Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (2024)

Last Updated on August 2, 2023

Are you ready to add one more awesome homemade sourdough recipe to your repertoire? Good. Because these crispy, flaky sourdough corn chips are fit to be a repeat guest at your table! They’re incredibly easy to make, with a flexible recipe to accommodate your schedule. As with all fermented sourdough goodies, homemade sourdough corn chips are a healthier alternative to processed store-bought snacks. Made with either fresh (active) or discarded sourdough starter, this is also a great way to use up extra starter.

Imagine if tortilla chips, pita chips, and crackers got together to make a delicious crunchy baby. This baked sourdough corn chips recipe is exactly that!


If you’ve made our infamous herbed whole wheat sourdough crackers before, this is going to feel extra easy and familiar! The process of making baked sourdough corn chips is essentially the same, but with even fewer steps and ingredients. As much as I love those crackers, the approaching summer season had me craving something a little different. Sourdough corn chips are the perfect dipping companion for salsa, guacamole, bean dip, hummus, or even alongside a dinner of soup, lentils, or chili!

You will need an established sourdough starter to make baked sourdough corn chips. If you don’t have a starter yet, don’t fret! Check out this article to learn how to make your own starter from scratch at home. Or, for even less fuss, pick up an organic sourdough starter from our shop. Once you have an established starter, you can enjoy baking rustic sourdough bread, focaccia, pizza crust, crackers, and more!

Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (1)


INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup cornmeal OR masa corn flour (traditionally used for making tortillas). If using cornmeal, I suggest using a fine to medium grind for best binding. We like to use this organic medium-coarse cornmeal, which gives the chips a nice bit of grit. Masa flour is made with corn that has been soaked in limewater, so it provides more of a classic tortilla flavor.
  • 1 cup sourdough starter. For this recipe, you can use sourdough starter discard or fresh active (recently fed) starter. We prefer to use active starter, mostly because our starter often sits in the fridge for up to two weeks before being discarded and fed again. In that state, it is very acidic and sour. A hungry, unfed starter will result in a more tangy chip flavor. Using starter at peak activity (as you would in a bread recipe) will result in a more light and flaky chip.
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of coconut oil, olive oil, or butter (softened)
  • Olive oil, for brushing
  • Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling on top
  • Optional: garlic powder, onion powder, lemon powder, or other seasonings of choice. Finely grated cheese is always welcome at this fiesta too!


Quantity

This recipe makes 2 full baking sheets or approximately 6 to 7 dozen sourdough tortilla corn chips (depending on the size and shape you cut them). The full recipe is perfect for a family, party, gathering, or a few days of snacking. With just the two of us here, we sometimes make a half-batch only. They’re so addicting, we’d devour them all in a day or two otherwise! They do stay crunchy for several days with proper storage.

Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (2)


DIRECTIONS


1) Mix dough


In a large mixing bowl,combine all of the ingredients listed above: 1 cup cornmeal or masa flour, 1 cup sourdough starter, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup oil or butter of choice.If you opt to use coconut oil or butter, lightly heat it as needed to make it soft and easy to work with.

Baked sourdough corn chips are awesome as-is, but feel free to spice them up if you’d like. Sometimes we add a sprinkle (about 1/4 tsp) of homegrown garlic powder or onion powder, or even a little dash of lemon and chili powder for a fun twist! Everything-but-the-bagel seasoning and/or a handful of grated cheese is also amazing. Soon, I want to experiment with adding a handful of flax seeds to the mix. You can add extra seasonings early with the dough, or lightly sprinkled over the top later – once the raw chips are rolled out.

Thoroughly mix the dough until it is uniform. I usually start mixing with a fork or spoon, but then finish mixing with my hands. The oil or butter prevents it from being too sticky. The texture should be similar to cookie dough, but more rough from the cornmeal.

