If you’ve been working with sourdough starter for a while you might know that most of your favorite bakes can become sourdough discard recipes. Yes, it might sound weird to toss starter into cakes, cookies, or even granola, but it’s a delicious way to use up starter, and add fermented flavor and digestion benefits to all your favorite recipes.
Why make sourdough discard recipes
Reducing waste and fermenting more of my food are the two main reasons why I use sourdough discard in recipes. When I have too much starter, I don’t like to throw it away, or even compost it. If we don’t use it up, all that fermentation and flavor goes to waste. It can be as simple as saving your starter in the fridge until you’re ready to make cookies, or mixing it right away into sourdough discard crackers (my absolute favorite discard recipe!).
A few notes on sourdough starter
Your starter does not need to be active to use in sourdough discard recipes. These types of recipes usually rely on another leavening agent (baking soda, baking powder, eggs, yeast) to produce a rise. You also want to remember that the older your starter the more sour flavor it will bring to the recipe.
Tips for saving sourdough discard
There are many ways people save their starter for later. Some like to keep adding discard to a jar in the fridge to use later. This method is great because each time you add more, it slowly feeds what is already in the jar. I usually prefer to use discard as soon as I need to get rid of it. So if I’m about to feed my starter and I realize I have too much in the jar, I will pull most of it out, feed what’s left in the jar, and then use the discard in the recipe that same day.
How to add sourdough discard to (almost) anything
Almost any recipe can become a sourdough discard recipe if you make a few small changes. It will involve some attentive calculation, so pay careful attention to the recipe you want to use.
Step one: figure out how much discard you want to use. ½-1 cup is usually a good amount. For this example let’s say we are adding ½ cup of discard. Divide that number in half, so ¼ cup.
Step two: Before starting the recipe, read all the ingredients and steps. Identify the measurements for flour and water (or milk) in the recipe you want to use.
Step three: Reduce the amount of flour and water in the recipe by half the amount of starter you want to add. For our example, you would be reducing each by ¼ cup.
Step four: Add starter to the recipe when you add the other liquids. (½ cup)
My favorite sourdough discard recipes
Because I’m always recipe developing and shooting sourdough photos for the blog, I can end up with a lot of extra starter, so of course I’ve been throwing it into other recipes for years! Here are a few favorites:
Flaky and Buttery Sourdough Pie Crust
Sourdough pie crust is one of my favorite things to make from scratch. With little extra effort, it elevates the flavor and texture of your pie, quiche, breakfast pastry, chicken pot pie, or hand pie! Additionally, homemade pie crusts can store frozen for months, which makes this a great make-ahead recipe. As a girl I…
Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Bread Recipe
If you love fall flavors, you will delight in this sourdough discard pumpkin bread that is soft, tangy, crunchy, and fermented!
Easy Sourdough Granola Made from Pantry Staples
Granola is one of the simplest snacks to make at home and the result is so delicious and satisfying. When you look at the yucky ingredients in store-bought granola, or need to sell an organ to afford the “clean” kind every week, you might be convinced to make it from home. I’ve made granola from…
The Best Garlic and Herb Sourdough Discard Crackers
These sourdough discard crackers are my favorite (and the easiest) way to use up sourdough discard. Since I discovered how to make these, I haven’t bought any store bought crackers (which are full of questionable ingredients anyway so good riddance!) and have drastically reduced my sourdough discard waste. This recipe is for garlic and herb…
Sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies
I adapted my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe to be a sourdough discard recipe. I do not own this recipe, but I will include my adaptation below:
Sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter barely melted but not too hot see photo above
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips I used half chips and half chunks but either is fine
- Coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and the salt: Set aside.
- In a large bowl beat together the butter, sourdough discard, sugars, vanilla extract and the vinegar until smooth. Beat in the egg just until combined.
- Mix the flour mixture into the wet mixture just until combined. Stir in the chips.
- Allow these to rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours
- To bake:
- Using a large cookie scoop (about 2 rounded tablespoons) drop about 3 inches apart onto cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, they will look light brown around the edges and will look underdone in the center. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with a little sea salt. Allow to sit on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a rack to cool.
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