Sourdough Pumpkin Crackers

These simple sourdough pumpkin crackers use a lot of discard - and taste amazing! They are delicious any time - but are absolutely perfect for Thanksgiving and Fall charcuterie boards.

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Sourdough Discard

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings crackers

Calories 20kcal

Equipment

Digital Scales
Mixing Bowl
Rolling Pin
Cracker Roller
Baking Trays

Ingredients

150 g Sourdough Starter can use active or discarded starter
100 g Pumpkin Puree
170 g All Purpose Flour
35 g Butter soft
5 g Salt
20 g Olive Oil for brushing
10 g Sea Salt for topping
Pumpkin Seeds for topping (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 320F/160C. You want a cooler oven for these crackers to ensure they don't burn.
Add sourdough discard, flour, butter and pumpkin puree to a mixing bowl and bring the ingredients together to form a pliable dough (see notes). If it's too soft and doesn't come together, add a little more flour.
Divide the dough into two portions (this makes it easier to roll).
Place each ball onto a piece of parchment paper and flatten out with your hands into a rough rectangle. If it becomes sticky, dust with a little flour.
Now roll out to a thin sheet of dough using a rolling pin. You want it around 1/16" or 1.5mm thick. The thinner you can get it the better because thick crackers won't cook properly and won't crisp up in the oven.
If the dough is sticky, dust with a little flour. See the notes below for additional info to help.
If you are going to use pumpkin seeds, sprinkle these over the dough and gently press them in using your rolling pin.
Use a cracker roller to perforate dough. If you don't have a cracker roller you can use a cookie cutter or knife to cut into crackers and then pierce each one with the tines of a fork.
Place each parchment paper with dough on top onto a baking sheet. This recipe will generally need two baking trays.
Brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Bake at 320F/160C for around 25 minutes or until crackers are golden and crisp. The pumpkin puree can cause the crackers to burn easily so keep an eye on them.
Let the crackers cool on a rack before breaking into individual pieces.

Notes

Notes on Discard -

This recipe is based on a sourdough discard from a 100% hydration sourdough starter.

Notes on Pumpkin Puree -

If you can purchase canned pumpkin puree, it will give you a more consistent texture as it has a lower water content. I have made these crackers with homemade pumpkin puree because canned puree is not available where I live. Homemade pumpkin puree will require a little extra flour when you roll the crackers out.

Notes on Mixing Dough -

This dough is easy to mix in a bowl with a dough scraper or your hands. I find it easiest to use a dough scraper until the dough has just come together. I then use my hands to knead the dough in the bowl until all the ingredients are combined. Don't add additional liquid - just keep kneading til it comes together. Depending on the hydration of your pumpkin puree, you may need to add a little extra flour when you go to roll the cracker dough out.

Alternatively, you can place the dough in the fridge before you roll it out.

Nutrition