Sourdough discard is often used in recipes to replace flour and water (or milk). This is great for muffins, snack cakes, and quick breads. However, it is best to avoid replacing leavening agents like baking powder or instant yeast with discarded starter.
Discarded starters should smell fresh and tangy, not rancid or putrid. It should also be free of visible mold or fungus.
- Sourdough Pancakes
This pancake recipe is a classic that uses up some of your sourdough discards. It can be made quickly and easily, so it is perfect for lazy Saturday mornings with the family for breakfast! The sourdough flavor adds a delicious depth of flavor to these fluffy pancakes, which can be topped with your favorite syrup or toppings.
Mix your flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Then add your milk of choice and sourdough discard. Mix well to combine; if needed, add a little more milk to thin out the batter.
You can immediately cook this sourdough pancake recipe or let it ferment overnight for even more tangy flavor and light and fluffy results. This batter can also be whipped in your Thermomix for super easy and fast pancakes! You can also make a batch of these sourdough pancakes ahead of time and store them in the fridge (make sure they are covered tightly so the starter doesn’t dry out) for up to 1 month. You can reheat them on the stovetop or in the oven until warm. Enjoy!
- Sourdough Crackers
This is a quick and easy sourdough recipe that is perfect for snacking! These delicious crackers are made with just sourdough discard and butter; no added flour is needed.
The tanginess of the sourdough adds a great flavor to the crackers, and the butter helps bind the dough together and makes it nice and crunchy! This simple recipe can be customized with various herbs, spices, or seasonings to suit your taste.
Ensure your sourdough is discarded at room temperature before mixing it with the butter. Cold discards can solidify and become hard to incorporate into the butter mixture. Also, if the dough is too thick, it won’t cook evenly, and you will end up with burnt edges and a raw centre. If your dough is too soft, just add a little more butter to it and try again.
This is a fun recipe to make with kids, and it is very simple. Just be sure to supervise them carefully, especially when you are rolling out the dough. It’s important to use a light hand and not press too hard, as this can distort the shape of the crackers. The dough should be almost Play-Do-like in consistency. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add a few tablespoons of flour and continue mixing until it is manageable.
- Sourdough Muffins
Sourdough muffins are a quick and easy breakfast, snack, or treat. They have a little bit of sourdough flavor, juicy blueberries, and a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping. These delicious and healthy muffins are a great way to use up your sourdough discard.
This sourdough muffin recipe is super easy to make and a fantastic way to use your starter discard. The batter is made at night and left to naturally ferment overnight, giving the muffins a light and fluffy texture and a deliciously tangy and slightly crunchy crust.
All you need to do in the morning is mix and bake the muffins. This makes for a delicious and nutritious breakfast that’s ready in just 30 minutes!
The type of discard used in this sourdough muffin recipe will influence the overall flavor. Older discard will have a fruitier and more sour taste, while fresher discard will have a richer, nuttier flavor.
You can also make this recipe with a combination of both, depending on what you have available and what type of flavor you’d like. This recipe is gluten free as well, so it’s a great way to make use of your sourdough discard!
Sourdough granola is the perfect treat for breakfast, a snack or even to sprinkle over your favorite salad. This sourdough granola recipe is easy to make and uses both active and discarded sourdough starter along with a whole lot of other wholesome ingredients. The result is a crunchy, sweet and flavorful treat that will have you wanting more.
To make this sourdough granola, first mix together the dry ingredients: oats, puffed rice cereal, coconut flakes, cinnamon and salt. Then, whisk the wet ingredients: maple syrup, oil, sourdough discard and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir well to evenly coat everything. Then, dump the mixture onto an even layer of a prepared baking sheet.
Bake the granola in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring and turning it occasionally. The granola is done when it is golden brown and fragrant. Let the granola cool on the baking sheet before transferring it to an airtight container. Once cooled, add in your choice of nuts, seeds and dried fruit to taste.
- Sourdough Skillets
Sourdough skillets are an easy and delicious way to utilize a cast iron skillet. You can make breakfast or dinner with them – just fill and bake!
You can add any fruit to this recipe, but peaches are especially delicious. This is a great dish to serve with a glass of wine for a cozy date night.
This sourdough bread is super quick and easy to whip up! The dough is flavored with a sourdough starter and baked in a skillet. You can easily double this recipe and bake it in a larger skillet.
Using your sourdough starter in baked goods is an excellent way to help reduce the gluten content and make it more digestible for those with Celiac disease. In a process called fermentation, the gluten proteins are broken down and made more accessible.
To bake this dish, you will need a well-seasoned cast iron skillet and sourdough discard. This is the portion of your sourdough starter that is removed prior to feeding it, so it’s not as active as your regularly fed sourdough starter. Baking with discard is perfect for making dishes that don’t need to rise – like this skillet cookie!
- Sourdough Apple Pie
For this recipe, we use cold sourdough to discard straight out of the fridge. The sourdough starter is made from a combination of flour, water, wild yeasts, and bacteria. It’s important to feed a well-established sourdough starter regularly to prevent it from drying out.
To make the pie crust, mix the sugar and sourdough together in a large bowl using a stand mixer. Then add the butter. Cut the butter into small cubes, the smaller the cubes, the flakier your pastry will be. Mix on low until the mixture looks like wet sand and it’s all mixed up. Then slowly pour in the ice water a Tablespoon at a time, mixing until it all comes together.
Then place the dough in the refrigerator and let it rest for at least an hour (and up to 48 hours). While the sourdough pie crust is chilling, prepare your filling. You can prepare the apple filling in advance and store it in a covered bowl in the fridge.
- Sourdough Breakfast Skillet
Sourdough breakfast savouries are a fantastic way to make use of leftovers and sourdough discard that may otherwise have been thrown away. This skillet dinner is a great example, and features both breakfast sausage and bacon (or ham) for an extra filling meal. This is one of my favorite sourdoughs discard recipes!
Unlike the fluffy, active starter that we use to make bread dough rise, sourdough discard is not so lively. It is still full of yeasts and bacteria that can metabolize sugars in flour into CO2 gas and lactic, acetic, and other acids that flavor and leave the final dough. However, it has lost much of its rising power, so baking soda or powder can be added to help with this in sourdough discard recipes.
Once you have made a batch of this, the sourdough can be stored in a reasonably well-sealed container that does not touch anything else in the fridge. It should be kept for about a week or so before you need to refresh it and start the process all over again.
If you notice that the sourdough has developed black spots or molds, this is usually a sign that it has gone wrong. Throw it away, clean the starter tub, and start again.
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