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These sourdough parchment crackers are thin, crisp and rustic, and made with a simple dough with six basic pantry ingredients. Rolled paper thin and baked until golden and blistered, they have the perfect crunch that makes them impossible to stop eating.
Table of Contents
I first started making these when I wanted something a little more interesting to serve with cheese than regular crackers. They remind me of the crisp, rustic crackers you get at a really good deli or wine bar, but they’re surprisingly easy to make at home (and so much cheaper, which is a bonus).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Perfect for Cheese Boards – These crisp, golden crackers are ideal for serving with soft cheeses, dips or a spoonful of fresh peach chutney. They instantly make a simple grazing board feel a little more elevated.
Great Use for Sourdough Discard – If you’ve got extra starter sitting in the fridge, this is such an easy and delicious way to use it. You can use either active starter or discard.
Thin, Crisp and Flavorful – The semolina gives these crackers a rustic texture and extra crunch, while the olive oil and sourdough add so much flavor.
Ingredients
- Sourdough Starter – You can use either active starter or discard here. Both add flavor and help create the perfect crisp texture.
- Water
- Olive Oil – Adds flavor and helps the crackers bake up crisp and golden.
- All Purpose Flour – Gives the crackers structure while still keeping them light.
- Semolina Flour – This is what gives the crackers their rustic texture and extra crunch. Semolina is what I use to dust my bannetons and make sourdough pizza dough too!
- Salt
How To Make Sourdough Parchment Crackers
I use a stand mixer with a dough hook to mix this dough, however you can easily knead this by hand if you prefer. It’s a lovely dough to work with, it’s not sticky at all.
To the bowl of your stand mixer, add the sourdough starter, water, olive oil, all purpose flour, semolina flour and salt. Use the dough hook to knead the dough for around 5 minutes until it becomes smooth. This is a dry dough compared with making bread, however it should still become fairly smooth and supple after kneading.
Once the dough is sufficiently kneaded, cover the dough and leave it on the counter for around 45 minutes to an hour. Don’t skip this step, it makes a huge difference to the texture of the crackers.
Now, preheat your oven to 230ºC and line 2 large trays with parchment paper.
Divide the dough into equally weighted pieces (I’ve gone with 20g because I find this manageable).
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and then roll each ball out into a thin circle using a rolling pin.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Crispy Crackers
Roll the dough out as thin as you can. The thinner the dough, the crispier the crackers will be. You should be able to see your fingers through the dough when you hold it, but the dough should not tear. It takes a bit of practice to get this right, but after the fifth or sixth one, you will start to get the hang of it.
Once the oven is hot, lay each piece of dough onto the parchment lined trays, gently stretching it as you pick it up.
Spray the parchment dough with a light mist of water and place in the oven at 230ºC for around 3 minutes or until you see little bubbles popping up on the crackers.
Turn the oven down to 210ºC and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the crackers are very crisp and golden. Depending on your oven, you might need to turn the trays, or even turn the crackers during the bake time.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Don’t Burn The Crackers!
Watch the crackers closely at the end. Because they’re so thin, they can go from perfectly golden to too dark very quickly.
Remove the crackers from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before serving.
What To Serve With Sourdough Parchment Crackers
These sourdough parchment crackers are perfect for grazing boards and cheese platters. I love serving them with soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert and a spoonful of red pepper relish or tomato chutney. They’re superb with homemade Boursin cheese (which you can see pictured in these photos).
They also pair great on a charcuterie board with cured meats, olives and fresh fruit.
If you want something a little simpler, try serving them with a roasted veggie hummus, whipped feta, or your favorite dip. They’re even delicious on their own with a drizzle of olive oil and a little flaky sea salt.
Why Use Semolina Flour?
These sourdough parchment crackers hold such a special place in my heart. If you have been following The Pantry Mama for a while, you’ll know that I LOVE semolina flour. I use it dust my banneton baskets and to stop sourdough pizza dough from sticking to my pizza peels, so I always have a big jar sitting on my counter. It’s such a versatile flour and gives all of my bakes a bespoke, rustic feel.
After living in Italy I really wanted a way to recreate the delicious crackers and crisp bread I had tasted and after testing lots of different ways to do it, and I found that semolina, with its coarse texture, was the easiest way to create the crispest, thinnest crackers. Semolina is made from durum wheat and has a much coarser texture than bread flour, so it actually resists absorbing moisture. This is what gives these crackers the brittle, shattery texture. I hope you love them as much as my family and I do!
How To Store + Freeze
Room Temperature – Store these crackers in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I find they stay crispest in a glass jar or metal tin rather than a plastic container. If I’m transporting these for charcuterie platters at parties, I do pop them into a ziplock bag and they’re fine, just for a short time.
Freezer -You can freeze the baked crackers in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Let them thaw at room temperature, then pop them into a hot oven for a few minutes to crisp them back up.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but the texture will be different. Semolina gives these crackers their signature crisp, rustic bite.
Yes, discard straight from the fridge works perfectly in this recipe.
Because the dough is rolled so thin that it almost looks like parchment paper before baking.
Absolutely. Rosemary, cracked black pepper, fennel seeds or parmesan would all work in this recipe.
Sourdough Parchment Crackers
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 100 g Sourdough Starter, (or sourdough discard)
- 230 g Water
- 15 g Olive Oil
- 300 g All Purpose Flour
- 180 g Semolina Flour, (coarse texture)
- 12 g Salt
Instructions
- I use a stand mixer with a dough hook to mix this dough, however you can easily knead this by hand if you prefer.
- To the bowl of your stand mixer, add the sourdough starter, water, olive oil, all purpose flour, semolina flour and salt. Use the dough hook to knead the dough for around 5 minutes until it becomes smooth. This is a dry dough compared with making bread, however it should still become fairly smooth and supple after kneading.
- Once the dough is sufficiently kneaded, cover the dough and leave it on the counter for around 45 minutes to an hour.
- Now, preheat your oven to 230ºC and line 2 large trays with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into equally weighted pieces (I've gone with 20g because I find this manageable). Roll each piece of dough into a ball and then roll each ball out into a thin circle using a rolling pin. Try to get it as thin as you can without the dough tearing.
- Once the oven is hot, lay each piece of dough onto the parchment lined trays, gently stretching it as you pick it up.
- Spray the parchment dough with a light mist of water and place in the oven at 230ºC for around 3 minutes or until you see little bubbles popping up on the crackers.
- Turn the oven down to 210ºC and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the crackers are very crisp and golden.
- Remove the crackers from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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