21 Dec Gingerbread Crackers (Sourdough Discard)
You can increase recipe based on how much sourdough discard you have.
Ingredients:
- 100g sourdough discard (active can be used as well, but this is a great way to use unused sourdough starter)
- 15g brown sugar
- 30g molasses
- 35g unsalted butter, melted
- 120g whole wheat flour (half white and half whole wheat flour can be used as well)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Time required:
- Mixing ingredients 20 minutes
- Shaping dough 10-15 minutes
- Baking 18-20 minutes
Directions:
1. Measure out sourdough discard in a mixing bowl. If using only 100g, go to step 3.
2. Divide total amount of sourdough discard used (if more than 100g) by 100. For example, if using 200g sourdough discard, 200 divided by 100 equals 2. Multiply the other ingredients by the number to increase the recipe in proportion to the amount of sourdough discard used.
3. Melt butter.
4. Add molasses, butter, and brown sugar to the bowl with sourdough discard. Mix ingredients together.
5. Add flour, spices, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Mix until a dough forms.
6. The dough can be covered and left to ferment which results in a lighter texture or it can be rolled out and baked right away. Both versions taste great! If you are letting the dough rest and ferment, proceed to step 7 after 1-2 hours (or overnight).
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Cut a large piece of parchment paper (about the size of a cookie sheet). Place about a softball size portion of dough on the parchment paper. Roll out evenly until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick.
9. Use a rolling pizza cutter or knife to cut the rough edges off dough so it becomes a large square or rectangle. Scraps can be put aside and rolled into another batch. Cut the large piece of dough into 1-inch strips. Turn the dough and cut the strips into small 2-3 inch long rectangles.
10. Use a fork to poke the rectangles twice.
11. Bake crackers for 18-20 minutes until they are just hardened and no longer squishy when pressed. Don’t overbake, these can go from perfectly baked in just a few minutes.
12. Allow to cool on cookie sheet.
Repeat steps 8-12 if there is any remaining dough.
This is a great baking activity for kids! A lot of room for error and they love cutting out the crackers themselves.
My son even tried using cookie cutter shapes and they worked really well. To use cookie cutters, firmly cut dough with as many shapes that you can fit on the dough. Then, carefully peel away the extra dough between the shapes and bake 16-18 minutes.
