A Favorite Sourdough Discard Recipe: Cheesy Discard Crackers

Why make Cheesy Sourdough Discard Crackers?

My favorite sourdough discard recipe: cheesy sourdough discard crackers are a delicious way to use up excess sourdough starter. Homemade crackers also provides a healthy snack. It’s cheaper than a box of organic crackers. There’s less food waste. Best of all you know all the ingredients. A little cheddar or Parmesan cheese, some garlic powder, salt and seasonings and a magical snack is born.

What exactly is sourdough discard?

It is the by product of a sourdough starter. Sourdough starter has to be fed daily if left at room temperature. If you do not want to make a loaf of bread but need to use up some of your starter before feeding it again, using a discard recipe can be just the thing. My favorite thing to do with discard is to make cheesy sourdough discard crackers. My kids love them. I make them cheesy and they say they taste a lot like Cheez It brand crackers. You can change up the seasonings to make all kinds of lovely crackers, use up extra starter in the process, win-win.

Is discard the same as starter?

Technically it is. All homemade sourdough starter contains is flour and water. When you feed your starter more flour and water, it gets bubbly, fluffy and doubles in size. When your starter hasn’t been fed for 12 or 24 hours, it goes a bit flat and is considered inactive. You can use inactive starter for lots of recipes. Honestly using an inactive starter in any recipe will just take longer to rise. Discard works great for leavening any non bread recipe and will work for bread, if you give it enough time.

When should you throw out your sourdough discard?

Most resources will tell you to feed your starter twice a day. You’ll discard all but a half cup of your starter then feed it a half cup flour and a half cup of water. This will cause a about a cup of discard a day. That is enough to make my favorite cheesy sourdough discard crackers plus some extra for brownies or pancakes or cinnamon rolls. If your storing your starter in the fridge and only feeding it enough for a bread recipe, you don’t get to make crackers or brownies.

Is sourdough discard still healthy?

As long as your starter hasn’t developed mold its still starter and can be quite nutritious. Discard is just the portion you would be throwing out to reduce the amount of starter you have to feed. What a waste! Love your discard and give it new life in crackers! Or pancakes or brownies…you get the picture.

How do you store discard?

If you store your discard on your counter you can keep your discard for 1-2 days. By putting it in the fridge you can extend it’s life to about 7 days. If that’s not long enough place it in the freezer and you can store it for up to a year. If it is in a deep freezer, you may be able to keep it even longer but I haven’t tried to freeze any yet.

The longer you store your sour dough discard the more sour tasting it gets. Long fermentation makes it easier to digest but more sour may not be palatable to some. My little’s don’t like a super sour taste so the fresher my discard the better for them. I prefer to use the starter as fresh as possible for sweet discard recipes. Savory recipes can have a little more tang. I try and plan out what I’m using it for ahead of time or refrigerate my starter for a few days and bring it back out when I know I’ll have some time to work with it.

The complete tutorial for making Cheesy Sourdough Discard Crackers

When choosing spices for your cheesy sourdough discard crackers, think of the flavor profile you are wanting. Cheez It style crackers use cheddar and dried chives or parsley with some garlic powder. Italian style are great with Parmesan and Italian seasoning. A jalapeno cheese can be achieved with jalapeno flakes (similar to red pepper flakes), dried cilantro and cheddar or Monterey jack. Let your imagination run wild with this and experiment with your favorite spices and cheeses.