Whole Grain Sourdough Crackers

Adapted from an adapted recipe at Sarah's Musings.

These crackers are absolutely delightful! They do not last long around here. I can hardly stop myself from eating one batch before the next batch is done! Honestly, I think the lard is a big reason why they are so nice. They are crisp and tender all at the same time! I haven't tried them with coconut oil yet, but that would be a good alternative for you veggies out there! Please use lard from a good source (i.e. pastured animals and with no additives.)

Ingredients:
1 C sourdough starter (use inactive starter leftover from feedings)
1/4 Lard (from pastured pork) or coconut oil
1 C whole grain flour, or as much as you need to make a stiff dough
1/2 tsp sea salt
olive oil for brushing
Coarse salt (such as kosher salt) for sprinkling on top

Equipment:
mixing bowl
prep bowl
silpat liner
rolling pin
pastry brush
pizza cutter
baking sheet (in which the silpat fits)

In a large bowl combine the sourdough and lard and mix thouroughly. (This is easy when the lard is room temperature.) In a separate small bowl, mix the salt and 1/4 C of the flour then add it to the sourdough mixture. Knead it together in the bowl, adding the remaining flour - as much as necessary to make a stiff dough. Cover the bowl with a lid, or place plastic wrap over the dough so that it doesn't dry out. Let it sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

After 12-24 hours, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a small portion of the dough (about 1/4 cup) and roll it out on a silpat liner until it is very thin. Then brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. (I tried fine sea salt and it really isn't as good as coarse salt.) Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough horizontally and vertically into cracker quadrangles. Place the silpat on the baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until just golden brown. The crackers will shrink and separate while baking.

Notes: I have made a double batch of the dough, the divided it up into 8 portions after the soaking period and froze those so I could make a quick batch of crackers with less lead time. It doesn't take too long to thaw (maybe an hour or so? I took it out of the freezer before we went to church and when we got home it was room temp.) They came out just as good as the other batches and that portion is just right for one sheet.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

This is a somewhat specialized recipe because it requires sourdough starter. What I really like about it though is that it is a recipe for "discarded" starter, not active starter. A great way to keep from drowning in starter and not let it go to waste! I've adapted the recipe to include soaking of the whole wheat flour in order to eliminate phytates and make it more nourishing. I've also subbed out the oil and sugar for healthier alternatives. (I've been making it with a white flour starter, but a whole wheat starter would surely work just as well.)

Adapted from a recipe by Mike Avery.

Ingredients:

1 C sourdough starter (discarded/refrigerated starter)

1 C whole wheat flour (sift flour prior to measuring)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/4 melted coconut oil or melted butter

1/2 C honey

1 tsp baking soda

~1/2 C blueberries

Method:

In a stand mixer, combine sourdough starter and whole wheat flour. Once the two are thoroughly combined, cover the dough with plastic wrap ensuring that none of it is exposed to the air. Let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

The dough will rise some while it sits. If any of it has gotten exposed to the air and gotten dry, just remove those bits so you don't have little dough nuggets in your final product.

12-24 hours later, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with papers or grease the cups.

In a separate bowl, mix together all other ingredients except for blueberries and baking soda. Then add those to the dough in the mixer's bowl and mix together. Once all the ingredients are mixed and have come together as a batter, sprinkle the baking soda in the bowl and mix batter again briefly to incorporate. Fold in blueberries and scoop into prepared muffin pan.

Bake for 20 min. Makes 8-12 muffins.

I have also made this recipe as pumpkin muffins. Instead of blueberries, mix in 1/2 C pumpkin puree (I add it to the same bowl in which I'm mixing the egg, honey, oil etc.). In addition to the cinnamon, I also added about 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground coriander and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg. Adjust spices to your liking,