Juniper’s Feisty Sourdough Discard Cracker Recipe

You asked … Hobson’s Choice delivered

After the furore caused by Chef Juniper Hob’s pâté, here’s the requested recipe for sourdough discard crackers with Parmesan, butter, salt, pepper, spices and magic.
The key to crispiness is spreading the dough as thinly as possible. 
Direct to you from Hobville in Gretna Green as featured in Spilling the Tea.

In a message via Dola, Juniper said:

“I often don’t know what humans don’t know. So just in case … would you mention this?
If the human wants to make crackers but doesn’t make sourdough they should simply ask any friend who does for 200 grams of discard. Any sourdough baker will be not just happy—but positively grateful—to gift a cup of discard to anyone they consider a friend.
It’s a natural byproduct of the sourdough process and also makes excellent cinnamon rolls, breakfast pancakes and far, far more.
The real magic of sourdough is that, being a living organism, it’s thirsty for magic and holds minor spells extremely well.
Show them the video—the recipe always sounds complicated, and it’s not.”

The super-short Video

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRR7QKxQ

If you can’t/won’t do TikTok there is a longer, slower (not as good, but more explanatory) Facebook video below in the recipe.

Ingredients

• 200g (about 1 cup) Sourdough Discard (unfed starter is fine)
• 50g (about 3.5 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, melted
• 75g (about 1 cup) Grated Parmesan Cheese (reserve a little for topping)
• ½ tsp Fine Sea Salt (plus more for sprinkling)
• ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper (plus more for sprinkling)
• ¼ tsp Chili Flakes (or smoked paprika or Bagel seasoning)
• Olive Oil for brushing (optional) 

Instructions

1. Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F)
2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, baking paper or baking parchment —or whatever you call it in your part of the globe.
3. Mix Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine the sourdough discard, melted butter, most of the Parmesan cheese, fine sea salt, black pepper, and chili flakes.
   Or take the shortcut and simply pour the discard onto the parchment paper. (See video above)
4. Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined baking sheet. If you didn’t like the shortcut version, here’s a longer Facebook Reel where she explains everything—at length—(about 7 mins)
   You can place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. You can use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a very thin, even layer (around 1/16-inch or 1.5mm thick) assuming you have too much time on your hands. The thinner you roll it, the crispier the crackers will be.
   OR my tip would be to watch the video and spread it super thin with a spatula or dough scraper – it’s quicker.
   (Editor’s note: My experiments have done better with the spatula method — a child could do it. The rolling method is a real faff unless you’re an experienced baker.)
5. Bake: Bake for 10-15 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and …
6. Score: Use a cracker roller, a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to score the dough into desired cracker shapes (squares, triangles or rectangles). Do not separate the crackers at this stage. If there is any ‘puffiness’ stab prick them with the tines of a fork to ensure flat, crispy crackers.
7. Season: Brush the surface of the dough lightly with olive oil (if using) and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, a generous amount of flaky sea salt, and extra black pepper or chili flakes to taste. Some older family members prefer to substitute a light dusting of smoked paprika for the chilli flakes. Some people use bagel seasoning instead; you do you. Whatever makes you happy.
8. Finish Baking: Ovens vary as much as magic levels. Return the scored dough to the oven and bake for an additional 10-30 minutes, or until the crackers are golden brown and firm to the touch. The total baking time will vary depending on your oven and how thin your dough was rolled.
9. Cool and Store: Let the crackers cool completely on the baking sheet before breaking them into individual pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. 
10. Too many? Should you live alone, you can freeze half the crackers at the slightly underdone stage (about 10 minutes into the second bake) and finish them in the oven when you want to eat them. Auntie Marigold says this is a kindness to her hip size because you start nibbling them, it’s hard to stop.
11. The only non-variable. Add your preferred spell at the very end.

Add your magic

Note from Linzi:

Just in case you think I would supply a recipe I haven’t tested—shame on you! 😀
Although I admit I may have retained a little too much of the parmesan for the top. Putting 85-90% in the bowl before cooking will be my next experiment. They’re not pretty, but they’re very, very good.
And that’s 12 inch/30cm Ninja Combi pan, the thickness was about perfect. But in a Ninja even just on ‘Bake’, I’d reduce it to 180C / 350F next time.
But they’ve all gone now, so none of that did them any harm—obviously.
If you have a local Lidl supermarket, their Yellow Top Australian Merlot goes wonderfully with them, and you can’t beat £4.80 a bottle for a mellow, drinkable cracker accompaniment. Breanna would be proud.