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2) Split, Squish & Chill


Divide the large dough ball intotwosmaller balls that are roughly the same size. (That is, if you made a full batch; form just one ball for a half-batch.) Using your hands, form each ball into aflattened rectangle.We have been vegetarian for a loooong time, but this step definitely reminds me of forming hamburger patties, if that helps… Mine generally end up a little larger than my flattened hand, and about half an inch thick. Repeat for the second ball.

Wrap each rectangle of dough in parchment paper, plastic wrap, or better yet, reusable beeswax wraps! The purpose is to prevent the dough from drying out. We set each one on a small plate, though you could put them together on one larger plate – or skip the plate all together and stick them right in the fridge.

Finally, refrigerateyour flattened dough for at least 30 minutes, up to several hours. This is where the recipe is nice and flexible for your schedule! The main benefit of an extended time in the fridge is added time for the sourdough starter to ferment the cornmeal, which will make it slightly healthier and easy to digest. We typically let it sit for at least an hour.

Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (4)


3) Roll Out


Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Once they’ve had time to chill, remove the sourdough corn chip dough from the fridge. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the size of the baking sheet, or use a handy silicone baking sheet liner. Lightly dust the parchment paper/liner with a small amount of cornmeal. Carefully unwrap one chunk of flattened dough, place it in the center of the parchment paper, and then lightly dust the top of the dough with cornmeal as well. I like to do this on a large cutting board, which makes it very easy to transfer the cut raw chips onto the baking sheets.

Using a rolling pin,roll out the dough until it is nice and thin. The goal is about 1/16th of an inch thick or less. The edges may get a little ragged; that’s okay. Just work it back and forth and side to side to spread the dough as evenly as possible, while still maintaining a relatively rectangular shape. The thinner you roll them, the more crisp your sourdough corn chips will be!


4) Oil, Salt & Cut


Once the dough is rolled out, lightly brush the surface with a thin even coating ofolive oil. Make sure to get the edges!Then sprinkle somecoarse sea saltover it as well. Here is where you could opt to add a little extra seasonings of choice, if you didn’t already when mixing the dough. Or, keep them simply salted!

Next,cut the doughinto rows of either squares, strips, or triangle chips. The use of a rolling pizza cutter works very well for this. Anything in the ballpark of 1 to 2 inches is good. Squares are definitely the easiest to cut, but triangles are fun too! We are making sourdough corn chips after all. You can also use apastry/pasta cutterto cut them and create fun wavy edges.

RepeatSteps 3 and 4 for the second piece of dough.

Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (5)
Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (6)


5) Bake


Slide the parchment paper with the cut chips onto a baking sheet. Each batch will need its own sheet. We bake two trays at one time, but if you only have one baking sheet to work with, have them take turns.

Bake on350°F for approximately 25 minutes*, until the chips turn lightly golden brown and crisp. Rotate and switch the cookie sheets halfway through baking. It is common for the outermost edges to get “done” more quickly than the inner chips. Personally, I find it worthwhile to ever-so-slightly overcook the ragged edges in order to get the ideal crunch in the rest of the batch. The more crisp your baked sourdough corn chips are out of the oven, the longer the crunch lasts in storage.

When they are done baking, immediately transfer your finished sourdough corn chips off of the baking sheet (and parchment paper) and on to acooling rack.

*Note: Baking times will slightly vary by individual oven, how thin you roll out your chips, and also depending on if you bake one or two trays at a time.

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6) Enjoy


The moment we’ve all been waiting for! You’ve probably already sampled a few by now… I always snack on those irregular outer pieces right away. They’re too irresistible, and “not pretty” enough to make it to the plate anyways, right?! Right. Of course.

Now, dig in! These sourdough corn chips are best freshly-baked. Enjoy them any way you’d like – with your favorite dips, or plain on their own. Your friends and family are going to be SO impressed that you made homemade chips!

