10 Easy Sourdough Discard Breakfast Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with my 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.

How can I incorporate sourdough bread into a healthy breakfast? You can incorporate sourdough bread into a healthy breakfast by using it as a base for avocado toast, pairing it with a protein source like eggs or smoked salmon, or topping it with fresh vegetables for a nutritious open-faced sandwich.

Sourdough discard recipes not only reduce waste but also offer health benefits, making them a wonderful addition to a balanced diet. The fermentation process of the sourdough starter increases the availability of certain nutrients and can help improve digestion.

With each sourdough starter feeding, you'll be discarding some to avoid it from becoming overly acidic. Most will compost or trash this discard, but you can save it and use it in other recipes!

Sourdough discard only lasts a day or two at room temperature. As such, it is best to keep your discard in the fridge, where it will last for up to one week. Of course, you can only rely on it lasting that long if you store it correctly.

Freezing sourdough discard is a clever way to avoid waste and save it for future recipes.

How to store sourdough discard. If you are going to use the discard immediately (within the same day), you can keep the discard at room temperature. This can either be in an airtight container, or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. It will then be ready to go when you start your recipe.

If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

It is edible for around 3 days. Between days 3 to 5 it would need to be toasted or warmed before consuming. After day 5 your sourdough bread would be stale (but not moldy).

If your recipe calls for more than 227g (about 1 cup) of starter, feed it without discarding until you've reached the amount you need (plus 113g to keep and feed again).

What happens if you forgot to discard starter before feeding? ›

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.

If your starter gets completely covered on top with bubbles but does not rise, it is healthy but may just be a wet mix. Try reducing the water in your next feeding and see if you have different results. Also, the type of flour you are using can impede the rise of your starter.

Did you know that you can use sourdough starter (or discard) to fertilize your indoor and outdoor plants?! Your soil will LOVE the combination of good bacteria and microbes - sourdough starter could be the BEST natural fertilizer you've ever used!

When you are ready to bake, remove the discard from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. I recommend keeping sourdough discard for up to one week. If needed, mark the date on the container in your refrigerator. After one week, there is a higher chance of the discard growing bad bacteria or mold.

Place your discard starter in a large bowl and add cold water, stirring to thin it to the consistency of milk; then pour it down the drain, flushing the drain with additional cold water. Will sourdough starter hurt your septic system? No, it shouldn't; it's simply organic matter and yeast.

You can either split your starter into a new jar for your friend and feed both as normal ( about 100g of starter and 100g each of water and flour) or spilt some off and give them the discard to feed up. Generally, you don't need more than about 50g of starter to pass on to really get a new starter going.