Sourdough Crackers

vegan, nut-free 

Based on a recipe from King Arthur Baking

If you're looking for a crispy and delicious snack, try making these! Unlike store-bought crackers, you can flavor these however you like, and they do still stay fresh for about a week. It's also a great way to use up sourdough starter that has become inactive and would otherwise need to be discarded as part of your sourdough routine.

Yield: about 100 crackers/ Active time: 25 minutes / Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Helpful Tools:

• rolling pin
• pizza wheel
• two large cookie sheets

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Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted vegan butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (227g) sourdough starter, inactive/discard
• 1 cup (113g) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour*
• 1/2 teaspoon (3g) sea salt
• up to 2 tablespoons dried herbs or seasonings of your choice, optional**
• coarse salt (such as kosher or sea salt) for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, measure out vegan butter first and give it time to come to room temperature. Then add in sourdough starter, flour, salt, and optional seasonings to make a smooth (not sticky), cohesive dough.
2. Set out two large pieces of parchment paper. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a small rectangular slab on each piece of parchment paper. Place the dough slabs stacked on their parchment paper in a sealed container and refrigerate until the dough is firm, at least 30 minutes.***
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F and remove the dough slabs from the fridge.
4. Very lightly flour your rolling pin and both sides of each dough slab. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough to about 1/16" thick. The dough will have ragged, uneven edges; that's OK. Just try to make it as even as possible.
5. With a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/4" squares. Next prick each square with the tines of a fork (see photo below)
6. Transfer the dough and parchment together onto the baking sheets. Sprinkle the coarse salt over the top of the crackers.
7. Bake the crackers for 10 minutes. Then reverse the baking sheets: both top to bottom, and front to back to help the crackers brown evenly. Bake another 10-15 minutes, until starting to brown around the edges.  
8. When golden brown, remove from the oven, and transfer them to a cooling rack. Store airtight at room temperature for up to a week; freeze for longer storage.

*I've made these with both types of flours, and they both turn out great although all-purpose does seem to make them a bit lighter and crispier.
**I love adding 3 g nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor and a dash of garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper for a bit more zest, but they're also great with just salt.
***You can leave the dough slabs in the fridge overnight if that works better for your schedule.