Garlic & Herb Sourdough Discard Crackers |

After thoroughly enjoying my first sourdough discard crackers last week with the help of a recipe by Milk and Pop. I decided to use similar parameters while making a savory version. Now that I’m two batches in I can confidently say that I will continue baking this style of cracker rather than the common technique of mixing oil and spices into discard and baking almost paper thin crackers. By splitting recipe formulation into choosing a puree for initial moisture, water or milk, which spices to mix in, and a combination of flours. This recipe can be adapted to any flavor profile that you fancy when you have some sourdough starter discard to use up.

Recipe: Roasted Garlic and Herb Discard Crackers

Makes 42 crackers (feel free to halve this recipe)

1 cup un-fed sourdough starter discard

1 cup water

1 cup roasted sweet potato puree

10-12 cloves roasted garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)

1/3 cup demerara sugar

1 tbsp minced onion (dry)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 dried sage

2/3 cup sliced almonds

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup AP flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

Instructions (adapted from Milk and Pop’s recipe)

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190C)
Peel garlic cloves and lay them on top of a piece of aluminum foil, bunch up the foil so that oil won’t leach out. Drizzle the cloves with olive oil, season them with salt and black pepper, and wrap them up tight and put them in the oven. Roast until soft and smelling yummy!
Peel and cube 2 medium sized sweet potatoes (yams), spray the cubes with non-stick spray (or drizzle with oil), and roast them in the oven until tender and caramelize on their edges.
Once they’re finished roasting and cool down a bit, puree the garlic and sweet potatoes in a food processor and use the oil from the garlic to achieve and chunky yet smooth consistency.
Grease and line with parchment paper 2 small loaf pans. I usually use a 8X4 inches, but it can be done in a 9X5 inches, it will only affect the final size/shape of the cracker.
In a large bowl, mix the water (or same amount of milk), sourdough starter and garlic/sweet potato puree.
Add the demerara sugar, thyme, sage, rosemary, salt and black pepper and mix to combine.
Add the sliced almonds and mix until incorporated into the batter.
In a medium bowl, mix both the all-purpose and whole wheat flours, rolled oats and baking soda.
Add the flour mixture on the batter and stir until everything is well combined.
Distribute all the batter evenly into the lined loaf pans. Make sure not to compact the batter too much as it may not rise as well.
Lower the oven temperature to 350F (175-180C)
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until you insert a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean.
Let the loaves cool completely on a rack before wrapping it with plastic wrap. Freeze for 40 minutes. If you freeze it for longer than 2 hours, let it thaw for 40 minutes to 1 hour before cutting. If the middle is totally frozen, it’s harder to slice the crackers.
Preheat you oven to 250°F/120C (or 275F/135C if your pressed for time).
Unwrap your loaves. With a bread knife or any serrated knife, slice the loaf as thinly as you can. Aim for 2mm slices.
Place the slices on a baking sheet (you can line them with parchment paper just to prevent any browning on the bottoms) and bake your sourdough crackers for 50 minutes, flipping each cracker after 25 minutes.
Let them cool completely before serving. They will get harder as they cool, so don’t worry if they’re still a bit soft when out of the oven. If you have a cooling rack, use it.
Store your sourdough crackers in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

NOTES

These crackers are made with sourdough discard, but you can totally make it with a fed starter. It won’t really make a difference, as you mix everything together and bake it straight away.

The slices must be thin! If you cut them too thick, they won’t get as crispy as the store-bought ones.

You need to use a sharp serrated knife for cutting the crackers: a sharp bread knife will make your life much easier.

Yes, you need to bake them for 50-60 minutes the second time you do it. After 25 minutes, it’s really good to flip every single one so they bake and crisp evenly and don’t burn on the bottom. I bake one batch without doing it and noticed a significant difference.