These rosemary parmesan sourdough crackers are so buttery and delicious! They have the most perfect crisp, flaky texture, and they are absolutely addicting! Homemade crackers are surprisingly easy to make, and this recipe is a great way to use up some excess sourdough starter. This perfect mixture of rosemary, salt, butter, and parmesan will leave your tastebuds jumping for joy!
What is Sourdough Starter Discard?
Sourdough starter discard is the part of sourdough starter that you throw out when feeding your starter. It is still the same flour and water mixture, just at the unfed stage. In order to have a healthy sourdough starter, it is important to discard a portion of the starter at every feeding. Without discarding, the starter may become too acidic and will grow exponentially until it is unmanageable.
Ingredients for Rosemary Parmesan Sourdough Crackers
- Unbleached All-Purpose Flour – unbleached flour is best for sourdough recipes because it contains more nutrients for the yeast to eat. The bleaching process often kills microbes that help sourdough starters thrive. Unbleached flour may not be bright white, but it hasn’t been treated with bleaching chemicals.
- Sourdough Starter – the recipe calls for sourdough starter discard, but really any type of sourdough starter will work in this recipe. I have used unfed starter straight out of the fridge, and it still delivers a delicious cracker.
- Pro Tip: you can collect sourdough starter discard from multiple feeding in the fridge until you have enough for this recipe! Just store it in an airtight container, and it should stay good for 5- 10 days.
- Parmesan Cheese – finely grated parmesan cheese works best for this recipe. I often use Kraft grated parmesan cheese because it is grated so finely and that’s what I have on hand. I’ve never tried freshly grated parmesan cheese, but I’m sure it would work just as well!
- Melted Butter – I always use salted butter for this recipe. I think the added salt make these crackers even more tasty! Melt your butter a little bit before mixing the ingredients so it will have time to cool. Adding piping hot butter to the mixture can kill the sourdough culture.
How to Make Rosemary Parmesan Sourdough Discard Crackers
First you will want to mix together flour, grated parmesan, dried rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until fully incorporated. Mixing dry ingredients together first keeps pockets of ingredients from clumping together when you add the wet ingredients and helps make a more cohesive dough.
After stirring the dry ingredients, form a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the sourdough starter and cooled, melted butter. From here, use a spoon to stir in the wet ingredients until a shaggy dough forms. Then, use your hands to form a smooth ball. Do not over knead the dough. Kneading allows for gluten development and will make the crackers chewy rather than crispy.
Once a smooth dough ball forms, cover the bowl and let the dough rest for at least one hour. If you plan to bake the crackers within the next 2 hours, just cover the bowl and let rest on the counter. The dough can be stored airtight in the fridge for up to 72 hours. Generally, I bake the crackers within 2 hours, so I just leave the dough out at room temperature. When baking the crackers out of the refrigerator, you will have to let the dough come to room temperature before rolling out the crackers. This usually takes about an hour depending on the temperature of your home. The flavor is still the same whether you bake within a few hours or 3 days.
Now, roll out the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and cut the crackers into whatever shape you want. I like to roll out the dough on whatever I will use to bake the crackers that way I don’t have to transfer the crackers. You’ll want to roll out the dough pretty thin, probably between 1/8 and 1/4 of an inch. Now, you can use a pizza cutter, a ravioli cutter, or a sharp knife to cut the shape of the cracker. I just used a pizza cutter here, but the scalloped edges a ravioli cutter makes are so elegant!
Sometimes I sprinkle extra parmesan, salt, or rosemary on top of the crackers during this step and use the rolling pin to press it into the dough.
Now it’s time to bake! Place in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes depending on the level of crispiness you like. It’s a good idea to keep a close eye on these crackers while they are baking because the thin dough can burn in just a second (trust me, I know).
How to Store Rosemary Parmesan Sourdough Crackers
- Baked crackers can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. The airtight container will keep them crispy and fresh.
- Raw dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- I have never tried freezing this recipe, but I would recommend trying to freeze the raw dough for up to 2 months.
Shop This Post
(As an Amazon Affiliate I may earn commission on qualified purchases at no cost to you)