What is sourdough discard? And do you have to throw it away? Here’s how to use up your excess sourdough starter in baked goods like fluffy pancakes, English muffins, chocolate cake, pizza crust, and more!
If you’re up to your ears in sourdough starter, you’ve already baked and eaten all the homemade bread you can (is that possible? 😉 ), and you don’t want to put your sourdough starter in the fridge… what are you to do?
Make sourdough discard recipes like English muffins or pizza crust!
You won’t have to waste your sourdough starter, yet you’ll use it up so it’s back to a more manageable size.
Don’t have a sourdough starter yet? Learn 9 reasons to use sourdough and how to make a sourdough starter easily with these step-by-step instructions!
Table Of Contents
What is sourdough discard?
The life cycle of a sourdough starter begins with a feeding of (more or less) equal parts flour and water. The beneficial bacteria and yeasts in the sourdough starter feast on the simple sugars in the flour, giving off gases such as carbon dioxide and ethanol. As they feed, these beneficial microorganisms multiply.
The mixture builds up to a peak of activity within about 6 hours, what we call a fully active starter. The starter at this point is bubbly and domed, and it smells sour. A thick starter may also rise significantly — up to two or three times its original volume.
When the yeasts run out of food, their activity slows and the peak recedes. Liquid, called hooch, may separate out given enough time. At this point, about 12 hours after its feeding, the starter is called sourdough discard.
Do I have to throw my sourdough discard away?
No! Sourdough starter discard is typically not strong enough to make bread rise, but it can still be used in baked goods such as pancakes, waffles, English muffins, cakes, and pizza crust… all recipes that you’ll find below!
Easy Sourdough Discard Recipes
We carefully reviewed this collection of sourdough discard recipes to make sure each recipe meets our criteria of: 1) using whole foods and 2) calling for a sufficient souring time on the grain*.
*Why sufficient souring time? Combining the sourdough starter and flour and letting them sour together for 6 to 8 hours or more allows the sourdough starter to “work on” the rest of the flour and make it nutritious and digestible.
Savory Sourdough Discard Recipes
- The Best Sourdough English Muffins (Traditional Recipe)
- Sourdough Pizza Crust (thick or thin crust!)
- Einkorn Sourdough Chapatis {Indian Flatbread}
- Sourdough Lavash: A Traditional Armenian Flatbread
- Sourdough Soda Bread — The baking soda in this recipe helps create fluffy loaves even if your sourdough starter isn’t in its active state.
Sweet Sourdough Discard Recipes
- Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
- Sourdough Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Frosting
- Lemon Poppy Seed Sourdough Muffins
- Easy Applesauce Sourdough Muffins
- Sourdough Waffles With Fermented Strawberries & Yogurt Cheese
- Pumpkin Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting
No-Wait Sourdough Discard Recipes
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These recipes are “no-wait” because you can skip the whole sour-for-at-least-6-hours-thing!
How? Use leftover sourdough starter instead of flour. You’re keeping a sourdough starter alive and fed, right? Well, take a scoop or two, and create any one of these delicious recipes almost instantly. No planning involved!
Why does this work? The flour has already been soured in the starter. So, aim to feed your starter and use it 12 to 24 hours later in one of the following recipes.
I’ve demonstrated the first three recipes on video in the Sourdough eCourse.
- Fluffy Sourdough Pancakes — Fluffy and soft in the middle, golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside!
- Whole Grain Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Crepes
- Buttery Parmesan Sourdough Discard Crackers
- Sourdough Discard Crackers With Rosemary and Olive Oil
- Soft and Chewy Sourdough Crepes
- Homemade Sourdough Corn Tortillas
If you’re curious about sourdough or need help with your sourdough starter, check out our sourdough tips, troubleshooting and FAQs article for simple answers to all your burning questions! You can also browse our sourdough archive here at TCS or check out our Sourdough A to Z eBook (with free print book for a limited time) or the Sourdough A to Z eCourse in our Bible-based cooking program for our favorite, tried-and-true sourdough recipes!
This post was originally published and written by Wardee Harmon on 3/22/11. It was updated and republished on 3/6/22.
