If you’re anything like me, or the greater “crunchy” movement across America, you may find yourself obsessively reading ingredient labels. Then you find yourself putting so many of your favorite childhood foods back on the shelf. I have always loved graham crackers – they make a great snack, pie crust, and s’more of course. But the ingredients in store-bought grahams are unimpressive.
Through some recipe testing, and lots of snacking, I’ve landed on a homemade graham cracker recipe you can add to your own pantry. This recipe is relatively simple and boasts the benefits of fermentation from Sourdough. I hope this recipe is a simple way to replace another store-bought item in your pantry and becomes a well-loved snack in your recipe collection!
Begin by gathering your ingredients: All-Purpose Flour (and Whole Wheat Flour if you have it), Brown Sugar, Honey, Sourdough Discard (or fresh Starter), Butter (softened), Vanilla, Baking Powder, and Salt.
Add the Butter, Vanilla, Honey, and Brown Sugar into your mixing bowl and whisk together with a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer. Combine well. Next, add in your Sourdough discard (or fresh Starter stirred down) to the mixture and whisk well. It will be lightly colored and somewhat smooth.
Next add in the Baking Powder, Salt, and Flour. At this point, you can either use only All-Purpose Flour or half All-Purpose Flour and half Whole Wheat Flour. Whisk the dry ingredients into your wet ingredients, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Wrap your Graham Cracker dough in plastic wrap, or cover your mixing bowl to keep it from drying out, and place it in the fridge for a few hours or a few days. The longer you keep this dough in the fridge the more time it has to ferment. Refrigerating the dough is a necessary step to give the dough shape when you roll out the crackers.
Preheat your oven to 325oF. Once the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours and you’re ready to roll it out, place it onto a piece of parchment paper (18″ x 13″) and lightly flour the dough. Roll out to about a quarter inch thick, the dough should fit approximately onto a cookie sheet.
Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, cut your dough into squares; use a fork to poke holes into each square – this will prevent your crackers from ballooning in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the top of the dough begins to turn a darkened golden. The edges of the crackers will be a good sign of doneness. It is better to ere with less time in the oven. These crackers are so good a little bit chewy and soft. Remove the crackers from the oven, allow them to rest on the pan an additional 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
These graham crackers are everything a snack should be: real, homemade, and deeply flavorful. Enjoy them straight from the oven with a glass of milk, pack them in school lunches, or stack them high with a toasted marshmallow and a square of dark chocolate by the fire. Once you taste the depth that sourdough adds, you’ll never go back to box-bought again!
Homemade Sourdough Graham Crackers
Ingredients
Method
- Add the butter, vanilla extract, honey, and brown sugar into your mixing bowl and whisk together. Combine well.8 tbsp unsalted butter, 200 grams brown sugar, 80 grams honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Next, add in your sourdough discard to the mixture and whisk well.130 grams sourdough discard
- Add in the baking powder, salt, and flour to your wet ingredients, scraping down the sides as necessary.280 grams all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt
- Wrap your Graham Cracker dough in plastic wrap, or cover your mixing bowl to keep it from drying out, and place it in the fridge for a few hours or a few days.
- Preheat your oven to 325oF. Place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper (18" x 13") and lightly flour the dough. Roll out to about a quarter inch thick, the dough should fit approximately onto a cookie sheet.
- Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, cut your dough into squares; use a fork to poke holes into each square. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the top of the dough begins to turn a darkened golden. Remove the crackers from the oven, allow them to rest on the pan an additional 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
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