An often puzzling concept, here is my summary of another common sourdough question: “What is sourdough discard?“
For those just beginning their sourdough journey, sourdough discard can be somewhat confusing.
What is it? What do you do with it? Are we really just throwing food away?
Sourdough baking is a passion of mine and a huge part of my efforts in feeding my family healthy, nutritionally complex foods. So, I love to help answer common questions to clear up confusion.
In the world of sourdough, there’s no such thing as a silly question. All efforts to learn about sourdough are encouraged here! In fact, I even have a glossary of sourdough baking terms that might be useful for you!
Recap on Sourdough Starter
A sourdough starter is an active culture of fermented flour and water, packed with good bacteria and wild yeast. It is used as a natural leavening agent for many baked goods, providing both rise and classic, tangy flavor.
Why You Will Love Sourdough
Great flavor – The sour and tangy flavors work surprisingly well with all kinds of recipes, making it a great way to add flavor complexity and depth to everyday foods. Read my post on how you can convert any recipe to sourdough.
Health benefits – Not only does sourdough add flavor, but the fermentation process also breaks down phytic acid in grain. This makes the nutrients more bioavailable and more easily digested. It’s also a healthier alternative to commercial yeast, providing a means of rising bread that also incorporates probiotics and lower levels of gluten.
Versatile – Sourdough baking might seem like it’s only about loaves of bread that are sliced for toast every morning, but I have a post on how to eat sourdough bread that explains the many delicious ways sourdough can be utilized. It’s not just a loaf of bread but cakes, cookies, muffins, quick breads, and more!
Adaptable – Starters can be fed with all kinds of flour. You can use a classic all-purpose flour or go with a rye starter or a whole wheat starter for a deeper, more complex flavor, while an einkorn starter embraces the health benefits of an ancient grain. There are several options for a gluten-free starter, as well!
What is Sourdough Discard?
Sourdough discard is the portion of an inactive sourdough starter that we remove before a feeding. When the starter is slack and inactive, we pour off a portion of the starter, the discard, and feed the remaining starter to get it active again.
Maintaining a sourdough starter involves routine feedings of flour and water to keep those bacteria happy. You’ll notice a flurry of activity each time a healthy starter is fed, with lots of bubbling and an increase in the volume of the starter.
Each time we feed the starter, we first remove a portion and then feed the remaining starter. If we were to feed the entire amount every time, it would quickly multiply beyond what is reasonable to maintain.
The portion that is removed is called discard, and the portion that we feed is often referred to as “fed starter.” As the name “discard” suggests, it is often disposed of to avoid feeding and maintaining an unreasonably large amount of starter. However, I do not throw my discard away, so read on to learn more about the benefits of discard!
Is Discarding Necessary?
Yes, discarding is an important step in the sourdough process. Unless you bake every day, you will need to discard a portion of your sourdough starter with each feeding.
This is because we feed a starter based on ratios. For instance, if I have one cup of starter, then I will feed it an equivalent amount of flour and water.
For example, approximately 1 cup of starter will be fed 1 cup flour + 1 cup water.
If I don’t discard, then my one cup of starter will turn into 2+ cups of starter, and the next feeding ratio will need to be two cups of flour and two cups of water to keep the yeast happy.
Suddenly, I’m up to four cups of starter (not counting the bubbling and expanding) and those four cups will be asking for four more cups of food. You can see how quickly that would get out of hand!
If your starter is sitting at room temperature and waiting a few days in between uses, it will need to be fed daily to remain healthy, and those feedings should be accompanied by discarding a portion of the starter to keep it at a reasonable level. Otherwise, consider popping it in the fridge to slow down the fermentation for later use.
What Can I Do With Sourdough Discard?
Discard is a fully fermented, probiotic-rich ingredient, and it has a deliciously tangy flavor that can be incorporated into many different recipes. Why would I throw that away?
Instead, I store sourdough discard in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I find that I use it all the time!
Here are just a few of our favorite sourdough discard recipes.
- Bread recipes like sourdough discard English muffins, Irish soda bread, easy discard hamburger buns, sourdough discard naan bread, sourdough discard sandwich bread, and many more!
- Breakfast recipes like sourdough banana bread, sourdough pancakes, sourdough granola, fluffy sourdough biscuits, or sourdough bagels.
- Snack recipes like homemade sourdough discard pretzels, sourdough discard crackers, or these nostalgic sourdough graham crackers.
- Dessert recipes such as easy sourdough discard blondies, sourdough strawberry cream cheese cobbler, the best sourdough chocolate cake, classic sourdough brownies, quick sourdough discard cinnamon rolls and so many more.
- Cookie recipes like sourdough shortbread cookies, sourdough thumbprint cookies, sourdough chocolate chip cookies, sourdough snickerdoodle cookies, and sourdough gingerbread cookies.
Tips
- If you are brand new to sourdough, I have a post all about making your own sourdough starter that will help you get started.
- Refrigerated discard will continue to sour with time. If not used within a week, it may have more sourdough flavor than you’d like. A good idea for gauging the sourness is simply by giving the discard a smell.
- Discard may develop a black liquid on the surface after being stored for a while. This is a sign of a neglected starter, but it’s nothing to be alarmed by. The liquid can simply be poured off.
- If you bake a lot and don’t often have a large amount of discard, keep in mind that these discard recipes can be made with an active sourdough starter, as well.
FAQ
Sourdough contains some lactic acid bacteria, which are considered probiotics and may promote a healthier gut biome.
Sourdough starter discard is considered an inactive starter because it is not fed, is not actively fermenting, and offers little to no yeast activity. Discard has a deeper, more pronounced sour flavor because it is fully fermented. Sourdough starter is the fed portion and is considered ripe or active and has a milder flavor.
It is not recommended to consume raw discard, as it contains uncooked flour, which poses health risks due to some potentially harmful bacteria.
To avoid food waste, you can keep a jar of discard in the refrigerator to use in all kinds of creative ways. A few of our favorites are these 15 healthy sourdough discard recipes.
While it does have lower levels of gluten that make long-fermented sourdough recipes feasible for some with mild gluten sensitivities, long-fermented sourdough bread is not gluten-free unless you’ve also used a gluten-free starter made with buckwheat, rice flour, or some other alternative.
