If you find it difficult to throw away sourdough starter discard, here are some helpful tips on storing it, delicious recipes, and more creative uses.
Sourdough Starter Discard doesn’t have to be thrown out. Add that tang to some baked crackers or a soft texture to cake and cookies. You’ll find the recipes for these and more right here!
What is a sourdough bread starter?
Bread starter is a combination of flour and water that with time develops bacteria and wild yeast that gives bread its rise.
Can I make my own bread starter?
You can make your own starter and bake with it in less than 8 days. Our Overnight Sourdough Starter post will show you everything you need to know.
Why would you want to use a sourdough starter discard in recipes?
Reduce Waste – Discarding sourdough bread starter between feedings just feels like a waste doesn’t it?
How long can you store sourdough discard?
Many bakers just add the discard to a tub and keep it in the refrigerator if they use it routinely or planning on using it soon.
Sourdough discard doesn’t need to be fed but it does have a shelf life. If you see any mold or an orange or pink tinge, it’s gone bad and it’s time to throw it away. A foul odor can also indicate that it has gone bad and shouldn’t be used.
My advice is not to keep sourdough discard unless you know you will be using it. Don’t be a bread starter hoarder!
After feeding the stater, those little microbes go to town munching on the sugar provided in the new flour. Remember Pac Man? That’s what I envision.
The used sourdough starter loses its vigor once the food is depleted so it will not be sufficient for a beautiful loaf of bread unless it’s fed again but it still has enough energy to act as a leaven in baking goods that use baking powder or baking soda.
Sweet Sourdough Discard Recipes
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies have a moist cake-like middle, slightly crispy outside, and delightful cookie flavor. This cookie recipe is the perfect way to use up your sourdough discard and treat your family.
Check out this recipe
Sourdough Blondies – Baking Sense
Butterscotch blondies get a boost of flavor from sourdough discard. These blondies are both gooey and light at the same time.
This one bowl sourdough banana bread is a fantastic way to repurpose your sourdough starter discard! It makes a fluffy, moist snack perfect with coffee.
Serve these tasty sourdough blueberry lemon muffins as a stand-alone fast breakfast on your way out the door or make a batch to have as part of a delicious brunch for guests or family.
Check out this recipe
Sourdough Morning Glory Muffins | BAKED
It may seem like these sourdough morning glory muffins have lots of ingredients, but most, if not all, are basic pantry and kitchen staples! Lightly sweetened with honey and molasses, they’re a-ok for a hearty morning snack.
You are going to love this easy buttery soft and tender Old-Fashioned Sourdough Dinner Rolls Recipe with the discard from your starter.
Check out this recipe
Breakfast Recipes
Sourdough Pancakes
Use your sourdough discard to make this amazingly delicious, light, fluffy, soft sourdough pancakes recipe.
Check out this recipe
Cinnamon Sugar Sourdough Donuts Recipe – Baked
Enjoy these scrumptious baked sourdough donuts with cinnamon and sugar topping with a big glass of milk any time you want to give your family a special treat.
Check out this recipe
Sourdough Pancakes {For the Absolutely Fluffiest Pancakes Ever!}
Sourdough pancakes have a delicious flavor & fluffy texture that you’ll fall in love with! These will become your family’s favorite breakfast.
Easy and Quick Sourdough Donuts Recipe – The Gingered Whisk
This easy and quick sourdough donut recipe is the perfect way to use sourdough discard. Delicious donuts with a slight sourdough tang, these will become the favorite weekend breakfast for the sourdough lover!
The BEST Overnight Sourdough Waffles – House of Nash Eats
These fluffy-crisp Sourdough Waffles have the most amazing flavor and texture and are made with your sourdough discard so nothing goes to waste! The overnight batter is made in advance so there is hardly any work to do in the morning to enjoy fresh, hot waffles!
Sourdough Fried Chicken – Dip chicken in the sourdough starter.
Batter for other fried food such as shrimp or zucchini.
Frie Bread or Naan – Add starter in drops to fried oil for a donut or naan-like fry bread. Season with herbs or add cinnamon and sugar for a savory or sweet fry-bread.
Pie Crust – Starter will tenderize pie crust the way vinegar can. Use it for a savory pot pie.
Glue – Yep, my mother mixed flour and water together for our craft projects when I was little.
Recipes that use a starter
Overnight Sourdough
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Multi-Grain Wheat Bread
Spelt Sourdough with Rosemary
I hope you’ll check back because we’re always adding to this list of amazing sourdough discard recipes and other creative ideas.
If you’ve got one we haven’t added, let me know! I’ll share it with our community.
You can always use this discard by directly mixing it into a dough for baking. Your discard, as long as it's in good shape, will leaven any bread dough just as well. The discard is just like a levain you would make for a recipe. The only difference is it's the same makeup as your starter.
