Tirokafteri is a blend of feta cheese (cow and goat), extra virgin olive oil, greek yogurt, roasted red peppers, hot peppers, vinegar, and a dash of cayenne pepper.
The thick paste-like spread is spicy-hot, slightly sour, pungent, and has a gorgeous soft orange colour.
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Before you begin:
This recipe uses sourdough starter discard as one of the ingredients and makes 50-60 crackers.
If you don’t have a sourdough starter already, you might be interested in this recipe where I walk you through the steps.
It’s super easy, kid-friendly and if you love gardening, you’ll adore this project as you work with live yeast.
The discard is the reason why many people don’t want to make sourdough starters. It seems wasteful to remove half of the starter then add even more flour. So, this recipe uses that discard.
You’ll be baking at two different temperatures.
The first 15-minute baking temperature is 325°F (165°C).
The second temperature is 250°F (130°C).
These hearty crackers are mildly spiced with minimal cheese flavour and suit all mature, tasty hard and soft cheeses.
For more seasoning:
– Add a pinch of cayenne or black pepper to the flour.
– Sprinkle the crackers with parmesan cheese before baking.
– Combine any of these or divide the crackers into 2-3 groups and try them all in the one bake.
You can’t go wrong!
Equipment
- I large mixing bowl
- Spoon for stirring
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Small cereal-sized bowl
- Rolling pin
- Sharp knife or cookie-cutters
- Fork
- Parchment paper
- Baking tray
- Cooling rack
- Oven mitts
- Spatula or fish slice
- Airtight storage container
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1/3 cup Tirokafteri
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cold butter
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Optional, but recommended: sea salt or your choice of seasoning to sprinkle on before baking.
Method
- Add sourdough starter and Tirokafteri to a large mixing bowl and stir until blended.
- Add flour, baking powder, hemp hearts to the mixing bowl.
- Chop cold butter into small pieces with a knife and add.
- With your fingertips, crumble-mix the wet and dry ingredients together until small balls form.
- Add cold water and hand knead the mixture in the bowl until it is no longer crumbling.
- Once the dough has formed a single smooth ball, place it in a small bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate for 10 -15 minutes.
Meanwhile
- Turn the oven on to 325° F (165°C)
- Tear off enough length of parchment paper to cover the baking tray.
- Place the paper on the counter with a rolling pin, sharp knife, fork, and sea salt or extra seasoning of your choice.
- Set the cracker dough in the centre of the paper and flatten most of it with the palm of your hands.
- Now roll the dough until it is approximately 1/8″ thin and covers almost all of the paper.
- Gather up half of the skinny, scraggly corners and edges and use the dough to patch up and thicken other areas.
- Roll again to even out the areas.
- You don’t need the perfect crackers look, so uneven edges are fine.
If you prefer super-thin crackers, cut the dough ball in half and roll each half to 1/16″ thick.
The crackers will still rise a little.
Run a long-bladed sharp knife along the dough, etching cracker size pieces.
Use a fork to add holes and help the crackers rise. If you are making several different flavours, use the fork as a marker (1 row, 2 rows, 3 rows etc).
This one-roll, quick-cut method saves time and is easy. Your crackers will taste the same and have a more rustic look.
If you prefer more uniform-looking crackers:
– after rolling, use a small cookie cutter or glass to make individual crackers.
– gather up leftover pieces and re-roll the dough before pressing out more cracker shapes.
Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt, or your choice of seasoning, over the crackers before baking.
- Set the timer to15 minutes.
For even baking, turn the tray halfway through baking. - At 15 minutes, the crackers on all edges have cooked and the crackers have separated.
Move all crisp crackers to a cooling rack. - Turn the oven down to 250°F (130°C).
- Completely separate the remaining crackers and bake until the centres are no longer soft when pressed down.
Allow crackers to cool before storing in an airtight container.
Use within 5 -7 days.
Are you ever stuck wondering what to use instead of butter or eggs,
or want to try out your favorite recipe with a vegan theme?
Tirokafteri Sourdough Crackers
Equipment
- Wide mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Baking tray
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Cookie-cutters
- Sharp knife
- Cooling rack
- Oven mitts
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1/3 cup Tirokafteri
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp hemp hearts
- 2 tbsp butter cold
- 1 tbsp water cold
Optional for sprinkling
- pinch Sea salt
- pinch cayenne pepper
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Add sourdough starter and Tirokafteri to a wide mixing bowl and stir until blended.
- Add flour, baking powder, hemp hearts, and finely chopped butter. Using your fingertips, crumble-mix the ingredients until they begin to form small balls.
- Add cold water and knead until the dough becomes a large ball. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the rolling station.
- Tear enough parchment paper to cover the baking tray and place on the counter.
- Set the chilled dough on the paper, in the centre. Press to flatten slightly before rolling out to an even 1/16" - 1/8" thickness.
- Using a sharp knife or cookie-cutters, cut the crackers.Sprinkle with sea salt or other seasoning.
- Bake at 325°F (165°C) for 15 minutes. Rotate the baking tray during this time to ensure even baking.Remove crisp, browned crackers and place on a cooling rack.
- Test remaining crackers by pressing the centre. If still soft, bake at a lower temperature, 250°F (130°C) until crisp.
- Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
Nutrition
Gift Ideas
As an Etsy Influencer and Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What’s good about baking is, all of these gifts work for cookies and crackers!
If you feel like a treat, there’s something special about owning a rolling pin that stands out from the rest.
These pins are well-made, look stunning, and make a super-special gift for any baker you know.
Kids love seeing their name on things so imagine finding it blazed across a cookie or cracker from these personalized cutouts!
And, I can’t help but add a custom pet cookie or cracker cutter!
These are adorable and have many happy reviews from satisfied customers.
You provide a photo and the cookie-cutters are carved out using 3D technology.
The cookbook that inspired me.
I’ve been making sourdough for some time now, but really like this book for more ideas.
