Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers are crispy, crunchy and hearty. This recipe uses a whole cup of sourdough discard or active sourdough starter.

a plate of sourdough crackers with sesame seeds

If you don’t already have one, I can show you how to make a sourdough starter and how to feed a sourdough starter.

In the meantime, you can make this recipe for Pumpkin Seed Crackers using commercial yeast.

How to make crisp & thin Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers:

Mix the cracker dough as you would any regular bread dough.
You can use either sourdough discard or active sourdough starter to make the dough. Crackers made with active starter will be lighter with more air pockets.
The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before rolling.
The key to making a crunchy cracker is to roll the dough incredibly thin. The easiest way to do this is to start rolling the dough on a floured surface then finish on a sheet of parchment paper.
If you have one, you can use a pasta roller. That’s how I make my ultra-thin Sourdough Rye Crispbreads.
Brushing the dough with egg white will give the crackers a shiny finish.
Allow the crackers to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. This short rise will give the crackers a lighter texture.
Use seeds, coarse salt or everything bagel seasoning for a nice topping.

Scroll through the process photos to see how to make Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers:

two side by side photos showing how to roll and cut sourdough crackers — Roll the dough directly on a sheet of parchment paper. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to score the crackers to your desired size and shape.

two side by side photos showing sourdough whole wheat crackers before and after baking — Brush the dough with egg white and sprinkle with seeds. Bake until golden brown. Break apart the crackers once they have cooled completely.

a stack of sourdough crackers on a black surface

a plate with sourdough whole wheat crackers, cheese, sausage and tomatoes

I know you hate to throw away that sourdough discard. Check out these recipes that use sourdough discard.

Since you’ve got your starter fed, peruse the entire list of My Best Sourdough Recipes. Have fun!

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.

Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers

Name: Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 1 cup (8 oz, 225g) sourdough discard (or active starter); 1/2 cup (4 oz, 120 ml) warm water; 1 cup (5 oz, 140g) all purpose flour; 1 tablespoon honey (3/4 oz, 21g); 2 tablespoons (1 oz, 28g) melted butter; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 cup (5 oz, 140g) whole wheat flour; 1 egg white, whisked until foamy; sesame seeds for topping

Yield: 24 servings

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour

Bake Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Hearty crackers made with sourdough discard and whole grain. These light and crispy crackers are a healthy and tasty snack.

Ingredients

1 cup (8 oz, 225g) sourdough discard (or active starter)
1/2 cup (4 oz, 120 ml) warm water
1 cup (5 oz, 140g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon honey (3/4 oz, 21g)
2 tablespoons (1 oz, 28g) melted butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup (5 oz, 140g) whole wheat flour
1 egg white, whisked until foamy
sesame seeds for topping

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl combine the discard, water and the all purpose flour. Mix to form a thick batter. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30-60 minutes.
Add the honey, melted butter, salt and wheat flour. If using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook.
Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it forms a cohesive dough that clings to hook and clears the sides of the bowl. If working by hand knead for 5-6 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead to form a smooth ball.
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat the dough. Cover tightly and rest at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerate for as long as 2 days.
Divide the dough in 1/2. Roll each piece to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick, using enough flour to keep it from sticking to the surface
Transfer to the dough to a 1/2 sheet parchment paper and continue rolling until the dough is about 1/8" thick and is the size of the paper (see note).
Trim the edges to make a neat rectangle. Use a pizza cutter or paring knife to cut the dough into 2"x2" squares, or to your desired cracker size. You don't need to pull the crackers apart. Brush the crackers with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds or any seed of your choice. Pat the seeds to stick them to the dough. Slide the paper onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
After the crackers are rolled, turn on the oven and preheat to 375°F. Allow the crackers to rise while the oven preheats. Bake the crackers until golden brown and crisp, 10-15 minutes
Cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Break apart any crackers that are still stuck together.
Cool completely. Stored in an air tight container, the crackers will keep for a week.

Notes

If you don't have a 16"x 12" sheet pan adjust the size of the rectangle to your pan size, but still roll to an 1/8" thick.

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Elena

Monday 14th of February 2022

Hi Eileen, Something is wrong, because instead of Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers is showing a completely different recipe of Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will definitely try the Sourdough Cheese Crackers recipe, but while I still don’t have the Powdered Discard wanted to do again the Whole Wheat Crackers. They always come lovely and is one of the things that we always have in the house ❤️ Thank you for the great recipes.

Tuesday 15th of February 2022

@Eileen Gray, can’t wait :)

Eileen Gray

Yikes, thanks for pointing that out. I'm still working on the cheese cracker recipe. I have no idea how the recipes got switched. It's been fixed. The cheese crackers will be published once I perfect the recipe.

Jane

Monday 24th of January 2022

I followed this recipe exactly, rolled the dough to the required thickness, etc. The crakers were chewy. I would not make this recipe agan.

You do need to make sure you bake the crackers until nicely browned to get the best crisp texture. Also, sometimes the crackers at the edges will bake faster. You can remove the crackers from the tray as the become brown and continue baking the crackers in the center a few more minutes.

Sunday 16th of January 2022

Hello Eileen, I noticed that in this recipe you give the amount of sourdough in ml not in gr like the rest of your recipes. Is this correct?

Not sure why I did that. I changed it to grams. Thanks for the heads-up.

Schelly

Thursday 17th of June 2021

I made these this afternoon and they came out chewy not crispy. Any ideas why? I used a strong discard of starter and followed instructions carefully. Help!

Did you roll the dough to 1/8" thick? The thinner the dough the crisper the cracker.

Christine

Saturday 20th of February 2021

Hi! I finally got my starter to "work" correctly, so now I am baking almost every day! We all love the sourdough round - it is beautiful and tasty!

I am in the process of making these crackers - step 2 says to add the "rest of the ap flour", but there is no designation to use only part of it in step 1. I just threw a little extra in while it was kneading and the dough seems fine, but I am just at the resting phase, so hopefully they turn out.

Thanks for the recipes! I think I am obsessed with using starter now! lol

Sunday 21st of February 2021

Thanks for pointing that out. It's been fixed.