Cheddar Cheese Sourdough Crackers Recipes

SOURDOUGH CHEESE CRACKERS

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, cheese powder and salt together in a small bowl.
• Place 3 tablespoons of the butter and the starter in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and work on low speed until creamy and homogeneous, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and sift the flour mixture over the creamed starter, return the mixer to low and work until a soft dough forms, about 1 minute more.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 equal pieces. Press each piece into a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle and wrap in individual pieces of plastic wrap. Refrigerate between 8 and 24 hours (see Cook's Note).
• Place two racks nearest the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees F. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Retrieve one piece of dough from the refrigerator and dust both the dough and your pasta maker with flour. (Continue to dust the pasta roller and the dough as needed to prevent sticking.) Starting on the widest setting, typically labeled "1," feed the dough through the roller. Then fold the dough into thirds, as you would a letter, turn 90 degrees and run it through again. Fold the dough into thirds again, turn, and pass it through the roller.
• Adjust your pasta maker to the next setting and roll the dough through 3 times without folding. Repeat this step 3 times more on both the 3rd and 4th settings. Transfer the dough to one of the prepared half-sheet pans and repeat the process with the remaining dough, arranging two sheets of dough per pan.
• Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and brush onto the dough. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of kosher salt. Dock the dough thoroughly with a fork and cut into 1-inch squares with a pizza wheel.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the pans 180 degrees and rotate from top to bottom. Continue baking until the crackers just begin to brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes more.
• Remove from the oven and immediately transfer the crackers on the parchment to a rack to cool completely before serving, about 20 minutes.
• Lid tightly and store at room temperature.
• To begin: Mix together 125 grams flour and 125 grams water with a clean hand in a medium glass bowl. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let sit undisturbed at room temperature until the mixture is full of bubbles and has nearly doubled in size, usually 2 to 3 days. During this time, yeasts and bacteria from the air and from the flour and probably from you will set up housekeeping in the bowl (see Cook's Note).
• For daily feeding: Peel back any crust that may have formed and transfer 20% of the culture (50 grams) to a clean, wide-mouthed jar. Stir in 100 grams flour and 100 grams water, loosely screw on the lid and stash at room temperature for 24 hours. (The culture will have a stinky-sour smell at this point.) Discard the rest of the original mixture.
• Repeat step 2 every 24 hours for 5 days. By then the culture should smell yeasty-sweet-sour, which means you're ready to put the starter to work. The cheese crackers are to be made with the discarded percentage of starter.

SMOKEY CHEDDAR CHEESE CRACKERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine the flour, Cheddar, smoked paprika, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until incorporated. Add the heavy cream and process until the dough forms a ball.
• Lightly flour a sheet of parchment paper and place the dough on top. Shape the dough with your hands into a flat rectangle, then lightly flour the dough. Roll it out with a rolling pin until it is a little less than 1/4 inch thick (about a 12-by-9-inch rectangle). Cut the dough into squares or rectangles and carefully transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the dough pieces with about 1/4 teaspoon more salt, gently pressing it into the surface, then dust very lightly with more smoked paprika. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

CHEDDAR CHEESE SOURDOUGH CRACKERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• On the fine side of a grater or in a food processor, grate the cheddar cheese until finely shredded.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cheese. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, stir together the sourdough discard and 168 grams (3/4 cup) heavy cream until well-blended. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients mixture and stir well to combine into a shaggy mixture.
• Dump the dough onto a very lightly floured surface, and continue to gently knead until a smooth dough forms. Divide into two pieces and cover one with a kitchen towel.
• On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper (one that will fit your baking sheet), roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 1/8 inch thick. Use a knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 1-inch squares, leaving the sheet intact--you do not need to separate the crackers from each other, though some edge pieces may detach themselves.
• Transfer the parchment sheet of rolled and cut crackers onto a sheet pan. Repeat the previous step with the other half of the dough, using a second sheet pan and piece of parchment.
• Optional: use a skewer to poke a hole into the center of each cracker.
• Brush the tops of each sheet of crackers with the remaining 15 grams (1 tablespoon) of heavy cream. Bake crackers for 20-30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until crackers are golden brown and dry across the tops. Pro tip: you can bake them fairly dark for a more toasty, caramelized flavor.
• Remove the sheets from the oven and cool completely before breaking up the sheets of crackers with your hands. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.