3 Easy Sourdough Discard Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What to do with a day 3 sourdough discard? ›

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.

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.

Yes you can use sourdough discard straight from the fridge, you don't need to let it come to room temperature if you don't want to. What is this? If you are using it straight from the fridge it may be a little stiff or thick, so you'll need to ensure you mix it really well.

I recommend keeping sourdough discard for about one week, but I do know others who keep it for much longer. After one week, there is a higher risk of mold or bad bacteria growing on the discard.

If your starter is immature, it will need a boost from another leavening agent — baking powder, yeast or even Greek yogurt, which is filled with active cultures, will usually do the trick. Another tip: You can store discarded sourdough starter in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

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. You can continue to add sourdough starter from different days to the same jar.

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.

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 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).

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.

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.

stir your starter in between feedings - try stirring it twice in between feedings and really give it a chance to get oxygen into the mix. This will help to activate your starter without too much effort.

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).

One of the amazing benefits of sourdough discard is that you can use it to create new starters, which are known as levains. These off-shoots from the mother starter can be used to experiment with different types of flour or given as a gift – there's nothing quite like sharing an entire ecosystem with your loved ones.

Using heat and hydration it's possible to speed up the fermentation to get through the “bad bacteria” phase in just 48 hours, leaving you a usable culture on the third day with some luck. I created my starter on a Tuesday and I baked with it on that Friday with great results.

Place your discard starter in a large bowl and add cold water, stirring to thin it to the consistency of milk; then pour it down the drain, flushing the drain with additional cold water. Will sourdough starter hurt your septic system? No, it shouldn't; it's simply organic matter and yeast.