Sourdough Crackers
Sourdough crackers are so easy to make, and taste better than store-bought! My recipe and helpful tips will help you make crackers using sourdough starter or discard.
This post, first published in October 2021, was updated in May 2025. It now includes additional helpful recipe tips and easier instructions. I hope you enjoy it!
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Why make sourdough crackers?
You might wonder what the benefits of sourdough crackers are versus crackers made with baking powder, yeast, or no leavener at all.
Take just one trip down the snack/cracker aisle of your local grocery store. My guess is that you will see so many varieties of crackers, it will make your head spin!
- No preservatives or unwanted ingredients. Do you have time to read the ingredient labels on boxes? When I did that, I realized just how unhealthy store-bought crackers can be. Even the healthier organic brands include preservatives.
- Many ways to use them. These sourdough crackers are perfect for entertaining, as a healthy crunchy snack, or as a topping for soup and/or salad.
- Less expensive than store-bought crackers. This is a copy-cat recipe of Rustic Bakery’s crackers, but it’s healthier and less expensive!
Because they are organic, Rustic Bakery crackers have a hefty price tag. A small 6 oz. box often costs around $8. Seriously.
Furthermore, when looking at the ingredients you will see that they include sugar and canola oil in their crackers. Canola oil is known to cause inflammation, so it’s best to avoid using it as much as possible.
I personally don’t think that you need to add sugar to a savory cracker. By making this recipe, you will realize that homemade flatbread crackers are delicious without sugar.
New To Sourdough? Check out My Super Simple Sourdough Course!
Ingredients and substitutions
You will actually only need a few basic ingredients for to make sourdough crackers:
- flour: I use organic all-purpose flour.
- sourdough starter or discard: You will need a ripe, active sourdough starter but this recipe also works with sourdough discard.
- olive oil: we love olive oil for its health benefits, but also for the flavor.
- sea salt: without salt, these crackers will taste bland.
- rosemary: Rustic Bakery has a rosemary flatbread and I think it tastes lovely, therefore I include chopped fresh rosemary in my recipe.
Substitutions
Here are some ideas for substitutions so you can use whatever you have at home or create many different variations of this recipe:
- flour: most often, I use organic AP flour. However, this recipe will work with spelt, rye, or einkorn flour. You may have to adjust the amount of flour you are using to bring the dough together. With einkorn, for example, you might have to let the dough rest before you add more flour as it absorbs liquid more slowly than wheat flour. You can also make this recipe with whole-grain flour which will definitely change the flavor.
- sourdough starter: if you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can use either ½ teaspoon of yeast or ½ teaspoon of baking powder. In both instances, you will have to add about ½ cup of water.
- olive oil: while we really enjoy the taste of olive oil, you can use many other oils here. Yes, you can use canola oil if that is what you have at home. Avocado oil would also be great in this recipe. Even though I haven’t tried it myself, I am sure you could use butter, lard, or tallow as well.
- rosemary: these sourdough crackers are delicious with or without rosemary. You can absolutely use other herbs or spices here. Thyme would be great and some people really like caraway seeds. You see, the options are endless.
How to make sourdough crackers
This is a summary of the steps involved in making the flatbread crackers. For the complete instructions, please scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Recipe video
- Combine cracker ingredients with sourdough starter or discard. Mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth dough that is not sticky. If it is still sticky, you can gradually add a bit more flour until it comes together.
- Allow the dough to rest. Loosely cover the bowl of dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 375˚F. While the oven preheats, go ahead and roll the dough.
- Roll the chilled dough out. The key is to roll it as thin as possible. Lifting and turning the dough every so often helps to make it very thin. Don’t worry about uneven edges.
- Cut squares or rectangles to create the sourdough crackers. With a serrated pastry cutter or simply a knife, cut the dough into long strips. Then cut the dough perpendicular to make squares or rectangles.
- Take a fork and prick each cracker twice. This will allow air to escape during baking. Otherwise, your crackers will look like little pillows.
- Bake in preheated oven until lightly golden brown.
- Cool completely, then enjoy them right away, or store for later.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- If you don’t have a silicone mat to roll the dough out on, you can use parchment paper.
- It will take roughly 20-25 minutes for the crackers to bake. You want them to be a light golden brown color, so check on them around the 20-minute mark.
- Allow the crackers to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container. If they are still warm, they will lose their crispiness pretty quickly.
- This recipe yields about 50 (1-inch squares) sourdough crackers.
- Serving Ideas: Enjoy your snack crackers plain, with some homemade butter, hummus, cheese, or your favorite spread. I really enjoy them with smoked trout dip!
Helpful kitchen tools
These supplies will help you get the job done more efficiently, but of course, they aren’t required.
Silicone baking mat: https://amzn.to/3BzS1QK
Baker’s half sheet pan: https://amzn.to/3ArUifH
Pastry cutter wheel: https://amzn.to/3iRQcYg
Wooden bowl: https://amzn.to/3BzS1QK
Other sourdough recipes you might enjoy
I had so much fun collaborating with my blogging friend Marisa from Bumblebee Apothecary. You can view the recipe here on her YouTube channel.