It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.
You can store sourdough discard in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It's fine to leave it on the counter for up 24 hours, however if you aren't planning to use it straight away it's always better to store it in the fridge.
However, “discard” doesn't necessarily mean “throw out.” A two-to-three day old starter can be used to add amazing flavor and texture to a number of baked goods, even if it is not quite ready to make your dream loaf of sourdough bread.
What to do with sourdough discard? Don't throw it away! Instead, use it to make delicious and nutritious treats like pancakes, waffles, muffins, and bread. Sourdough discard is a great source of natural yeast and flavor, and can add a unique tangy taste to your baked goods.
Active starter and discard both come from the same sourdough starter. However, they are in different phases. Active starter has been fed flour and water within the last 12 hours or so and is growing until it hits its peak. Once it begins to fall it is considered discard.
The best part about using leftover sourdough discard in your baking and cooking? You get the added benefit of fermented grains – making it easier to digest and better absorbed by the body.
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.
I left my sourdough discard out at room temperature for a few days. Is it okay? As long as your kitchen isn't too warm (I'd say 78°F or higher) your starter/discard will be fine stored at room temperature for at least a few days without feeding. The flavor will get more acidic the longer it sits.
How to increase a starter. If your recipe calls for more than 227g (about 1 cup) of starter, feed it without discarding until you've reached the amount you need (plus 113g to keep and feed again).
Sourdough discard works well in many baked goods that don't require lively yeast—flat foods like crackers, tortillas and pancakes. Or you can use it to flavor recipes that rely on leavening from other sources, such as active dry yeast, baking soda and baking powder.
Can you add sourdough discards together in the same jar? Yes you can add sourdough discards from different days together in the same jar. You just need to make sure you stir it well and you don't leave it sitting in the fridge for too long. Sourdough discard should be used within two weeks.
You can store sourdough discard in a separate container, then bake with it when you want — for instance, maybe you fed your starter on Tuesday, leaving you with discard that you want to use to bake pancakes on Saturday.
It is important that you stir the sourdough starter every day in the morning and in the evening. Feed the starter. Add 60 g flour and 60 g lukewarm water, stir well to combine, and let sit out for 24 hours.
While it will smell different to a fed, active starter, it won't smell unpleasant. The discard should be fine in the fridge, however if it is displaying signs of mold or any pink or orange tinges then it has gone bad and needs to be tossed.
It can be at room temperature or come directly from the fridge. The texture is less bubbly (if bubbly at all) when compared to fluffy active starter. Sourdough discard is not active enough to make bread dough rise, and despite its name the “discard” does not have to be thrown away.
You can put your sourdough discard either in the trash. or the compost, or you can use it in recipes. Don't put it down the drain. If you have ever, like, tried to clean out a crusty sourdough starter jar, you know, that stuff turns to, like, basically cement. It's just nuts.
Instead of throwing away (or composting) your excess sourdough starter during the feeding process, bake with it! Unlock the power of sourdough discard to both enhance your bakes with a subtle tang and make the most of those leftovers.
Can I use sourdough discard to make a new sourdough starter? Absolutely! You can take a portion of sourdough discard and add a few grams of flour and a few grams of water to create a healthy active sourdough starter. You may need to feed your revived starter a few more times before its ready to make bread.
If you are keeping your sourdough starter on the counter, you could leave it for a few hours and then you'd need to feed it again ready to make your next batch. Whether you use your starter in your bread making or you discard your starter in other ways - you MUST discard to keep your starter healthy and thriving.
You can use 1-2 week old discard in “discard recipes”… think cookies, brownies, muffins, non-yeast breads, tortillas (pretty much anything that doesn't require active starter (aka wild yeast).
If you've just created your sourdough starter, wait until it's reliably rising and falling each day with signs of fermentation—some rise, bubbles, a progressive sour aroma—before storing discard in your cache.
This is by far my preferred method for long-term sourdough starter storage. Place a large dollop of your ripe sourdough starter in the bottom of a large bowl. Cover the starter with lots of flour—you can use the same flour used for feedings or 100% white flour.
Absolutely! A jar of sourdough discard serves as an insurance policy against starter death. If you have some discard on hand, remove a spoonful of it and feed it fresh flour and water in a clean jar. You should have a bubbly starter ready to bake with after a couple of feedings, depending on the discard's condition.
For instance, with my 100% hydration sourdough starter, I will typically feed it with 10 to 15% less water than normal to stiffen it. Place the lid on top and seal it shut. Set a timer for 1 hour. After an hour of room-temperature fermentation, place the jar in the refrigerator for up to three weeks without feedings.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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