For anyone that loves crunchy foods, these Sourdough Parchment Crackers are for you. Sturdy yet paper thin, they deliver the kind of snap I cannot resist. I call them parchment because you can see right through them. Delicate yet crisp, I defy you to eat just one.
With everyone exploring sourdough bread making, there is a good deal of starter to discard. (For the uninitiated, when you make starter to leaven your bread, you must remove and throw out a portion before feeding the starter. There is a good amount of waste unless you bake huge quantities of bread. The discard is what you use to make these crackers.) The starter doesn’t need to have any leavening ability left. In fact, I prefer to make these sourdough parchment crackers with tangy old sourdough.
The batter is made from the starter and olive oil, which tenderizes the dough after baking. Without it, the crackers would be hard and chewy not crisp. To get the lacy effect, spread the batter as thin as possible onto a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Use a pastry brush to spread out the batter or an offset spatula. (The tool used to ice a cake.) Each batch of batter makes enough for one half-sheet tray of crackers. I recommend that you make one batch at a time because it will help you have the proper amount of batter for your sheet tray, approximately 12 x 16 spreadable inches.
Before baking, sprinkle the batter with salty and spicy toppings. These complement the tangy fermented flavor of the cracker. Because of its color, I like Merlot sea salt, which I bought at a local Spice and Tea Exchange, and Aleppo pepper for a mild heat.
Kitchen Notebook
People email me with recipe requests and cooking questions. What equipment to use seems to be a popular topic. In the photo with this recipe I used a Lékué silicone baking mat, which the company sent to me to test. I like the fact that it has sides, which keeps the batter in place. I have also made this recipe using a parchment paper lined sheet tray or on a flat silicone mat.
Looking for ways to use up the excess sourdough I have been generating, I found a recipe for sourdough discard crackers on this charming web site, Little Spoon Farm. It was my inspiration although I sought and obtained different results.
Each batch of batter makes enough for one half-sheet tray of crackers. I recommend that you make one batch at a time because it will help you have the proper amount of batter for your sheet tray, approximately 12 x 16 spreadable inches.
Ingredients
½ cup sourdough starter
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt
Aleppo pepper or other mild hot ground red pepper
Sesame seeds, ground cumin, hot or smoked paprika, herbes de Provence
Directions
- Line a half-sheet tray with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Measure the sourdough starter into a small bowl. Stir in the olive oil until smooth.
- If the mixture is thin and batter-like, spread it with a pastry brush onto the prepared sheet tray. If the batter is somewhat thick, spread it with an offset spatula onto the prepared tray. Sprinkle the batter with coarse salt and other toppings.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Cool the cracker on a wire rack. Break the parchment cracker into several pieces and store in a tightly covered tin or container. Depending on the humidity, they will stay crisp for 3 – 4 days.
