Sourdough Discard Crackers · Josh VandeWiele

Kitchen · Des Moines Quadrangle September 6, 2026

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§ 01 · Ingredients and method 350°F

You'll need

A pizza cutter, which is faster and straighter than a knife

The dough

240 g Sourdough discard, unfed, straight from the fridge
120 g All-purpose flour
57 g Butter, softened
3 g Kosher salt
2 g Dried herbs, rosemary, thyme, or everything bagel seasoning

For the tops

13 g Olive oil
2 g Flaky salt

Stir the discard, flour, butter, kosher salt, and herbs together until it comes together into a shaggy ball. Knead it a few times in the bowl to smooth it out.
Divide into two flat discs, wrap, and chill. Thirty minutes is plenty. Cold dough rolls thin without tearing, warm dough does not.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Roll each disc directly on a piece of parchment, as thin as you can get it, a sixteenth of an inch. Every thick spot bakes into a chewy cracker sitting in a pile of crisp ones.
Brush with the olive oil, scatter the flaky salt, then cut into squares with a pizza cutter. Leave them where they are, they snap apart after baking. Prick each one once with a fork so they don't puff.
Slide the parchment onto a sheet pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are browned and the centers are dry. The outer ones finish first. Pull those and put the rest back in.
Cool all the way on a rack before you bag them. Warm crackers steam themselves soft in a container.

Watch out

Bendy instead of snappy means too thick or underbaked. Both are fixable: back in at 300°F for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Cheese version. Cut the butter to 2 Tbsp and add 3/4 cup finely grated sharp cheddar or parmesan. Same bake, but watch the last 5 minutes since cheese browns faster.

Storage. Airtight at room temperature, a week. They go soft before they go stale.

§ 02 · Notes Notes

§ 02 Reasoning that doesn't belong on a card

A few notes.

I started making these to use up discard and now I make them on purpose. The discard is what gives them the tang, and rolled thin enough they’re sharper and snappier than anything store-bought.

I’ve never pulled a batch and wished I’d rolled them thicker. Not once.

Whipped feta alongside, or just Kipp’s Honey Mustard -if you want it to feel like more than a snack.