Sourdough seedy crackers
Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I’m sure by now you’ve all figured out what you’re making for side dishes, desserts, bread, and turkey (or some other option), but I hadn’t thought about appetizers until last night. Maybe I’m the only one that forgets stuff like this. This is our first Thanksgiving in our own home, so it was enough for me to think about the stars of the show. So to be prepared for the pre-feast hangries, I whipped up some of my favorite super healthy, super filling, super tasty crackers and have some cheese ready.
These were inspired by the amazing Sarah Britton from My New Roots‘ “Life-Changing Crackers” with my own little twist. I know her crackers are perfect the way they are and totally don’t need any help, but one day I had this idea to add my starter to it and it was like magic. The starter adds such a depth of flavor and assists in eliminating more anti-nutrients. Mine’s made with local organic wheat, so unfortunately it takes away the gluten-free appeal for many. But you could use a gluten-free sourdough starter. I’ve seen a ton of resources on that. I’m super excited to dive into that world someday.
They’re actually quite simple to make, it just takes one particular ingredient I didn’t always have in my pantry until this recipe became a regular in my repertoire: psyllium husk powder. Psyllium husk is what binds this flourless (other than the starter) cracker together, and it’s good stuff! Sarah goes into great detail about the benefits here. I’m sold! I recommend venturing out to your health food store and grabbing some so you can give this a try as well. The textures and flavors are so complex and are a great base for cheese or any topping you love on crackers.
My oldest daughter is really into cooking, and she helped me out by being my model for these photos (She’s making a dried fig and black pepper variation in the photos). And she’s 7. Does that help you with the potential intimidation factor of the recipe? You basically dump ingredients into a bowl, mix, plop, roll, and bake.
It’s not too late to start them tonight for your appetizers tomorrow. Enjoy!
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 flax seeds
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup brown or black sesame seeds
- 1.5 cups rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons chis seeds
- 3 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
- 1.5 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil, avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, or ghee
- 1/4 cup sourdough starter (measured after stirring)
- 1.5 cups water
- In a medium bowl, stir all ingredients together until evenly distributed and the water is absorbed and dough is thick, about 5 minutes. Divide the dough in half.
- Place on half of the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and shape it into a rectangle. Place another sheet of parchment over the top and, using a rolling pin, roll out into a large rectangle about the size of your baking sheet, and very thin. Carefully peel off the top layer of parchment and score your crackers into desirable sizes and shapes. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Let rest at room temperature for 8-12 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven racks in the upper and lower middle positions. Place baking sheets in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Pull them out of the oven and carefully flip the crackers over and peel off the parchment paper. Bake the upside-down crackers (rotating the pans and switching top and bottom positions), for another 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and crisp all the way through. Let cool completely on a wire rack and break along the scored lines. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
Sharon
December 19, 2018
Is it just me or is this super hard to score? Can’t wait to see how it tastes!
Joey
July 16, 2020
Hi, may I know what’s your room temperature like? I live in tropics so my usual temperature is around 28 Celsius.