Sourdough Discard Cheese Crackers

This is my favorite thing to do with sourdough discard. Not pancakes, not waffles — these crackers. Sharp cheddar, butter, flour, and a hundred grams of discard you were probably going to throw out anyway. They take about an hour and they’re better than Cheez-Its. Genuinely.

The sourdough discard does something to the cheese flavor that’s hard to describe until you’ve had one. There’s a sharpness and a tang that amplifies the cheddar in a way that no store cracker can replicate because no store cracker has fermented starter in it. That’s the whole trick.

Prep: 20 minutes  ·  Chill: 30 minutes  ·  Bake: 15–17 minutes  ·  Makes about 60 crackers

The Two Rules That Actually Matter

Grate the cheese yourself. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents on it — usually cellulose — that prevent the dough from binding properly. The food processor will never get it to come together. Buy a block, grate it on the small holes, and the dough forms in seconds.

Roll it thin. Less than ⅛ inch. If you can almost see light through it, you’re there. Thick crackers bake up soft in the center and don’t snap properly even after cooling. The thinness is what gives you the crunch.

Everything else is just process.

Five Ingredients (Plus Salt)

Ingredient	Amount	Note
Sharp cheddar cheese, block	8 oz (226g)	Freshly grated on the small holes — do not use pre-shredded
Unsalted butter, softened	4 tablespoons (57g)	Room temperature, not melted
Sourdough discard	100g (½ cup)	Unfed, straight from the fridge
All-purpose flour	80g (⅔ cup)
Kosher salt	1 teaspoon
Baking powder	½ teaspoon	Gives a subtle flakiness
Turmeric	½ teaspoon	Optional — purely for the orange color, not the flavor
Flaky salt	For topping	Maldon or similar; not optional in my opinion

this now & bake later ❤️

On the turmeric: it’s optional and flavorless at this quantity. It’s purely there to give the crackers that orange color that makes them look like the thing they’re replacing. Skip it and they’ll taste exactly the same, just slightly paler.

On the discard: unfed, straight from the fridge. Doesn’t need to be active or bubbly. This is exactly what it’s designed for — using the stuff you’d otherwise throw away.

How to Make Them

Make the Dough in the Food Processor

Grate the cheddar on the small holes of a box grater. Add it to the food processor along with the softened butter and sourdough discard. Pulse until it comes together into a creamy, blended mass.

Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and turmeric in a small bowl. Add to the processor and pulse — just until a ball of dough forms. Stop immediately. Another ten seconds and you’re developing gluten you don’t want.

If the dough is crumbly and won’t come together, add one teaspoon of water or extra discard and pulse again. Usually means the butter was a little cold.

Chill It — Don’t Skip This

Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Up to 2 days is fine if you want to make it ahead.

Cold dough rolls thinly without tearing. Room-temperature dough sticks to everything and springs back. The chill is what makes the rolling step not miserable.

Roll Thin, Cut Small

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Place the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment and roll until it’s less than ⅛ inch thick — thin enough to almost see through it. Use a pastry wheel or pizza cutter to cut into 1-inch squares.

Separate the squares onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Poke one hole in the center of each with a toothpick or skewer. This is called docking and it keeps the crackers flat instead of puffing up into little air pillows. Sprinkle flaky salt generously over the top.

Bake Until Dark at the Edges

Bake one sheet at a time for 15–17 minutes. You’re looking for the edges to be noticeably dark orange-brown — not pale gold, not light orange.

Don’t pull them early. Pale crackers are chewy crackers. The color is what tells you the moisture has cooked out. They’ll look done before they are — trust the timer, not the color of the center.

Let them cool completely on a wire rack. They’ll finish crisping as they cool. Don’t taste one hot and decide they’re soft — give them five minutes first.

What to Do With Them

Honestly? Eat them straight. They’re addictive on their own and that’s usually where half the batch goes.

Beyond that: a charcuterie board where the sharp cheddar cracker cuts through soft cheeses like brie. Floated on top of tomato soup instead of croutons. Scooped into hummus — they’re sturdy enough to hold up without snapping in half on the first dip.

What Goes Wrong

Rolling too thick. The most common one. If your crackers come out soft or chewy after cooling, this is why. Roll until you can nearly see through the dough.

Pre-shredded cheese. Already covered this but it’s worth repeating because it’s the one swap that will actually ruin the recipe. The dough won’t form properly. Always grate from a block.

Pulling them pale. They need to be dark at the edges to be crispy. It feels like you’re going too far — you’re not. “Toasted orange” is the target.

Baking two sheets at once. They bake unevenly this way. One sheet at a time, middle rack.

Keeping Them Crispy

Airtight container at room temperature, up to one week. If they lose their snap after a few days, put them on a baking sheet in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes. They come right back.

The unbaked dough disc freezes well for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake from there as normal.

Make These the Next Time You Feed Your Starter

Every time I discard, this is what I make. I’ve brought them to dinner parties and people assume I picked them up somewhere. I don’t correct them immediately.

If you try them, tell me in the comments what cheese you used — I’ve made these with Gruyère and with extra-sharp white cheddar and both versions are excellent in different ways. Rate the recipe, save it on Pinterest, and subscribe for more sourdough discard ideas.

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