sourdough whole-wheat cheese crackers / cracker integrali al formaggio

one by one, they will soon be all gone
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The August-September selection of the Cook the Books club is the novel Sourdough by Robin Sloan¹. Intriguing title, I thought immediately, but did not know what to expect: I rarely read reviews before I read a book (sometimes do so after turning over the last page²). Being familiar with the San Francisco Bay Area contributed to the story's appeal, but even if you don't know the island of Alameda or the San Francisco Ferry Building, you will enjoy the twists and turns of Lois Clary's adventures in robot-aided bread baking.

The atmosphere is sci-fi, so don't expect your sourdough starter to behave the same way as that of the title. My adventures in sourdough-baking started some years ago with an evening class taught by Rhonda Wiedenbeck now of Beck's Bakery³. I got home that night with 2 tablespoons of Rhonda's sourdough starter (pasta madre), which I have fed, used, refrigerated, frozen (in between uses). I have a relaxed relationship with it. For regular feeding, I use the simple formula I learned in the class: I stir well 2 tablespoons of sourdough starter + 1/4 cup of water + 1/3 cup of King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour, cover the (recycled yogurt) container and place it on top of the refrigerator.

I have baked various types of sourdough bread⁴ (pane al lievito naturale) and this time what got me scouting for recipes was the idea of using the starter in between feedings that would otherwise be wasted. I found inspiration on the King Arthur Flour website which has a recipe for Sourdough Crackers⁵, made particularly appealing for the inclusion of whole-wheat flour (farina integrale). I halved the quantities and adjusted the ingredients to my taste, particularly with the addition of cheese to the dough.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Sourdough whole-wheat cheese crackers

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces / 113 g sourdough starter (see Note below on starter feeding)
• 2 ounces / 56 g whole-wheat flour (I use 1 ounce / 28 g Chiddam Blanc de Mars from Capay Mills⁶ and 1 ounce / 28 g hard red wheat from Beck's Bakery³ both stone-ground)
• 1 tablespoon / 1/2 ounce unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2-1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs of your choice, optional but nice (I use rosemary)
• 1 ounce / 28 g sharp cheese of your choice, freshly grated
• olive oil for brushing
• coarse sea salt for sprinkling on the surface

Note: For regular feeding, I stir well 2 tablespoons of sourdough starter + 1/4 cup of water + 1/3 cup of King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour, cover the (recycled yogurt) container and place it on top of the refrigerator. I repeat this morning and evening during the days in which the starter is not in the refrigerator. When I make the crackers, I take the amount of starter needed and use the rest in the preceding formula.

In a bowl, weigh the sourdough starter, whole-wheat flours, butter and olive oil, and stir to make a dough. Sprinkle sea salt and herbs (if using) and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Stir salt and herbs into the mix, transfer on your working surface and knead until you have a smooth, slightly tacky dough. (To make this step easier, I lightly oil my kneading board and wet my hands.) 

Shape the dough into a thick rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to a couple of hours.

When ready to shape and bake the crackers, preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Lightly flour the surface of the dough and roll it into a long rectangle (top left photo below). Distribute the grated cheese over one half of the rectangle (middle left photo) then fold the other half over the cheese (bottom left photo).

Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and transfer the folded dough onto it. Roll the dough to a thickness of about 1/16 inch / 1.5 mm. Transfer the dough and parchment paper together onto a baking sheet. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with olive oil and sprinkle a bit of salt on top. Cut the dough into squares (a pizza cutter wheel works well for this task). Don't worry if the cut doesn't go all the way through: a deep score is good enough (top right photo below). Prick the surface with the tines of a fork.

rolling and scoring the dough for crackers

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the crackers for 20 to 25 minutes, until they brown around the edges, or a bit more (the thinner pieces will brown almost fully, bottom right photo above). After 12 minutes, turn the baking sheet front to back to help the crackers bake more evenly.

