9 Healthy Sourdough Discard Recipes You NEED to Try! (2024)

FAQs

Are sourdough discard recipes healthy? ›

Yes, there are actually several health benefits to using sourdough discard in your cooking and baking. Sourdough discard is rich in probiotics, which can help promote a healthy gut microbiome and improve digestion.

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.

Remember, you can't use the discard from your homemade sourdough starter for the first 7 days. You can use sourdough discard in all kinds of sourdough discard recipes, including these no wait sourdough recipes, overnight sourdough discard recipes and sourdough discard recipes that use up a lot of discard.

You can store mature sourdough discard in the refrigerator indefinitely. As long as there is no mold, it is good to use. It may develop a grayish liquid on top called “hooch” which can be poured off before use or stirred in. If you stir it in, the flavor will become more sour.

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.

I prefer to use my discard within 7 days of keeping it in the fridge, otherwise, you risk too much sour flavor! To use sourdough discard that's been stored in the fridge, place it on the counter to warm up for 2-3 hours before using.

If your starter is well past peak (a few hours) and visibly falling, you can give it a “refresh” feeding to reactivate it.

If you didn't discard a portion of your starter each time you feed it, two things would happen: Your starter would grow to an enormous, unmanageable size. Your starter would likely become more and more inhospitable to the bacteria and yeast we want as the mixture would become ever more acidic.

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.

No, it shouldn't; it's simply organic matter and yeast.

Can I keep adding to my sourdough discard? ›

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.

Discarding some first allows you to add this fresh food, whilst maintaining your starter at a manageable size. Not discarding your starter will also affect the flavor of your starter. Not discarding before you feed will cause too much acidity which may eventually be detrimental to your microbes.

The flavor will get more acidic the longer it sits. Too long at room temperature without feeding and you risk your sourdough discard starting to grow mold (usually fuzzy) or bad bacteria (red, orange or pink streaks). If that happens, you need to throw it out.

In some cases, a type of bacteria may be present in your starter – it naturally produces acetone. Acetone is a natural byproduct of fermentation. It's root cause is often difficult to pinpoint and it can come and go over time. In general, if you keep your starter “healthy” the acetone odor will dissipate.

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?

Some of the many health benefits from using a Sourdough Starter include: Less likely to spike blood sugar & has a lower glycemic index. Feeds good gut bacteria for easier digestion. Keeps you fuller for longer.!

Sourdough (Discard!)

Yes, these guys are naturally low carb– courtesy of our live culture (thanks Yosemite!).

The discard is not active enough to make sourdough bread rise but it does have many other uses and baking powder can be added if required. Savoury options include English breakfast muffins, pretzels, caramelised onion biscuits, and sourdough pizza dough.

Sourdough discard can be used to easily thicken sauces, gravies, soups, curries, casseroles or pretty much anything where you would add flour or corn starch to thicken. My sourdough starter jar is fed daily (often twice) so I always have extra sourdough starter to be used up.