What is Sourdough Discard + How to Use it
What is Sourdough Discard + How to Use it
What is sourdough discard? Is it the same as sourdough starter? How do I use sourdough discard? Do I use sourdough discard or do I throw it out?
So many questions! I get it, sourdough can be super confusing. No fret, friend! I’m here to help.
What is Sourdough Discard?
Sourdough discard is the name used to describe the “leftovers” after reducing the size of your starter before you feed it. Seems a little silly, right? Well, a robust starter requires that it be fed flour (white or whole wheat flour for example) frequently, and if you didn’t use up some via baking bread or discard some, you’d end up with a 5-gallon Home Depot bucket full of it.
You’ll often see recipes telling you to discard a portion of your starter as you feed it, in preparation for baking. Feeding it may sound something like this:
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In a new mason jar, measure out 50g of mixed down sourdough starter
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Add 50g of flour (whole wheat flour, rye flour, white bread flour etc)
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Add 50g of filtered water
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Mix your wet and dry ingredients
Let’s say your sourdough starter weighed 150g in total before you fed it. What do you do with the remaining 100g that didn’t make it into the new jar? Voila, you’ve discovered 100g of sourdough starter discard.
Many sourdough recipes will note whether to use an “active” sourdough starter or discard. Active sourdough starter is one that has been recently fed, and is super bubbly and alive! The discard then, is the leftover, which has risen and fallen and is less active.
Still with me? Okay, let’s dig into what we can do with sourdough discard. Hint: do NOT throw it out! Time to bust out that King Arthur Flour (or whatever is in your pantry)!
How to Use Sourdough Discard
I think in the beginning, when people are first learning to bake sourdough bread, it makes the most sense to toss the discard. Why? It’s one more thing to figure out and learn to use.
I love a good discard recipe. They are a great way to get baking sourdough quickly, while you build up your sourdough starter to maturity.
Discard can be used in a variety of ways, and all of them are delicious. My all-time favorite ways to use discard include:
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discard crackers
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discard pancakes
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discard naan (which also doubles as delish pizza crust!)
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discard banana bread
Because the sourdough discard isn’t active and bubbly, you’ll pair it with a leavening agent like baking soda to get light, fluffy bakes.
Sourdough discard can be collected as well, in preparation for a particular recipe. (I once attempted a recipe that required two CUPS of sourdough starter discard… never doing that again…) Every time you feed your sourdough starter, add your discard to a jar. Keep it covered in the fridge until it’s time to bake. Set it out to come to room temperature before you mix it into your recipe.
Keep in mind that discard is only good for a week or so in the refrigerator. You’ll find that it develops a grey liquid on top (just mix it in or dump it out, it’s “hooch”), and will be very tangy the longer you wait to use it.
If it develops fuzz or smells putrid at any point, dump it out.
Reducing Sourdough Discard Waste
I know what you’re thinking… If I feed and discard every day, isn’t that sort of… wasteful?
I’ve got a solution for you!
Scale back on how much starter you keep. It’s not necessary to keep a boat-load of sourdough starter in a mason jar, despite what the interwebs influencers might have you thinking.
All that is required, and I mean this literally, is the bits stuck to the sides of your starter jar. You can bulk up over a couple of days, without discarding, if you’re planning to bake.
Otherwise, you can keep the tiniest amount of starter alive and active in order to reduce discard waste.
Let’s Get Baking!
Now that you’re well versed in sourdough discard, I hope you feel more brave in venturing out into discard recipes. They’re a lot of fun, delightfully tasty, and break up the monotony of baking loaf after loaf of bread (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).
If you’ve got a handle on regular ol’ sourdough bread, check out this article about making better sourdough!
What will you bake with your discard first? Let me know in the comments!
Bonus tip: make some of this killer homemade butter to go along with your discard bakes. You won’t regret it
