sesame, sumac, & whole wheat sourdough crackers
the most addictive sourdough crackers ever.
(and i’m not one for superlatives.)
Servings: 3 sheet pans (~150g per sheet)
Time: total: ~1 hr 10 min, active time: 30-40 minutes
Recipe:
200g whole wheat flour
2 tbsp white sesame seeds (raw or pre-roasted, both are fine)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
½ tsp salt
200g sourdough discard
4 tbsp EVOO
a handful of fresh, chopped parsley OR 3-5 chopped thyme springs
flaky salt
Combine dry ingredients (flour, nooch, seeds, herbs, and salt).
Add wet ingredients (sd discard and EVOO).
Mix until it comes together to form a ball, but it should still be crumbly. Don’t worry, it will hydrate in the fridge.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
(While the dough is easier to roll out the fresher it is, I’ve also stored the dough in the fridge for up to five days. I’ll make a big ball and then slowly chip away at it. The tang develops further as it sits since technically you just fed the discard some flour.)
5. When ready to bake, remove dough from the refrigerator. The dough should look more hydrated and less crumbly.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F (157 deg C).
7. Using a rolling pin or wine bottle, roll out dough on parchment paper. You want to get the dough as thin as possible (<⅛ inch) or else it will not crisp up.
(This process will take some arm muscle, just consider it a 5-minute upper body workout. This workout can also feel like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, fitting and pressing broken pieces of dough back into place. If the dough keeps sticking to the rolling pin or breaking apart, add an extra tsp EVOO onto the top of the dough. As you roll the dough out, you will find the dough is thicker towards the middle. Concentrate your strength towards the middle of the sheet. Roll dough as even as possible so that it bakes evenly.)
8. You’ll need to work quickly here: Lightly brush or spritz water onto dough. Then before the water dries, sprinkle and press flaky salt and sumac onto the dough.
(How much sumac? See Recipe Development #2).
9. Using a pizza cutter, cut into triangles.
(A pizza cutter gives you cleaner edges.)
10. Transfer parchment paper onto the cookie sheet.
11. Your crackers could bake in as little as 20 minutes, but I’ve had general success around ~30 minutes. You’ll most likely be baking more than one sheet of crackers at a time: Bake the first sheet on the bottom rack for 20 minutes, then switch to the top rack for the last 10 minutes. When you switch the first sheet to the top, start baking your next batch on the bottom!
(Time is quite arbitrary because it will depend on your sourdough discard and the thinness of your crackers. I gage the cracker’s “doneness” based on the color of the crackers: i.e., the time it takes to get to a golden-brown).
12.Voila—whole grains, seeds, and leaves!
Non-negotiables:
1:1 ratio of discard:ww flour is the golden rule in this recipe.
Don’t skip on the nooch—it brings a special umami flavor to the crackers.
Add the seeds to the dough but reserve the sumac from sprinkling on top (see Recipe Development #1, #2).
Triangles are the best shape to consume food. Do not try any other shape.
Flaky salt is key (trust me, I’ve tested with and without it).
Try experimenting with:
I usually feed John Dough, my starter, 10/40/50:rye/ww/ap. All starter discards will work, and all will bring their own distinct type of flavor! Using discard from a 100% rye starter I’m sure would be delicious. Just keep in mind... if your starter has more whole grains, it will be darker in color--making it a darker cracker and harder to tell when it is done baking.
While I believe sesame is the best seed to partner with the sumac, I would also consider: caraway seeds, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds.
If you have a pasta maker, you could try pressing the dough through the pasta maker instead of rolling it out by hand. I have never tried this technique though, and I’m not positive that it would work. The dough is quite dry, and I feel like it would come apart.
Recipe Development:
Since beginning my sourdough journey in March 2020 (as did the world), I’ve been finetuning my sourdough discard cracker recipe. I’m not sure exactly how many tests it took to get to this recipe, but I’m estimating at least 14. (I bake loaves every other week, leading to a hearty amount of discard every two weeks. I’ve been baking for seven months. 7 x ~2 = ~14.)
For the past seven months, I’ve experimented with:
flours (100% AP, 100% WW, 50/50 AP/WW, 100% buckwheat, 0 added flour)
fats (EVOO, grapeseed oil, vegan butter)
mix-ins and toppings (truffle seasoning, furikake, TJ’s everything but the bagel seasoning, TJ’s umami mushroom seasoning, garlic salt, herbs de provence, only rosemary, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, etc.)
But I knew I hit gold when I brought these sesame and sumac crackers to a beach picnic with my friend Cleo. I really don’t trust my own taste buds, but I trust Cleo’s. I don’t remember her words exactly, but she thought that the crackers could be sold as some artisanal variety. She saw the need for no improvements, and she was even inspired to make some crackers for herself the next day.
I needed to test the recipe one more time though, so I could measure the ingredients (not just eyeball EVOO, sesame, and nooch). I also wanted to increase the sumac flavor because it was quite subtle.
In the batch before the picnic, I mixed the sesame and sumac into the dough as dry ingredients. The next time around,I forgot to add them into the dough. It was a fortunate mistake though. I ended up sprinkling both on top right before baking, and I came to two conclusions:
The sumac, a more subtle flavor, needs to be sprinkled on top right before baking. When you shake the sumac directly on top, you get an random pattern of splotches. The splotches give a variety of bites. Some bites will be stronger and others will be more subtle in sumac, making your eating experience much more fun!
The sesame seeds need to be mixed in the dough as a dry ingredient so that the seeds get embedded into the cracker. If it is just sprinkled on top, many of the seeds fall off because the flaky salt and sumac are already taking up so much cracker real estate.
I’ll eat a whole sheet pan’s worth as soon as they come out of the oven, pairing the crackers with a chickpea smash or soft cheese.
If you decide to test the recipe, I want your thoughts! Tag me (@everythingalexcooks) in your creation !