After they are fully cool,store the chips in an air-tight containerto maintain maximum freshness and crunch. We like to use a glass food storage container with snap-on sealing lid. They may get a tad stale after 4 or 5 days in storage, but ours don’t usually last that long anyway!

Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (8)


Ta da! You just made homemade baked sourdough tortilla corn chips.


In all, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Feel free to ask questions in the comments below, or share this recipe with your friends! We’d love to hear how you like them, so please pop back by for a review. Happy baking!


Don’t miss these related recipes:

  • Simple No-Knead Sourdough Bread Recipe
  • Herb Sourdough Discard Crackers Recipe
  • Simple Sourdough Focaccia Bread Recipe
  • Sourdough Cornbread Recipe (w/ vegan options)

Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (9)

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4.39 from 21 votes

Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe

Come learn how to make baked sourdough corn chips! The recipe is easy to make, has flexible timing, and can be used with either sourdough starter discard or fresh active starter. Crunchy, flaky, and delicious – these sourdough corn chips are perfect for dipping in salsa, guacamole, bean dip, hummus, and more! Make a batch for holidays, parties, or just as a healthy homemade snack.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Resting Time30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Party Food, Side Dish, Snack

Keyword: Sourdough chips, sourdough corn chips, Sourdough Recipe, Sourdough Starter Discard, Sourdough Starter Recipe

Servings: 6 Dozen

Equipment

  • Rolling pin

  • Pizza Cutter or Pastry Wheel

  • Mixing bowl

  • Parchment Paper

  • Basting Brush

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Cornmeal, fine to medium grind (OR 1 cup masa corn tortilla flour)
  • 1 Cup Sourdough starter (discard, or at peak activity – see recipe notes below).
  • 1/4 Cup Coconut oil, olive oil, or butter (softened)
  • 1/2 Tsp Sea salt
  • Olive oil for brushing
  • 1/4 tsp Optional: garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, lemon powder, or other seasonings of choice.

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the sourdough starter, cornmeal or masa, salt, and oil/butter.

  • Divide the large dough ball into two equal sized balls.

  • Next shape and squish each dough ball into a patty like rectangular shape until the dough thickness is about a half inch.

  • Place the rectangular dough patties on their own plates and cover with plastic wrap, parchment paper, or beeswax wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours hours.

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • Place the patties of dough each on their own piece cornmeal-dusted parchment paper, dust the top of the dough with cornmeal, and roll out with a rolling pin until dough is nice and thin, about 1/16th of an inch thick. The thinner they are, the more crisp they'll be!

  • Lightly brush the dough with extra virgin olive oil, and lightly sprinkle salt over the top.

  • Cut the dough using a pizza wheel into 1 to 2 inch squares, strips or triangles.

  • Transfer the parchment paper of raw chips on to a baking sheet and place in the oven for approximately 25 minutes* (see recipe notes below) until the chips are lightly golden brown and crisp.

  • Rotate the baking sheets halfway through to help the chips bake evenly.

  • Once finished baking, quickly remove the chips to a cooling rack.

  • Once cool, enjoy the chips immediately or store them in an airtight container to enjoy later.

Notes

  1. For this recipe, you can use sourdough starter discard or fresh active (recently fed) starter. We prefer to use active starter, mostly because our starter often sits in the fridge for up to two weeks before being discarded and fed again. In that state, it is very acidic and sour. A hungry, unfed starter will result in a more tangy chip flavor. Using starter at peak activity (as you would in a bread recipe) will result in a more light and flaky chip.
  2. Baking times will slightly vary by individual oven, how thin you roll out your chips, and also depending on if you bake one or two trays at a time.
Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (10)
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Baked Sourdough Tortilla Corn Chips Recipe (Active or Discard Starter) (2024)

FAQs

How to activate sourdough starter? ›

In short, to “activate” each, you simply add flour and water, stir, and wait — that's all there is to feeding a sourdough starter.

