This easy spelt sourdough discard crackers recipe is a delicious & quick way to use up sourdough discard. A perfect sourdough recipe for beginners. It’s gut healthy and made with the ancient grain, spelt plus flavourful herbs. This whole foods, plant based (vegan) recipe made with low oil is a terrific appetizer dipped in hummus or perfect served as a side.
Don’t throw away sourdough discard!
The story behind my Vegan Spelt Sourdough discard Crackers Recipe:
When I first started dabbling with sourdough, I was trying to create my own starter from scratch. I had loads of sourdough discard! Not wanting to waste any starter I began searching for easy sourdough discard recipes.
That’s when I came across sourdough discard crackers!
Sourdough discard crackers are great because they use a lot of starter, almost half the recipe is discard!
However, most recipes I found used butter or a lot of oil. So over time I developed a whole foods plant based -vegan – recipe that uses little oil and still is delicious. The sourdough with herbs truly makes the flavour like no other.
I love the versatility and gut health of this vegan sourdough discard cracker recipe.
Kid friendly spelt sourdough discard crackers recipe!
Personally, I like to roll the cracker dough thin and bake it a bit longer to get the nice thin crunchy sourdough cracker effect.
However, my little ones do better with softer crackers. So I simply don’t roll the dough as thin and bake it a bit less. It’s almost a thinner flat bread texture. They love it!
Ingredients (vegan):
- Sourdough discard – or fresh starter stirred down
- Spelt flour – whole/stone ground ancient grain flour
- Salt – Himalayan or Celtic or Redmonds
- Herbs – basil and thyme, or other favourites
- Avocado or Olive Oil – organic extra virgin cold pressed
- Course salt (optional)
Make sure to check the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients with quantities.
Tools You May Need:
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- parchment paper
- baking sheet
- mixing bowl
- rolling pin
- spelt flour
- grain mill for milling your own ancient grains
Ancient Grains (spelt) are gut healthy & easier to digest.
Regular wheat was hybridized back in the 60s by Dr. Norman Borlaug to produce a far higher yield and lower hunger. This is now the common wheat used today. Sounds good right? Sadly, this hybrid grain with its complex gluten structure is far more difficult for our bodies to digest!
If you’re struggling with gluten sensitivities, try using ancient grains. My favourite ancient grain is spelt for it’s versatility and lower cost. You can usually purchase organic ancient grains at your local bulk store, or online at Azure Standard (USA) or Organic Matters (Canada) or Fieldstone Organics (Armstrong, BC).
Ancient (Heritage) grains have a simpler & more digestible genetic makeup:
- Einkorn
- Spelt
- Kamut (Khorasan)
- Emmer
Additionally, you can long fermenting the cracker dough in the fridge overnight and bake them fresh the next morning. (Also a perfect meal prep tip.)
Long fermenting grain helps to break the gluten and protein structures down even more making them gentler on our guts. Long fermenting sourdough grains are easier to digest and nutrients are more readily absorbed.
Lean more about the health benefits of my favourite salts and oils in this post.
Instructions: How to make Spelt Sourdough Discard Crackers from scratch.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. (Skip this step if long fermenting the crackers overnight in the fridge.)
In a mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients first. Add the flour, salt, herbs and mix.
Then measure in the wet ingredients: avocado oil and starter. Mix all together.
If the starter is fresh and bubbly simply stir down the starter to get a more accurate measurement and hydration. If the sourdough discard is straight from the fridge skip this step.
Once combined, gently kneed the dough into a ball.
At this point you could through the dough into the fridge, covered, overnight in order to long ferment the grains. This is perfect recipe to meal prep the day before. Alternatively, let the covered dough sit out on the counter for a few hours on the counter and bake later to get the long ferment benefits. Or just pop them in the oven right away!
Once ready to bake crackers, use your hands to flatten out the dough onto parchment paper.
Then wet a rolling pin to avoid any sticking and roll the crackers out thinly if you’re going for crispy cracker.
The key is to roll them very thin if you want the crispy sourdough crackers! If you’re going for a softer cracker – almost a flat bread texture, simply don’t roll them out as thin and back a bit less.
Optionally, top with course Himalayan salt.
Slid the spelt crackers onto a baking sheet and score them.
