Check out my roundup of my favorite healthy sourdough discard recipes! Along with fermented grains, many of these recipes have other health benefits, such as high-protein ingredients and other ingredients full of vitamins and minerals. From breakfast to dinner, eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring or flavorless thanks to these discard meals!
My sourdough journey began with making sandwich bread.
As delicious as it was (still is!), I knew there had to be more I could do with my sourdough starter. So, I began to find creative ways to utilize my starter, especially the discard.
What I ended up discovering was a plethora of amazing recipes that were made even better by using discarded sourdough starter.
The best part about using leftover sourdough discard in your baking and cooking? You get the added benefit of fermented grains – making it easier to digest and better absorbed by the body.
Plus, there just can’t be enough said about the flavor sourdough adds to pretty much anything from sourdough waffles to chocolate chip cookies to banana bread.
In this roundup, I’m sharing some of my favorite healthy discard recipes.
What is Sourdough Discard?
Sourdough discard is unfed starter. It’s the amount you remove before feeding an active starter. Some people will just toss the discard, but I love to use it in various recipes.
Once a starter is mature enough, you don’t technically have to “discard” any of it. However, you don’t want too much starter because it will be difficult to maintain and keep healthy.
That’s why I love to use discard in recipes to ensure I keep a healthy starter and get plenty of fermented grains in my diet.
Is Sourdough Discard Healthy?
Although the term “healthy” can mean different things to different people, I would argue that sourdough provides many health benefits.
Fermented grains is what sets it apart. The fermentation process helps break down two components of the grains flour is made up of:
- Gluten – Fermenting grains breaks down gluten, which makes the grains easier for our bodies to digest.
- Phytic Acid – This is an anti-nutrient. Humans do not have the proper enzymes to break this down. Instead, it can bind to various nutrients in our bodies, inhibiting those nutrients from being properly absorbed. Fermentation breaks these anti-nutrients down for us, which makes the actual nutrients of the food more bio-available.
Recipes made with all discard and no added flour are considered long-fermented recipes, as the grains in the discard have all been sufficiently fermented.
Many of my discard recipes that do have additional flour can be long fermented to ensure you get all these health benefits as well.
Why You’ll Love These Recipes
Great way to utilize sourdough starter discard – There are some discard bread recipes below, too, but I love being able to use my sourdough starter for every meal of the day at the farmhouse if I want to. It’s not just for bread!
The added depth of flavor – Sourdough discard elevates the flavor of recipes in my opinion.
Cut down on food waste – I never like to throw food away. Honestly, I have not thrown out any discard in years. There’s always something I can make with it. The recipes below are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Tips
- Some of the recipes below do require another leavening agent, such as baking powder or commercial yeast. You’ll want to have both on hand if you plan to make any discard recipes. Instant yeast is always good to have in the pantry when needed.
- Although it isn’t required, I find discard recipes work best when the discard is brought to room temperature before being added to a recipe.
- The longer sourdough discard sits in the fridge, the more sour it becomes. Keep this in mind, pending how much sour flavor you like in your recipes.
- Although these are all technically discard recipes, active sourdough starter can be used as well.
Healthy Sourdough Discard Recipes
For Breakfast
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Toast
Sourdough Discard Bagels
Sourdough Crepes
Sourdough Dutch Baby Pancake
For Lunch
Sourdough Wraps
Pizza
Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns
For Dinner
Sourdough Skillet
Sourdough Pasta
Ground Beef Pot Pie
Best Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Sourdough Galette With Sage, Leek, And Goat Cheese
Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Sourdough Discard Focaccia
For Snack Time
Sourdough Crackers
Sourdough Graham Crackers
FAQ
Sourdough discard is incredibly versatile. You can use it to make a delicious dessert, as a coating for fried chicken, or to add flavor to any dish. I have tons of sourdough discard recipes on the blog. Check out my roundup of dessert discard recipes here and breakfast recipes here.
Discard is very low maintenance and can last a few weeks in the fridge. However, for best results, I recommend feeding it every 7 to 10 days. The cold temperature slows fermentation but doesn’t halt it completely, which is why discard continues to sour.
Keep discard in the refrigerator in a non-porous container. I like to use an extra jar. The size you need depends on how much discard you tend to have on hand at any time. I really like these large jars for my sourdough starter, and if I have extra discard, I’ll store it in a large mason jar.
I’m using only whole grain in my sourdough. Do you have any discard recipes specifically for whole wheat discard? We’re trying to eat according to the Mediterranean diet which uses whole wheat.
Absolutely love all your sourdough recipes! Anyone interested in learning sourdough baking, I always refer them to your website!
Thank you so much!