This homemade sourdough graham cracker recipe brings you right back to your childhood – in the best way. Using discard, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla, these sweet, crunchy little squares are made with real food ingredients.
You know I love a good sourdough discard recipe, and this is no exception. Graham crackers are such an iconic childhood snack, but I’m not happy with the typical ingredient list of the store-bought version.
So, why not make our own? And add the wholesome goodness of sourdough!
These turned out so perfectly crisp and sweet, and so much better than the boxed crackers we’re familiar with.
The kids just loved them, and I loved that we knew everything that went into their making.
If you find yourself with too much sourdough discard from time to time, recipes like this one come in very handy. I don’t like to discard my “discard”. I like to use it up or save it up.
And if you are just now looking into sourdough, I have detailed instructions on starting and maintaining sourdough starters.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious: The perfect snack for kids, these are full of honey flavor and are satisfyingly crisp.
Healthy: Made with real food ingredients and absent of all artificial sweeteners, dyes, or other additives, and they don’t have lots of sugar. Plus, you have the nutritious components of whole wheat and sourdough discard.
Easy: These are quick and straightforward, and they make a great baking activity to include the kids in. Recreating a popular snack is so rewarding, especially when you’re making it even better! The kids will love to poke the holes at the end.
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Tips
- The refrigeration period is important for shaping the dough and achieving the classic, flaky texture. You can resume after 2 hours, or even keep the dough in the fridge for 24 hours for more fermentation and deeper sourdough flavor.
- When rolling out your dough, aim for consistency. Thicker areas might remain soft, while thinner areas baking simultaneously could be extra crisp.
- Keep a close eye on these crackers as they bake. They can quickly go from golden perfection to overbaked because of how thin they are.
- Alternatively, it would be super fun to let the kids get creative with cookie cutters.
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour – Use your favorite whole wheat flour. I normally use fresh milled hard white wheat flour.
All-purpose – Use your favorite all-purpose flour, too!
Baking soda – This gives the crackers their little bit of puff in the oven.
Salt – I love to use sea salt.
Butter – I use salted butter, plus a small amount of added salt, and love the results. You can also use unsalted butter.
Light brown sugar – This adds sweetness and a light molasses flavor.
Honey – Honey adds more sweetness and that classic honey flavor.
Vanilla extract – Vanilla adds another dimension of flavor.
Sourdough discard – You can use refrigerated discard or active starter. Either will work.
Tools you may need:
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Large bowl
Rolling pin
How to Make Sourdough Graham Crackers
Start by combining whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a larger separate bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and honey with a hand mixer until light in color – about one minute.
Add the vanilla and discard to the butter and sugar mixture, stirring until just combined.
Pour your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly. At this point, the dough should have the consistency of cookie dough.
Transfer the dough to a countertop, shape into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
After refrigerating, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut the disc of dough in half and place one of the halves onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour, add another piece of parchment paper on top, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle that is 1/4″ thick.
Repeat with the second half of the dough.
Transfer the rolled-out dough with the parchment paper to a large baking sheet. Remove the top sheets of parchment paper carefully.
With a pizza cutter, trim the edges into clean lines, forming a neat rectangle. Cut the dough into 2″x3″ squares, then poke holes into each square with a toothpick.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Bake time may vary with the thickness of your particular batch.
Let the crackers cool completely before breaking them apart and serving.
Storage
After completely cooled, store leftover crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
FAQ
The big difference is that these homemade crackers boast a sourdough tang and are free of all artificial additives. Compared to store-bought, these are the healthy choice.
Their classic flavor comes from the honey, the deep molasses notes (in the brown sugar in this recipe), and the nutty, wholesome taste of wheat flour.
Graham crackers have been made with graham flour, which is just another name for unprocessed whole wheat flour. So basically, the less processed your whole wheat flour, the closer you are to the original. I’ve found that equal parts of whole wheat and all-purpose is the perfect balance for us.
The great thing about these crackers is how versatile they are. Eat them plain, spread them with peanut butter and chocolate chips, fan them out on a charcuterie board, or use them to make s’mores!