Bake at 350 degrees F, for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown with desired crispness.
Store in an airtight container, once they have completely cooled. That is if you didn’t eat them all first!
Variations of Vegan Sourdough Discard Crackers:
Switch up the herbs: basil and thyme, garlic and Italian seasoning, garlic and rosemary all taste lovely. Fresh herbs, when in season from your garden, are a delightful substitute for dried herbs.
Seed crackers: add chopped seeds such as flax, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower or chia seeds.
Vegan cheesy crackers: add nutritional yeast.
Sweet crackers: cinnamon and honey.
Tips: Sourdough Discard Cracker FAQs
What do you eat sourdough crackers with?
- It’s a perfect side to soup or pasta or dal.
- Tastes great with raw garlic – olive oil spread.
- Make a vegan charcuterie board, staring these gut healthy, spelt sourdough crackers.
- It works great to use for a road trip snack with hummus.
- This recipe can even be used as sourdough spelt pizza crust.
Can I use sourdough starter straight from the fridge?
Yes, I do it all the time! I always keep 1-2 cups of starter on hand so I can make crackers whenever I wish with no waiting. No need to stir the starter down if you are using it straight from the fridge.
Does my sourdough starter need to be bubbly?
No, but it can be, just stir the starter down to get a more accurate hydration for the dough.
What if I don’t have enough starter to make this recipe?
Like I often do, just feed the starter and use it right away, it still works perfectly. Or you can feed your starter, wait 15 minutes to 4 hours or more and then use (stirred down starter).
The dough is too wet, what do I do?
If it’s too wet, simply add a bit of spelt flour at a time and kneed until the right texture is achieved. It should feel like the start of a drier bread dough.
The dough is too dry, now what?
Add a little bit of water at a time and kneed to a bread thicker dough bread dough texture.
Is sourdough starter / discard good for you?
Yes! Food baked with sourdough starter is gut healthy as starter contains wild yeast and lactobacillus bacterium, the good gut bacteria.
Sourdough starter is what breaks down the gluten structure in the grain so it’s easier for your gut to digest and the nutrients more readily absorbed.
It’s best to wait one day before eating anything made with sourdough starter so the yeast can all die off/evaporate and not get into your system. As an overgrowth of yeast can lead to various health issues.
How do I store sourdough crackers & how long do they keep?
If stored in an airtight glass container (mason jar anyone?) they should keep at room temperature for up to a week.
Did you make this recipe AND LOVE IT…?
I would be grateful if you could come back and give it 5 stars, let others know what you’ve discovered!
Spelt Sourdough Discard Crackers
Delicious gut healthy sourdough crackers make the perfect quick & easy side or appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1 c sourdough starter (discard)
- 1 c whole spelt flour (or other ancient grain flour)
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 Tbsp basil
- 1 Tbsp thyme (if using only 1 herb, add 1 tsp garlic powder)
- A sprinkle of course Himalayan salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, salt, herbs & mix.
- Measure in the wet ingredients: avocado oil & starter, then mix.
- Once combined, gently kneed the dough into a ball.
- Place onto parchment paper, use your hands to flatten out the dough.
- Take a wet (to avoid sticking) rolling pin and roll the crackers out. Or place between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out thinly.
- For crispy crackers roll them out very thin. If you're going for a softer cracker, leave them a bit thicker.
- Top with course Himalayan salt.
- Slid the spelt crackers onto a baking sheet and score them.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until crispiness is achieved.
- Once completely cooled, store in an airtight glass container.
Notes
- For crispy crackers the trick is to get them really thin, otherwise they will be more like a soft cracker - a sourdough flatbread.
- Depending on the hydration the starter you may need to add some water or flour to get the dough to a kneading consistence. Only add a little at a time.
- If the starter is fresh and bubbly simply stir down the starter to get a more accurate amount and hydration. (If the sourdough discard is straight from the fridge skip this step.)
- Long ferment the grains by placing the cracker dough into the fridge, covered, overnight. (A great make ahead of time prep tip!)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 184Total Fat: 7.76gSaturated Fat: 0.938gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1.325gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 394mgCarbohydrates: 26.04gFiber: 3.3gSugar: 6.26gProtein: 4.56g
Make sure to always do your own nutritional research for your own optimal health.
That looks really good!