I had warned you here in this post on Sourdough Basic Crackers, that this stuff was dope and it could get you hooked for life. So yeah I am definitely crazy about them and baking them in several variants is my fool proof way of entertaining myself during this corona era, where I am stuck at home with no where to go other than the various rooms of my house 🙄

Well I had thought that my recipe was the easiest in the world but in my quest for variations, I happened to come across another recipe that was beyond ridiculously simple. And best of all, it used up tons of discard, though I must clearly admit that I have been feeding my starters only to make these crackers and there has been no actual discard ever since 😀

And ‘bestest’ of all is that these are simply delicious, adapt to any darned flavor that you wish to add and get done in barely 20 – 30 minutes in a super simple process that will make even a 3 year old child look like a pro.

What’s not to love right? So let us pause the accolades and dive into this absolute keeper of a recipe.

SD discard –

As I mentioned in the earlier post on Sourdough, SD discard is the excess starter that one usually scraps while feeding the starter afresh. It is a wonderful ingredient to use, its name notwithstanding and I have never thrown any of it away.

Do not misled by its dull and gloopy countenance, for this substance adds great value to the flavor and texture of the products that it is used in. I have used it in rotis, naans, kulchas (all Indian flatbreads) and of course in crackers and I have many lofty plans for other future bakes too.

The Process –

Well the procedure is seriously simple and is mainly a mixing of the ingredients into a paste, smearing it on a Silicon mat or greased cookie sheet and then baking it.

The temperature, time etc of baking, depends on several factors and you will figure out what you have to do, as and when you do it. I will be documenting my recipe here but remember that you have to find your own sweet spot in your process and oven.

Pure Sourdough Discard Crackers – 2 ways

When I say 2 ways, I mean that I have both the whole wheat as well as the maida aka All Purpose Flour (APF) recipes in this post because they are totally similar.

The site that I found this recipe on is called Little Spoon Farm and is a delightful blog where Amy teaches us some lovely SD recipes via her posts and videos. I have mostly followed the recipe exactly but have used my own flavors.

The measurements for both flours are given below in the same recipe –

Time –

Approximately 30 minutes.

Makes – One 10×14 inch tray of cracker sheet.

INGREDIENTS –

1 – Whole wheat SD Discard or even freshly fed starter for WWF crackers OR maida/APF for maida crackers – 100 gm – See Notes

2 – Butter – 15 – 20 gm

3 –  Salt – 1/4 teaspoon

4 –  Sumac – 1 teaspoon (or any dry herb) – this is optional

5 –  Chilli flakes – 1 tsp – this is optional

Equipment that I used – 

Aluminum baking tray – 10×14 inch

Silpat mat – 9.5×14 inch

(you can bake directly on the greased tray if you do not have a Silpat mat)

Method – 

1. You can take fresh starter or use your old discard and weigh it out into a bowl.

2. In another bowl, melt the butter. Add the salt, chilli flakes, sumac and other herbs if using. (You can also add the chilli flakes later after rolling). Mix everything thoroughly with a spatula. I prefer a Silicon spatula.

3. Place the Silpat sheet on the baking tray for support. Using the spatula, smear the paste evenly onto the Silpat sheet or directly on the greased baking tray.

4. Lightly mark out large cracker triangles with a pizza cutter. You can also mark it later half way through the baking.

5. Preheat the oven to maximum. Mine says 250 deg c.

6. Place the mat and tray in the oven. If you have directly smeared on the tray then you will place just the tray in the oven.

7. After around 10 min when the crackers are partially set, take them out and mark them in whatever shape you like. I sometimes mark before and during baking and sometimes only during baking. You can choose whatever method you like.

8. Replace the tray and reduce the heat to 200 deg c. If your oven heats unevenly, also flip the tray 180 deg after 10 min. Keep an eye on the crackers and monitor the temperature. They should be done in another 10 minutes.

Please remember that baking time and temperature is very dependent on how thin you have rolled, how crisp you want your crackers and of course how your oven generally behaves. So you have to find your own way here.

9. The crackers usually come apart on their own after baking and hence are easy to separate.

10. They can be stored in an airtight box for 2-3 weeks though as I mentioned before, they do not even see the end of the day in my house 😎

Notes –

A day before baking, remember to feed and build up your SD starter to the required weight. If you want a stronger sour flavor, then build up the starter even a week before baking. A fresher starter will have a milder flavor.

The amount of oil or butter you use, will affect the texture of your crackers. More fat gives a better texture. I use minimal oil and get a dryish texture which I am fine with.

Other versions –

Displayed below, are a few more variants that I have tried. This is a game with infinite playing potential. Knock yourself out with various flavors 😀

Version 2 – these are ‘chutney powder’ and curry leaf flavor. Use 2 tsp of chutney powder and 1/2 tsp of curry leaf powder.

Version 3 – These are plain whole wheat with a sprinkle of chilli flakes. I have brushed some oil after baked, to make them look less sedate 😀

Version 3 – These are whole wheat with a tablespoon of ragi coconut flour added into the mix. The sticks you see on the right, are the ones that I tried piping with a large nozzle. Was not very easy though.

Ragi (finger millet) coconut flour is what I obtain after soaking ½ cup of ragi grains overnight and grinding with a cup of chopped fresh coconut in the morning. Use 2-3 cups of water to grind. Squeeze out the milk from the ground ingredients through a strainer. I usually make the ragi milk to use in several recipes like the Ragi manni). The fiber rich remnant left behind in the strainer, is the ragi coconut flour. I usually freeze or dehydrate this and use in breads etc.

Version 4 – These are from maida (APF) sourdough starter and flavored with 1 tsp of sumac and 1 tsp chilli flakes.

I hope you will successfully try this recipe and I would really appreciate if you leave your feedback in the Blog comments.

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