tonsillectomies for my four children!
Yikes! 🙂 Yes, you’ll find one in this article: https://anoregoncottage.com/grow-keep-use-sourdough-starter/
This is amazing! I always have starter around. My family loves crackers and I refuse to purchase boxes with scary sounding words in the label. Really excited to try this! Thx! ???
Yay – I think you will be a convert, too, Tyna, especially because it uses all.the.starter. 😉
I tried starting a whole wheat starter a couple of times but… no luck. I hate all the waste of pouring some of it out. I do like sourdough bread though.
Bummer, Charlotte, sorry to hear that. I don’t like pouring it out, either, so I tried to find recipes I could use with the less active starter like this one.
I made these today with my starter that is just barely working. I love how my two sons described them–Son 1: “Mom, to be honest, the dough tasted disgusting, but the crackers are really good.” Son 2: “These taste just like wheat thins!” Success! We nearly devoured the entire batch! I had made a different recipe before using regular whole wheat flour and these, with the whole wheat pastry flour, are way better and easy to make!
I’m so glad to hear this, Sarah! Our family is the same way – these are gone in a day or two. 🙂
These are amazing! They taste JUST like Wheat Thins! I used a pizza cutter and cut them right on the stone without diving the crackers up individually. They broke apart easily when removing from oven after baking. I found my baking time to be about 15 minutes to achieve the desired crispiness. These are super easy to make. Thank you!
Holly
I was surprised at how good they are too, Holly, when I tried them for the first time! I love your tip to cut them right on the stone – smart. 🙂
Hi Jami – when I make crackers, I roll out the dough on a Silpat & then cut them with a butter knife which doesn’t harm the pad. Then I just bake them on the Silpat on the cookie sheet which saves a step.
Great tip, Brenda! Butter knife, duh *head slap* 🙂
Happy I could make a useful suggestion! These crackers are fabulous, btw! I made them today with ripe starter & no baking soda. I let them rise for 7 hours & the rolled them out & baked them. They are a little more sour but still very tasty.
I do this, too! So simple. And I try to refrigerate the dough so I can bake some anytime!This is our favorite way to use up the starter.
A little late to the party here, but can I sub spelt flour for the whole wheat pastry flour? I’m just venturing into the world of home baked goods so I don’t have much variety of flours on hand until I know this is something I can stick with. Once I master the basics I plan to broaden my horizons 🙂
For me, spelt flour has always worked like regular whole wheat flour, so wouldn’t be a good substitute for the pastry flour, which is lighter and has less protein. If you can find white spelt flour, that may work. You can always try it, though, and you may like the outcome!
We (I say ‘we’ when I mean my husband) make several different types of crackers. I much prefer homemade over store bought. I’ve purchased various crackers over the years, but with wanting to get away from questionable ingredients I switched to organic brands. However, with prices now hitting upwards of $3-4 a box (even at Trader Joe’s) that is no longer something I do on a regular basis, especially when making organic crackers is so simple at home. All it takes are a few ingredients and about an hour of time.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I’m a fellow Oregonian (also in the Willamette Valley). 🙂
Hope you enjoy them, Carole!
love it all your recipes are great can i join you with my baby& your kids next time you bake please 😀
need to ask a silly question what is the sourdough starter? thanks alot
p.s. didnt hear about it before and i live in Middle-East
Hey Maya, no questions are silly around here – we’re all learning at one time or another! Sourdough starter is a flour-water mixture that you sit on your counter and feed in order to grow your own wild yeast to raise bread with no added commercial yeast.
Go to this page to find out more about sourdough, including the link I used to make my own starter:
https://anoregoncottage.com/sourdough-tips-for-occasional-user/
Sure hope this helps you!
Great way to use extra starter. My husband was wary, but ended up loving them. My first tray puffed up like little pillows LOL. On the next tray, I poked them with a fork and problem solved. When they were almost done, I flipped them to dry the otherside. Thanks for the idea.
AmyBeth
I am so excited to try this recipe since I was reading the back of the Club House cracker box yesterday and found high fructose corn syrup listed as an ingredient. Eww. Every day I am more convinced that homemade IS the only way to go. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
These look great!
I would love for you to share some of your recipes on my WEEKLY RECIPE LINK PARTY on my blog:
“Made it on Monday”
You can link up every Wed.-Sat.
I hope you will come join in on the fun 🙂
Diana- What a FABULOUS idea to use a baking stone! I hadn’t thought of that and I’m going to try it the next time I make them.
This is a lot like my cracker recipe too! Only mine doesn’t call for baking soda (I don’t think) and you can let it sit overnight. I have been using my pizza stone to bake them–they get beautifully crisp! (And you can roll and cut them out right on the stone instead of transferring them.) Yours look great!
Wow impressive. I may have to try this soon. My wheels are spinning with the things I could add to suit our tastes.
We love sourdough crackers too! My recipe is a little different than yours but similar. It is one thing that I think I can make that tastes BETTER than store bought! And of course, healthier!
Gina