60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (2024)

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Save this post for over 60 sourdough starter discard recipes to use up all your leftover sourdough baking ‘waste’! Never throw out your precious sourdough discard again!

Searching for new sourdough starter discard recipes to use up leftover starter? You’ve made it to the right page!

We have a complete list of everything from savory (pretzels and pizza crust) to sweet (cinnamon rolls and crumb cake), and everything in between.

Did you know leftover sourdough starter discard can also be used as thickening agents for sauces and soups? You can find more similar creative tips later in the post.

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Six reasons you should never throw away sourdough starter discard!

60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (1)

Sourdough baking can unfortunately create a lot of waste. Feeding sourdough starter requires discarding most of the starter and then ‘re-feeding’ it with more flour and water. Re-feeding encourages more yeast and healthy bacteria growth, so that the starter expands in preparation for baking.

It’s especially wasteful when you’re building sourdough starter from scratch, which could mean weeks of feeding and discarding.

The only problem: heaps of leftover sourdough discard! And if you bake often, that’s a lot of waste! It may seem inconvenient or too time consuming to save the discard, but it’s worth it.

Here are six reasons you should NEVER throw away sourdough starter discard:

  1. Save more food waste from the landfill by reusing your sourdough discard. Nearly 40% of the nation’s food supply already goes to landfills. More food in landfills = more harmful greenhouse gases emitted.
  2. It saves money! Flour is a hot commodity these days! Sourdough discard helps extend your flour supply. Use less flour and oil when using discard in recipes.
  3. Sourdough discard contains vitamins, nutrients and probiotics that are beneficial for gut health and digestion.
  4. Use leftover sourdough starter discard in one of these 100+ recipes! It’s the ultimate food waste hack!
  5. You don’t have to use it immediately. Discard can be stored in the fridge or freezer for later use.
  6. As a last resort, compost it! The extra bacteria can help speed up the decomposition process in compost bins.

How to properly store sourdough starter discard for later use (in recipes)

60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (2)

Luckily, discard doesn’t need to be used right away. Plus, it can take several rounds of feeding and discarding to get enough to use in other recipes. Most recipes use approximately one cup at at time.

Save unfed sourdough starter discard for later with one of these methods:

Refrigerator

Sourdough starter can last a surprisingly long time stored in the fridge. We’ve don’t bake terribly often, and have left our starter in the fridge for up to a month before starting the refeeding process. However, leftover and refrigerated unfed sourdough starter discard should be used up within about one week.

Tips for Leftover Sourdough Discard Fridge Storage

  • Store up to 2 weeks in airtight container.
  • Don’t use if moldy or a pink/orange discoloration of hooch appears (this means bad bacteria has taken over).
  • No need to refeed before using in other recipes.

If hooch (the liquid that collects on the starter’s surface after several days or weeks of no refeeding) develops on the surface of the discard, you know your discard is aging.

It may still be okay to use, but the flavor can become altered. Recipes made with older discard will have a noticeably tangy or sour taste.

How to Know When Refrigerated Sourdough Discard is Past Its Prime

Sourdough starter or hooch that develops fuzzy mold or pinkish/orange colored liquid or streaks should be thrown out. According to the King Arthur baking website, this is a sure sign that bad bacteria has overtaken the healthy bacteria, making it unsafe to consume.

Freezer

Sourdough discard that you don’t intend to use within a week should be stored in the freezer. Frozen discard can last in the freezer for one year.

Tips for Storing Leftover Sourdough Discard in the Freezer

  • Portion out discard into one cup servings and store in a freezer safe container OR freeze an entire batch in an air-tight container.
  • Store frozen leftover discard up to a year.
  • When ready to use, simply remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for a few days in the fridge.
  • No need to refeed! Just add it as directed to one of these 100+ recipes!

There’s some debate on whether freezing kills off all the beneficial bacteria that yeast feeds on, or if it just allows them to hibernate. Either way, if you’re just using leftover discard in one of these recipes, freezing it is perfectly fine.

If you attempt to revive the discard for sourdough bread baking, you may run into some issues.

Pantry

Lastly, discard may be dehydrated for long term pantry storage. Dried sourdough starter discard can be revived for bread baking or recipe use later. Additionally, it can be ground up and used as batter or bread crumb coating for certain recipes.

Tips for Dehydrating Sourdough Discard for Pantry Storage

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread recently discarded sourdough starter thinly onto parchment.
  • Allow the starter to dry out completely until brittle. This may take 24-72 hours depending on location.
  • Break dried discard into pieces and store in an air-tight container in the pantry for extended storage.
  • Process into a crumb mixture for use as a breading or crunchy topping, or revive it for bread baking.

Unconventional Ways to Use Sourdough Starter Discard (no recipe needed)

There are tons of recipes for leftover sourdough starter discard. As an alternative, here a few creative ways to use up all that discard (no recipe needed).

  • batter for frying veggies or fish (onion rings, anyone?)
  • sauce thickener (works with cheese, gravy, or plain white/Bechemel sauces)
  • soup thickener (instead of flour or cornstarch)
  • crunchy topping for salads, stir fry, or desserts (dehydrated sourdough starter)

60+ Zero Waste Recipes for Sourdough Starter Discard

The options are endless when it comes to cooking and baking with sourdough starter discard. Reference this of extensive list of over 60 recipes to reduce your sourdough baking waste!