- How to Make a Sourdough Starter
- Easy Sourdough: No feedings, no discards
- Sourdough Skillet Cornbread
- No-Knead Sourdough Bread
- How to make Sourdough Pasta
- Sourdough Rosemary Pull-Apart Bread
Sourdough Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sourdough discard or starter
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- To a non-reactive bowl, add 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sourdough starter (or discard), ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped rosemary, and ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth dough that is not sticky. If it is still sticky, you can gradually add a bit more flour until it comes together.
- Loosely cover the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 375˚F.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Using a rolling pin, roll it out as thin as possible on a silicone baking mat. **Lifting and turning the dough every so often will help in getting the dough very thin. Don't worry about uneven edges. If you don't have a silicone mat, you can use parchment paper.
- With a serrated pastry cutter or knife, cut the dough into long strips. Then cut the dough perpendicular to make squares or rectangles.
- Using a fork, prick each square or rectangle twice. This will allow air to escape during baking. Otherwise, your crackers will look like little pillows.
- Place the silicone mat on a cookie sheet, place it in the preheated oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven.
- Transfer the crackers from the cookie sheet onto a metal rack to cool down.
- Enjoy plain, with homemade butter, hummus, cheese, or your favorite spread!For best results, store the sourdough crackers in an airtight container at room temperature and use within 2 weeks.
Notes
- This recipe yields about 50 (1-inch square) crackers.
Nutrition
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Hi Anja, can we get the recipes in metric too?
I have a problem figuring out a cup of flour…
Thank you!
Yes, I will update those over time (when I have the time …) but figure one cup of flour is about 125 g ~ Anja
I must say I am very impressed with these crackers. I left the dough in the refrigerator for about an hour before rolling out, and it rolled out beautifully. The flavor is outstanding – except next time I may sprinkle the tops with a wee bit of salt before baking.
My next batch will be made, rolled out fairly thin, cut & pierced, then I’ll put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator overnight to get the full benefits of long ferment. I hope they turn out as well as my first batch!
Thank you so much for all the recipes you share – I appreciate all the work you put into them.
I am so glad you enjoyed them as much as we do ~ Anja
How much longer does discard take to ferment the dough than an active starter? For a wheat-sensitivity, we need to long ferment but you mention the dough being puffier if left overnight in the refrigerator. Is that with discard or active starter or either? Thanks!
Discard is often over its peak activity but either way you can long-ferment the cracker dough in the fridge over night. Either way, if you roll the crackers out thinly, they will be delicious with discard or active starter ~ Anja
My rosemary died during a hard freeze, can I use dry rosemary? If so, how much?
I made my sourdough starter and baked my first loaf of bread today!
Yes, of course you can use dried herbs! And great to hear you are enjoying bread baking ~ Anja
Has anyone made a doubled batch to freeze some? If so, do they thaw well?
Making a double batch is no problem but freezing will kill off some of the sourdough cultures ~ Anja
Can I sub applesauce in place of oil?
While I haven’t tried this myself, I think you could if you like the (sweet) taste of apples in your crackers ~ Anja
I have a question. I would like to make these crackers today but I was wondering if you could leave the dough in the fridge overnight instead of only a couple hours? Thank you! Sheree H.
Yes, you can but they might come out a bit more puffed up and pillowy. Hope this helps ~ Anja
Yummy. Easy to make. Yay! I added crushed Maldon seasalt flakes to the top and used einkorn flour, without changing the amounts. Mine cooked way faster and some where burnt at 15 minutes. Probably because it was rolled out very think in the middle. Still delicious! Thanks for another recipe using sourdough discard!
Nice! Between possibly being rolled out too thinly and varying oven temperatures, it’s easy to overbake them. But I am so glad you enjoyed them!
Is there another alternative for the sourdough?
You could probably use a tiny amount of yeast or baking powder. Hope this helps ~ Anja
This recipe is awesome! I might increase the salt the next time I try it, but they are delicious, tasty crackers. Thank you.
That makes me so happy to hear! I love that you’re taking liberties by adding more salt ~ Anja
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try this recipe for my cracker obsessed kiddos.
Yay! These will make both mom and the kiddos happy because they’re healthy and crunchy. Happy baking ~ Anja
The handful I rolled out thin enough were great. I accidently underestimated the thickness I did so the majority are a bit pillowy and softer but hey it was time for something I baked to fail haha.
Really good recipe, thanks for sharing. I’ll be making this again with thinner dough rolled out.
I am so glad you like this recipe ~ Anja
Thank you Anja for always sharing these amazing recipes!!!
These sound delicious! I’m definitely going to give them a try. My kids love crackers, and these would be a much healthier alternative than anything from the store!
Yum! This looks so tasty! I would love to try your recipe. Saving it for later!
These crackers are so addicting and easy to make. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.
I made a triple batch of the cracker dough. I made one batch of Crackers. Delicious 😋 😋 😋 With the rest I made a pot pie! This dough work great for a crust. Supper delicious and never went soggy! The dough was great to work with, unlike a pie dough.
That sounds great and I am so glad to hear you like the cracker dough ~ Anja
Hey Callie, that sounds like a great idea!
Any chance you can share how you did it?