How often should I feed sourdough starter? ›

The process for feeding sourdough starter is so simple and takes only a few minutes. For refrigerated starters, feed once a week and start with step 1, but for room temperature starters, feed once a day and start at step 2 (or 3).

Do I have to discard sourdough starter? ›

Room-temperature starter should be fed every 12 hours (twice a day) using the standard maintenance feeding procedure: discard all but 113g, and feed that 113g starter with 113g each water and flour.

What is the best temperature to activate sourdough starter? ›

  • Temperature affects the rate of fermentation. Fermentation is faster at higher temperatures, and slower at lower temperatures. ...
  • A flavorful starter likes to be kept warm! Ideal temperature is around 78-85 degrees. ...
  • Don't freeze your starter.

When can I use sourdough starter discard in recipes? ›

Remember, you can't use the discard from your homemade sourdough starter for the first 7 days. You can use sourdough discard in all kinds of sourdough discard recipes, including these no wait sourdough recipes, overnight sourdough discard recipes and sourdough discard recipes that use up a lot of discard.

What does sourdough starter do in baked goods? ›

Unlike baking yeast, which provides a quick rise, a sourdough starter requires a longer fermentation process, resulting in a more complex and tangy taste. Additionally, sourdough starters enhance the nutritional value of bread by breaking down gluten and making it easier to digest.

What to do with sourdough starter once active? ›

Once your starter is alive and active it only needs to be fed when you want to use it. Store your starter in the fridge with a fitted lid on in between uses.

Why are my homemade tortilla chips tough? ›

If the tortilla starts to puff up slightly when flipped, you've done well! If the dough doesn't puff at all, it may be too dry. This will result in slightly tough tortillas, but they're still perfectly edible and good for homemade tortilla chips.

How do you keep homemade tortilla chips from going stale? ›

Storing. Homemade tortilla chips are best eaten the same day, but if you need to store them longer, allow them to cool completely and then place them into a resealable plastic bag or air-tight container. They should keep this way for an extra day or two.

How long to bake stale tortilla chips? ›

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Refresh the chips by arranging them on a cookie sheet and heating in the oven for 5-10 minutes until crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside. Turn the oven to broil.

What happens if I forgot to discard the starter before feeding? ›

If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

How to tell if sourdough starter is bad? ›

Typical signs of food spoilage and mold include pink, orange, or green colors, white fuzzy spots, or sometimes areas that are darker with white areas on top. If you see any of these signs, I would recommend throwing your starter away and creating a new one.

Can you overfeed your sourdough starter? ›

Premature discarding and overfeeding will weaken your starter and elongate the process. Don't discard and re-feed a weak starter before it shows increasing bubble activity or height from the previous feeding. If you don't see more bubbles or a faster rise each day, skip a feeding, and give it more time.

How do I wake up my sourdough starter? ›

Let your starter rest at warm room temperature for 12 hours

Your starter will wake up more quickly than it might have. Despite showing absolutely no activity at all after its first feeding (and 12-hour rest), once I gave the starter a second feeding it just about doubled within 5 hours.

How long does it take for a sourdough starter to become active? ›

The general rule of thumb is that it takes about 10-14 days to develop a starter strong enough to rise a loaf. Experienced sourdough aficionados may be able to bake with a new starter in as few as five days. And, for less experienced bakers who struggle with the process, it may take up to 30 days.

What to do if sourdough starter is not active? ›

If your sourdough starter won't rise anymore, reset it by putting 25 grams of starter in a jar and feed it 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water. With this ratio, your starter should double in size in about 12-24 hours. If your starter has never risen before, follow a proven guide to create an active starter.

How do you activate an inactive sourdough starter? ›

Begin by discarding all but 1/2 cup of the old starter. Then, feed the remaining starter with fresh flour and water. The feeding ratio should ideally be 1:1:1 (starter:flour:water). Leave the mixture at room temperature until it becomes bubbly and active, which usually takes about a day.

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