More sourdough discard recipes:
- Sourdough Discard Crackers
- Sourdough Banana Muffins
- Easy Sourdough Flatbread
- Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies
- Easy Sourdough Pizza Crust
If you make this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone with your delicious creation.
Sourdough Graham Crackers
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour , 140 grams
- 1 cup all-purpose flour , 140 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, 3 grams
- 8 tablespoons salted butter , 114 grams, softened, not melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar , 200 grams
- ¼ cup honey, 84 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 5 grams
- ½ cup sourdough discard , 125 grams
Instructions
- Combine whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a larger separate bowl, or a stand mixer bowl with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and honey until light in color – about one minute.
- Add the vanilla and discard to the butter and sugar mixture, stirring until just combined.
- Pour your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly. At this point, the dough should have the consistency of cookie dough.
- Transfer the dough to a countertop, shape into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- After refrigerating, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut the disc of dough in half and place one of the halves onto a large sheet of parchment paper.
- Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour, add another piece of parchment paper on top, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle that is 1/4" thick.
- Repeat with the second half of the dough.
- Transfer the rolled-out dough with the parchment paper to a large baking sheet. Remove the top sheets of parchment paper carefully.
- With a pizza cutter, trim the edges into clean lines, forming a neat rectangle. Cut the dough into 2″x3″ squares, then poke holes into each square with a toothpick.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Bake time may vary with the thickness of your particular batch.
- Let the crackers cool completely before breaking them apart and serving.
Notes
- The refrigeration period is important for shaping the dough and achieving the classic, flaky texture. You can resume after 2 hours, or even keep the dough in the fridge for 24 hours for more fermentation and deeper sourdough flavor.
- When rolling out your dough, aim for consistency. Thicker areas might remain soft, while thinner areas baking simultaneously could be extra crisp.
- Keep a close eye on these crackers as they bake. They can quickly go from golden perfection to overbaked because of how thin they are.
- Alternatively, it would be super fun to let the kids get creative with cookie cutters.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were fantastic! I would like to make chocolate ones next time. How would you alter the recipe to make them chocolate? I’ve seen other recipes with cocoa powder, but I don’t know if I would need to increase hydration, decrease flour, or a combination of the two?
These are wonderful! I rolled my first batch too thick but on the second I rolled them thinner and they got that perfect graham cracker crisp. They are so delicious with a sweet honey and molasses flavour!
One question though, can I freeze them after they are baked and cooled so they last longer? I don’t think I’ll be able to go through them all before they would go bad. Thanks Lisa!
Yes, you can!
Hi there, if freshly ground einkorn flour is used instead will it affect the graham flavor? Thank you kindly!
I’ll be making these for evermore! Wow, was 100% blown away by the way these turned out!
Are you kidding me?
Actual Graham crackers!!!
These were delightful. They were everything you could imagine a Graham crackers tasting like. Wow 👌
Made these with maple syrup and some cinnamon. They are SO addictive and delicious!!! I made them with the intention of using them for a pie crust, but we might eat them as is! I’ll definitely be making more of these! I’m so glad I tried this recipe!
Would I be able to use these graham crackers to make a pie crust?
YES!
So I doubled my recipe and used the weighted measurements listed….but when I had mixed it up and it didn’t look right I realized that the weighted measurements don’t change when you click the 2x button. So I had to readjust and mix out of order. Still taste great but I wanted to let you know the measurements don’t change with the multiply button
Thank you! I will get this fixed asap.
We’ll never go back to store bought!
These crackers are in my weekly bake rotation! My kids and I love them. I freeze multiple batches of dough for busier times, so all I have to do is defrost, roll, and bake!
My husband and kids loved these! They are great, but rolling out the crackers are definitely a labor of love. I put some in a cookie press to try to go faster, it’s ok, but not really faster. Maybe if I add a little more flour it would work better. I let it sit on the counter for most of the day, and then put the dough in the fridge over night. Great recipe.