Who would've thought that you could make crackers at home? It is not hard to do, but it just never crossed my mind until recently when I was looking for creative ways to use my sourdough starter. I stumbled upon this recipe for sourdough crackers and I thought I would give it a try. My mom and I gave up artificial sugar for Lent, so I have been on the hunt for healthy snacks. These crackers are the perfect snack food and they can be paired with hummus (especially homemade hummus!), cheese, or just on their own to bring out the herbs de Provence.
I definitely have some refining to do with how I executed this recipe. First thing, my starter was not quite ready to be used. I had neglected it for a little while and had only fed it a couple hours before using it. Usually, starter is best after it has had time to process what you feed it, and that can be a few hours after, but I don't think I waited long enough. The crackers weren't as light and flakey as I was hoping. This could also be due to the fact that I did not roll them out as thin as the recipe called for. I assumed that they were thin enough, but didn't take into account the pictures from the blog I got the recipe from. Pictures can be one of the most helpful ways to shape the preparation of a dish. That is why I have put so much effort into taking viewer worthy photographs! The other thing that I would do to improve this recipe would be to add more herbs de Province and salt. I found that without hummus or cheese, these crackers were a bit bland, still worth eating, but not as flavorful as they could be. So, my three tips are: pay attention to your starter, roll the dough thin, and add more herbs! And of course, enjoy the process :)
Yields: ~16 servings Active time: 15 mins Total Time: 1 hr
Ingredients ~
200 grams (about 1 cup) mature sourdough
starter (100% hydration)
1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60g) whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons (12g) rye flour*
3 tablespoons (32g) extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried herbs de Provence**
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
maldon flake salt, for topping
Instructions ~
In a bowl, combine sourdough starter with flours, olive oil, herbs and salt. Mix to combine, kneading until the dough comes together in a smooth ball.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Position oven racks in the upper 1/3 and lower 1/3 of oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
Cut dough in half; put one half back in the fridge while you roll out the other. Cut dough again into 4 smaller pieces.
Roll out each piece into an oblong rectangle. You can do this with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, or using a pasta roller for super thin crackers. I like to roll my dough out to the #6 thickness setting (out of 8). If you are rolling by hand, just roll it as thin as you possibly can.
Lay out two oblongs of dough side by side (not overlapping) on each baking sheet.
Spritz or brush lightly with water; sprinkle with flake salt.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown and crispy, rotating the pans top to bottom and back to front part way thorough baking.
Let cool, then transfer crackers to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
Crackers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
*I left the Rye Flour out and just substituted whole wheat flour in a 1:1 ratio.
**If you don't have herbs de Provence, you can make your own blend with any combination of rosemary, tarragon, oregano, thyme, basil, and bay leaf.
Recipe From: Love and Oil
What a great complement to the Vermont cheese tasting we did - great texture and character vs those 'store bought' crackers