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I don’t know about you, but Goldfish crackers are a huge hit in my house. Since I started my sourdough journey, I’ve been working on switching most of my wheat-based products to ones I can make with my sourdough starter. I wanted to make my little one a less processed version of the original and decided to make this homemade sourdough cheddar cracker recipe. While you can definitely make these into regular square crackers, I cut them into goldfish with a cute little cookie cutter I purchased on Amazon. These homemade sourdough cheddar crackers are a great way to use sourdough discard, but you can also use active starter.
Sourdough Discard Cheese Cracker Ingredients
Flour: Use all-purpose flour or substitute some of the white flour for whole wheat flour. I wouldn’t use all whole wheat though, as it can affect the dryness and texture too much.
Salt: Iodized salt, kosher salt or fine sea salt works.
Cheese: Use sharp cheddar cheese to really make that cheesy flavor stand out. No cheese powder in this recipe!
Butter: I used unsalted butter but feel free to use salted. It won’t affect the saltiness enough to notice much of a difference.
Sourdough Discard: You can use active sourdough starter or unfed sourdough discard.
Water: Ideally you want the water cold to help keep the butter from melting. I’ve made these with room temperature water however, and the results were the same.
How to Make Sourdough Cheese Crackers
What I love about these crackers is they are so easy to make (like just as easy as making pie crust) and they come out so crunchy and flavorful.
Equipment:
Food Processor
Knife and Cutting Board
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Rolling Pin
Fish Shaped Cookie Cutter (or just use your regular kitchen knife): You want a 1-inch fish cookie cutout. I purchased mine on Amazon and it worked great! It seems like it is 3-D printed and the only drawback is you have to hand wash it. It is perfect for this task though!
If you do not want to make goldfish crackers, you can also just cut the dough into approximate 1-inch squares with a sharp kitchen knife or pizza cutter.
Make the Dough
Cut the cheese and butter into approximate 3/4 inch cubes.
Process the flour, salt and cheese until crumbly.
Add the butter and continue to process until the texture is crumbly.
Pour over the sourdough discard and process until fully incorporated.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of water and process until the dough starts to come together and a soft dough forms.
Roll Out the Dough and Cut the Crackers
Divide the dough into two equal sized pieces and shape into squares approximately 1 inch thick. I usually store one of the dough squares in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap while I cut out the other. This helps keep the dough cold.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface or a piece of parchment paper until it is about 1/8th of an inch thick.
Use your cookie cutter or asharp knife to cut out the crackers into small squares.
Bake the Crackers
Place the cut out cracker dough onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 375F for 14-16 minutes. They should be thoroughly cooked and slightly golden brown. Use the first batch to gauge the desired thickness for the rest of your crackers. If you cut them too thick, they won’t dry out very well and will taste slightly soft and chewy rather than crunchy. If you cut them too thin, they will be dry and overcooked.
Variations
You can add extra flavorings in these crackers like dried herbs, onion powder, garlic powder, dried celery, or paprika.
How to Serve Sourdough Cheddar Crackers
You can serve them:
- On their own for a delicious snack
- As a topping in soup (like my homemade blender tomato soup recipe)
- Crushed up and use in breading for chicken or fish
How to Store
Store these cheesy sourdough discard cheddar crackers in an airtight container such as a mason jar, a zip loc bag, or a glass storage container. Because these crackers have no preservatives, I recommend eating them within 1 week. They probably won’t last that long though!
How to Freeze
You can freeze the dough for up to 1 month for best results. Once you shape the dough into squares and wrap in plastic, place it in a gallon zip loc freezer safe bag. Place in the freezer.
When ready to use, allow the dough to defrost in the fridge completely. Ideally, remove from the freezer the day before you intend to use the dough. Proceed to roll it out and cut the dough as instructed in the recipe.
Can I Make these Vegan?
I have not tried making these vegan but if you do try this please let me know how it goes in the comments.
If you need more recipes to use up your sourdough starter discard, I have several other sourdough discard recipes I would love for you to check out:
Flaky AND Flavorful Sourdough Pie Crust
Sourdough Discard Tortillas (New Mexican Style)
Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Cheddar Crackers
These sourdough cheese crackers are the perfect homemade version of goldfish crackers. They are crunchy and super cheesy and are sure to be a big hit amongst your kids.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 11 minutes mins
Total Time 31 minutes mins
Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 16
Calories 118 kcal
Equipment
Food Processor
Knife and Cutting Board
Rolling Pin
1 inch fish shaped cookie cutter optional
Large Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese cut into approximate ¾ inch cubes
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into approximate ¾ inch cubes
- ½ cup sourdough starter (active starter or unfed sourdough discard)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375℉.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the salt and flour 1-2 times.
Add the cheese cubes and process on low until the cheese becomes fine and crumbly.
Add the cold butter and continue to process until the entire mixture is crumbly like coarse sand.
Add the sourdough starter and process until fully incorporated.
Add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough starts to come together and form clumps. This should only require 1-2 tablespoons of water.
Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and shape into two somewhat square shapes approximately 1 inch thick. Wrap one of the squares in plastic wrap and place in the fridge while you work on rolling out the other square.
Roll the square out on a lightly floured surface or parchment paper until the dough is approximately ⅛ inch thick.
Using a sharp kitchen knife or your goldfish cookie cutter, cut out the crackers and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (If using a knife, cut into approximate 1-inch squares. If using the cookie cutter, once you cut out the fish shapes, you will have a lot of excess dough. Simply roll it back into a ball and roll it out again with your rolling pin. Continue to cut out the fish shapes until you use all the dough.)
Bake for 11-16 minutes in the preheated oven. Bake time will depend on your oven and how thick you cut your crackers. Check at 11 minutes and extend the bake time as needed. Allow to cool completely before serving.
Once you have completed cutting out the first square of dough, you can work on the second one from the fridge. Alternatively you can freeze the second square after placing it in a quart sized freezer bag.
Nutrition
Calories: 118kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 4gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 166mgPotassium: 20mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 229IUCalcium: 102mgIron: 0.4mg
Keyword Sourdough, Sourdough Discard
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