Take the baking sheet out the oven and transfer the crackers to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week (in my case they never last that long, because I also like to share them).

composition of shapes

I love these crackers: beyond their delightful crunch, the notes of rosemary (rosmarino) and cheese make them great on their own or with a layer of prosciutto, fresh chèvre or your spread of choice.

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¹ The book's page on the author's website
² The NPR review, the Guardian review the Washington Post review
³ Beck's Bakery
⁴ My bread collection
⁵ Recipe for Sourdough Crackers on the King Arthur Flour website
⁶ Capay Mills

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

cracker integrali al formaggio

or launch the cracker integrali al formaggio audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Debra of Eliot's Eats. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

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This is also my contribution to the 34th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 11 years ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

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FTC disclosure: I have received the linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

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crackers, whole-wheat flour, cheese, sourdough

Comments

[Debra Eliotseats]

I always think of sourdough products as being all yeasty and risen. I am glad to know that you can make a cracker. :) My sourdough is coming to room temperature now, so I may have to make these (along with trying some "real" sourdough bread recipes today.

[Simona Carini]

That's why I looked for something different Debra. From an ingredients' perspective, sourdough starter is a mix of flour and water, so it makes sense to use it in other ways. I plan to find and try other recipes along the same line. Good luck with your sourdough bread :)

[Phil in the Kitchen]

I wish I could say that I've been as diligent and careful with my sourdough starter as you but sadly that's not the case. But I do love the idea of making my own sourdough crackers - they sound like a true delight. My wife is a fan of sourdough crackers from the (very expensive) local shop, which don't look anything like as inviting as yours, so I have a real incentive to try making them.

[Wendy Klik]

I'm very impressed with the tenacity it takes to keep and grow a starter. I never realized you could freeze it when you can't take care of it. Perhaps it is doable after all.

[Claudia]

I do talk about all the starters I've killed, though truthfully, I've baked with it a lot over the years, just end up killing each one in the end. My new one coming from King Arthur will hopefully be the exception. I remember always looking for ways of using the excess when refreshing the starter, so these crackers will be good to try. Often I would make waffles or pancakes with it.

[Simona Carini]

I would give sourdough another try, Phil. I think sometimes instructions to care for it make things more complicated than they need to be for a home bread baker. Refrigerator and freezer are your friends, though certainly one cannot completely forget about it. While they may not provide the same level of satisfaction as a well-risen and well-baked loaf, crackers are a joy to make: they take little time and are versatile. I hope you give these a try :)

[Simona Carini]

I don't freeze it for long periods of time, but if I am gone for more than a week, the refrigerator is not an option. The other thing is allowing it a bit more time to come back to full life. Yeasts are in the flour and the air. Also, a pinch of of bran helps. I suggest you give it a try and see how you like it: the important thing is to establish a caring routine that works with your schedule.

[Simona Carini]

Good luck on your new starter, Claudia. You have other yeasts and small colonies going in your kitchen, so you know you are a good caretaker :)

[Lynda England Hardy]

I love the idea of sourdough flat crackers - if I wasn't the Starter Murderer I'd love to try these!

[Delaware Girl Eats]

Simona -- my own adventure with sourdough starter dates back to the Alaska writing retreat, and I was super happy to keep it alive for 5 months. I didn't want to try again although I loved the story threads in this book. Your crackers look like just the thing for a fall get-together and wish I was into bread-making enough to try them.

Am looking forward to the Michael Twitty book. Heard him speak earlier this year and he was quite compelling in person.

[Simona Carini]

I remember the sourdough episode from our visit to Alaska (I don't want to think about how many years have passed since then). I understand not wanting to have that responsibility again. One way could be to befriend a baker and ask for a bit of theirs and not investing too much emotional energy into it (meaning, if it dies, so be it). The crackers are addictive: when I make them I give away some so I don't overindulge. I am also looking forward to reading Michael's book.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Lynda. I hope someday you'll give sourdough starter another try :)

[Penny]

Sourdough is one of my favorite breads to have with a great dish of spaghetti! It would be great to change it up a little and try these crackers.