Delicious Gluten-Free Sourdough Crackers (Discard or Active Starter)

Come learn how to make gluten-free sourdough crackers with this easy step-by-step recipe. They’re crispy, flaky, savory, and just as delicious as our our classic wheat sourdough crackers. You can make them with active GF starter, or use discard to reduce waste! These crackers are perfect for parties, holidays, or just a healthy snack.

While they’re dang good plain, the addition of optional herbs, cheese, or other seasonings make these crackers over-the-top delicious. So much so, my friends can’t believe they’re gluten-free. I love to pack mine full of fresh herbs from the garden but you can use dried herbs too.

If you need one, learn how to make a gluten-free sourdough starter from scratch here. Then you can enjoy baking your own gluten-free sourdough bread, cornbread, pancakes, crackers, and more.

Supplies

• 1 or 2 baking sheets
• rolling pin
• parchment paper or silicone baking mats
• a pizza cutter or pastry wheel cutter (or you can cut them with a knife)
• recommended: silicone basting or pasty brush (for brushing olive oil over the top)

Ingredients

YIELD: This recipe makes 2 full baking sheets or approximately 6 dozen gluten-free sourdough crackers – perfect for a family, party, or gathering! With just the two of us here, I often make a half-batch. They’re so addicting, we’d devour them all in a day or two otherwise!

• ½ cup rice flour. I like using brown rice flour, or try half brown rice and half sweet rice flour.
• ½ cup oat flour. I’ve also tried substituting sorghum flour instead of oat flour in this recipe, and the flavor was outstanding! Yet the texture was less light and flaky, though still crisp. The crackers also took about 5 minutes longer to cook. If you experiment with other flour combinations, be sure to let me know what worked well in the comments!
• 1 cup of gluten-free sourdough starter, active or discard. If using discard, you’ll get the best results if it was fed within the last week or two (not from a severely neglected starter.) I use brown rice flour to start and maintain our gluten-free sourdough starter. Therefore, the cracker results may vary with different types of GF starter, such as one maintained with buckwheat.
• 1.5 tablespoons of psyllium husk powder (husk for binding)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of coconut oil, butter, or olive oil. I love the flavor that coconut oil offers!
• 1/2 cup water
• Olive oil, for brushing
• Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling on top

Optional additions:

• 1/4 cup fresh herbs (finely chopped) or 2 tablespoons dried herbs. I most often use a combination of fresh rosemary, sage, oregano, and thyme from the garden.
• 1/2 cup firm grated cheese such as parmesan, sharp cheddar, asiago, or similar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder, onion powder, or other seasoning of choice – such as “everything but the bagel”

Instructions

1) Mix dough

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients first, including the flours, psyllium husk, salt, and any other seasonings/ powders of choice.
  
  
• Next, add the gluten-free sourdough starter, oil or butter, water, and optional cheese, herbs or seasonings. If using coconut oil or butter, it should be slightly softened and easy to mix in, so you may need to lightly heat it until it just barely starts to melt.
  
  
• Thoroughly mix the dough until it is uniform. I usually start mixing with a fork or spoon, but then finish mixing with my hands. The texture should be similar to cookie dough. It shouldn’t be sticky, especially with the coconut oil.

PRO TIP: Depending on the hydration of your starter (how wet it is) you may need to add a little more water. If the cracker dough is crumbly or will not hold together in a smooth ball, add one additional tablespoon of water at a time until it will.

2) Split and Chill

• Divide the large dough ball into two roughly equal smaller balls. (Or one ball for a half-batch of crackers.)
  
  
• Using your hands, form each ball into a flattened rectangle. This step reminds me of forming hamburger patties, if that helps. Mine generally end up a little larger than my flattened hand, and about half an inch thick. Repeat for the second ball.
  
  
• Next, wrap each flattened dough rectangle with parchment paper, a reusable beeswax wrap, or plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
  
  
• Finally, refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes, up to a few hours. I usually set mine on a small plate in the fridge.

PRO TIP: You can even refrigerate the dough overnight and bake your gluten free sourdough crackers the next day if you wish! In that case, I recommend storing it an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out in the meantime.

3) Roll Out

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  
  
• After chilling, remove the cracker dough from the fridge. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the size of the baking sheet, or use a silicone baking sheet liner. Lightly dust the parchment paper/liner with flour. Carefully unwrap one chunk of flattened dough, place it in the center of the floured parchment paper, and lightly flour the top of the dough. TIP: I like to do this on a large cutting board, which makes it very easy to roll then transfer to a cookie sheet.
  
  
• Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is nice and thin. The goal is about 1/16th of an inch thick or less. The edges will be a little ragged – that’s okay. Just work it back and forth and side to side to get it spread as evenly as possible while still maintaining a relatively rectangular shape. The thinner you roll it, the more crisp your crackers will be!

4) Oil, Slice and Poke

• Once the dough is rolled out, lightly brush the surface with a thin even coating of olive oil. Make sure to get the edges! Then sprinkle some coarse salt over it as well.
  
  
• Next, cut the dough into rows of square crackers. Anything from 1 to 2 inches is a good size! A rolling pizza cutter works well, but I love to use a pastry/pasta cutter to get fun wavy edges.
  
  
• Finally, poke the top of each cracker with the tines of a fork a couple of times to prevent puffing or big uneven air bubbles.
  
  
• Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the second piece of dough.

5) Bake

• Carefully transfer or slide each piece of parchment paper with the dough onto baking sheets. I usually bake two trays at a time, but you could also bake one at a time if needed.
  
  
• Bake on 350°F for approximately 30 to 35 minutes*, until the crackers turn golden brown and crisp. (See note below.)
  
  
• Rotate the cookie sheets halfway through baking. It is common for the outermost edges to get “done” more quickly than the inner crackers. Personally, I find it worthwhile to ever-so-slightly overcook the ragged edges in order to get the ideal crunch in the rest of the batch. The more crisp they are out of the oven, the longer the crunch lasts in storage too.
  
  
• When they’re done baking, immediately transfer your finished gluten-free sourdough crackers onto a wire cooling rack.

*NOTE: Baking times will slightly vary by individual oven, how thin you roll out your crackers, and if you bake 1 or 2 trays at a time. Also, different flours may influence baking time. For example, I’ve using sorghum instead of oat flour increased the baking time by about 5 to 10 minutes.

Storage and Shelf LIfe

After fully cooling, store your gluten-free sourdough crackers in an air-tight container to maintain maximum freshness and crunch for several days. I like to use a glass container with snap-on sealing lid. They do tend to get a little stale after 4 or 5 days, but we usually eat them by then anyway.

Enjoy

These herby gluten-free sourdough crackers are a delicious, healthier alternative to most other types of crackers or chips. Enjoy them with cheese, olives, hummus and other dips. I love them alongside soup, chili, or tuna salad too!

Sourdough crackers are our go-to for charcuterie boards, holiday or party platters. They’re always a huge hit, and people are impressed to learn they’re homemade!

And that is how you make delicious gluten-free sourdough crackers.

In all, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Please feel free to ask questions, leave a review once you give them a try, or share this recipe with your friends! Happy baking.

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• Easy Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread Loaf Recipe
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• Easy Vegan No-Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe (With Protein!)
• How to Feed and Maintain Sourdough Starter: Best Beginner’s Guide
• Easy Stuffed Dates with Goat Cheese, Nuts, Honey and Thyme