Garlic Parmesan Discard Crackers
Learn how to make this quick and easy garlic parmesan discard crackers recipe with your sourdough starter discard.
With a handful of simple ingredients like garlic, butter, flour, and fresh parmesan, you can transform your sourdough discard into a savory, crunchy snack in just 30 minutes!
We're all about reducing food waste and turning sourdough starter discard into delicious treats, and this garlic parmesan discard cracker recipe is definitely one you'll keep coming back to!
Not to mention, they are so easy to make! Just mix all the ingredients in a food processor, roll out the dough, and cut it into squares, and you'll have the most delicious homemade crackers in just 20 minutes!
If you love crunchy sourdough discard crackers, you'll love our sourdough butter crackers, sourdough seed crackers, and crunchy sourdough breadsticks.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Sourdough Starter Discard: You can also use an active sourdough starter.
- Flour: Any type of wheat flour, including whole wheat flour, works here. I went with all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Garlic Powder: Stick with garlic powder for this recipe—it blends better than fresh garlic.
- Fresh Parmesan: Only use fresh parmesan from the block! The store-bought pre-grated parmesan cheese often contains anti-caking agents that can mess with the texture.
- Butter: Non-dairy butter is an excellent alternative if you’re avoiding dairy.
Variations
Experiment with the flavor of these sourdough crackers by adding dried or fresh herbs to the dough, like basil, thyme, oregano, or rosemary. For an extra crunch, sprinkle on bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, or a pinch of flaky sea salt right before baking.
How to make Garlic Parmesan Discard Crackers
Transfer the oven rack to the center position and preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C).
Step 1
Cut the Parmesan cheese into small chunks and pulse them in a food processor until they reach a fine, coarse, sand-like consistency.
Add the garlic powder and pulse to distribute it evenly throughout the cheese.
Step 2
Add the cubed butter, sourdough discard, flour, and water to the food processor and pulse until the dough comes together.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl and use your hands to press it into a cohesive ball. See our tips below for this step.
Step 3
Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each into a disc.
Step 4:
Place a disc between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out with a rolling pin into a large rectangle, about ⅛ inch (0.32 cm) thick (roughly the thickness of two stacked quarters).
Step 5:
Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper from the dough, leaving the dough on the bottom sheet.
Cut the dough into 1-inch (2.54 cm) squares using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife.
Use a chopstick to make a hole in the center of each square. Slide the parchment paper with the dough onto a baking sheet.
Step 6:
Bake for 20 minutes or until the crackers are light golden brown.
Let the crackers cool on the baking sheet; they will continue to crisp up as they cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Carmyn's TIPS
Forming the dough: After removing the dough from the food processor, it might look a little crumbly at first—don’t worry! Just keep pressing and kneading it together with your hands until it forms a cohesive disc. The warmth of your hands will help bring it all together. Do not add more liquid to the dough; it will come together as you work with it.
Shaping the dough: When rolling out the dough, take your time to shape it into a rectangle. As you roll, lift up the parchment paper and gently press and fold the edges back into the dough to maintain the shape. This process requires a little patience, but it ensures you get an even, consistent thickness and shape, perfect for cutting into squares.
How to Store
Store the garlic parmesan discard crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
More sourdough discard recipes
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Garlic Parmesan Discard Crackers
INGREDIENTS
- 4 oz. (112 g) block of parmesan cheese (do not use pre-grated)
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter (cut into small cubes)
- ¼ cup (50 g) sourdough starter (fed or discard)
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cold water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Transfer the oven rack to the center position and preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C).
- Cut the Parmesan cheese into small chunks and pulse them in a food processor until they reach a fine, coarse salt-like consistency. Add the garlic powder and pulse again to distribute it evenly throughout the cheese.
- Add the cubed butter, sourdough discard, flour, and water to the food processor and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and use your hands to press it into a cohesive ball (see notes). The dough should be slightly moist but not sticky. If it feels wet, lightly dust it with flour and work it in. If it’s too dry, add another teaspoon of cold water.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each into a disc. Place a disc between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out with a rolling pin into a large rectangle, about ⅛ inch (0.32 cm) thick (roughly the thickness of two stacked quarters). (see notes for tips)
- Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper from the dough, leaving the dough on the bottom sheet. Cut the dough into 1-inch (2.54 cm) squares using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife. Optionally, use a chopstick to make a hole in the center of each square. Slide the parchment paper with the dough onto a baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the crackers are a very light golden brown. Let the crackers cool on the baking sheet; they will continue to crisp up as they cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.
I love all your recipes you are my go to when need a good sourdough/sourdough discard recipe! These crackers were delicious my family devour them in 5 minutes! Thank you
When you try to print this recipe it jumps to the home page. Can you please correct that on your website? To be clear, it doesn't open in a print window. Looking forward to trying this one, but need to print it. Thanks.
Hi Kira, thanks for letting us know!
I love your recipes! Thank you for sharing with us!
These crackers are so delicious! The only thing different I had to do was bake them longer. After 20 minutes in the oven, they were not crispy. I turned the oven down to 200 degrees and had to leave them for an hour. They just needed to dry out / crisp up! Yum! (They weren't thick.) Did anyone else have this issue?
Hi Karen, Glad you loved the crackers! 😊 We recommend letting the crackers cool completely before munching to let them firm/crisp up.
These were easy and delicious! Instructions were perfect — great healthier snack!!
Delicious! Easy to make and instructions are perfect
Made these today. Went by weight and didn't need to make any modifications other than using salted kerrygold butter and separating the squares a little more so they'd cook evenly around the edges and middle... Tasty treat. Trying not to eat all in one day.
These were so easy and delicious! My kids loved them. Such a fun and healthier twist on cheez its
anyone made these ahead of time and how long do they stay crisp in a container please?
Made just as written; I did need to use an extra tsp of water. I added pepper to half, and love both peppered and non-peppered versions. The only problem is going to be not eating them all in the next hour! (I have dowels I got really cheaply at the home improvement warehouse in 1/8”, 3/16”, & 1/4” thicknesses that I put down on either side of dough to quickly and accurately roll to a specified thickness, and the 1/8” thickness was perfect.)
Thank you, Mary! So glad you enjoyed them!
Would love to have recipes and I follow you!