Are you gluten sensitive? Check out this section of gluten free sourdough starter discard recipes.

Sweet Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes

  • 60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (3)
  • 60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (4)
  • 60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (5)

There’s no shortage of sweet breakfast and dessert recipes using sourdough starter discard.

Breakfast/Brunch

Desserts

Savory Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes

  • 60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (6)
  • 60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (7)
  • 60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (8)

Bread Variations

Crackers

Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes

Finally, one of my all time personal favorites from the No Waste Nutrition recipe archives! Spicy sourdough discard cheese crackers! See the full recipe below.

Print

Seriously Addicting Spicy Sourdough Discard Cheese Crackers

60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (9)

Print Recipe

Easy to throw together, but so hard to resist! These spicy, cheesy sourdough starter discard crackers are perfect for a snacking, dipping, or on a charcuterie board!

  • Author: Erin Hendrickson, RDN
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: about 150 1″x1″ crackers 1x
  • Category: Sourdough Discard Recipes

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup all purpose or bread flour

1 cup unfed sourdough starter discard

1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)

1/4 cup Texas Pete hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix flour, sourdough starter, cheese, melted butter, and hot sauce together.

2. Form into a smooth, cohesive ball of dough.

3. Split dough in half and shape into two rectangular pieces. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow dough to harden.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

5. Roll out each section of dough on a floured surface or parchment paper to about 1/16″ inches thick.

6. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cut sourdough crackers into equal portions using a pizza cutter.

7. Prick each square with a fork.

8. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Turn baking dish halfway to ensure all sides bake evenly.

9. Let cool before munching or transferring to an airtight container.

Notes

  • Two baking sheets are recommended to bake both sections of dough at once.
  • Crackers may be baked directly on baking sheet, on parchment paper, or silicone baking mat.
  • Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to a week or 3 months in the freezer.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: about 10 crackers
  • Calories: 200
  • Sugar: 0
  • Sodium: 220 mg
  • Fat: 3 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 22 grams

Keywords: Sourdough Discard Cheese Crackers

  • 60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (10)
  • 60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (11)
60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (2024)

FAQs

When can I use sourdough starter discard in recipes? ›

You can use 1-2 week old discard in “discard recipes”… think cookies, brownies, muffins, non-yeast breads, tortillas (pretty much anything that doesn't require active starter (aka wild yeast).

How much should I discard and feed my sourdough starter? ›

Room-temperature starter should be fed every 12 hours (twice a day) using the standard maintenance feeding procedure: discard all but 113g, and feed that 113g starter with 113g each water and flour.

Can you do anything with sourdough starter discard? ›

You can always use this discard by directly mixing it into a dough for baking. Your discard, as long as it's in good shape, will leaven any bread dough just as well. The discard is just like a levain you would make for a recipe. The only difference is it's the same makeup as your starter.

Can I use day 3 sourdough discard? ›

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.

Can you use 2 day old sourdough discard? ›

You should toss the sourdough discard from your starter for at least the first 7 days. In this early period, the discard will contain bad bacteria which can potentially be unsafe for you to consume. After about 7 days, your starter should have started to rise and bubble.

Can you use sourdough discard right out of the refrigerator? ›

Store it for future baking: You can store sourdough discard in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future baking with sourdough discard recipes. When you're ready to use it, let the discard come to room temperature before using it to bake. I will keep sourdough discard in the fridge for about one week.

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

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.

Can I just feed my sourdough starter without discarding? ›

After day 7, do I keep discarding half of my sourdough starter? Nope! Once the sourdough starter is established on day 8, all you have to do is just give it flour and water. You no longer need to discard half of it.

How long can you leave sourdough discard? ›

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.

How to tell if sourdough discard is bad? ›

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.

Do I need to feed sourdough discard before using? ›

Absolutely! A jar of sourdough discard serves as an insurance policy against starter death. If you have some discard on hand, remove a spoonful of it and feed it fresh flour and water in a clean jar. You should have a bubbly starter ready to bake with after a couple of feedings, depending on the discard's condition.

Can I bake sourdough discard by itself? ›

You can store sourdough discard in a separate container, then bake with it when you want — for instance, maybe you fed your starter on Tuesday, leaving you with discard that you want to use to bake pancakes on Saturday.

Can I put all my sourdough discard together? ›

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.

Are there health benefits to using sourdough discards? ›

Are There Health Benefits in Discard? 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.

How soon after feeding sourdough starter can I use it? ›

*Do not try baking with your starter right after feeding it. Allow time for it to grow and feast on the flour before using it. Starters are usually ready to bake with around 4-12 hours after a feeding depending on the amount you feed your starter. The larger the feeding, the more time it needs to ferment.

How soon can you use sourdough starter? ›

While you can generally start baking with your sourdough starter from around 14 days (as long as it's doubling consistently after feeding) - your sourdough starter will not actually fully develop and mature for quite a while.

How long is sourdough discard usable? ›

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.

When has sourdough discard gone bad? ›

So if you see, like, orange or pink streaking in your sourdough discard, that's bad bacteria, and you don't want to eat that, so it's time to throw that one away. That's really the only reason that you're looking for. that sort of one week line.

Can you dry sourdough starter discard? ›

Any excess, also called the discard, can be dried and ground to powder. It can then be used for multiple purposes.

References

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