What Is Sourdough Discard🫙?

WHat is sourdough discard🫙?

In short, sourdough discard is the starter straight from the fridge. Sourdough Discard is starter that is not active! It’s the part of your starter that you would pour off before feeding it!

Why Would I Pour Off Starter Before Feeding🥄?

Let’s say you take your starter out of the fridge and weigh it, and there is 200 g of starter in your container. If you feed this with equal amounts of flour and water (that’s 200 g of flour+200 g of water), you’ll end up with 600 g of starter! (That’s A LOT!) So usually, you would just pour some off into the trash so you end up with less starter. The part that you would discard…

That’s your sourdough discard🗑️!

What can i use sourdough discard for?

It can be used in most baked goods: breads, pizza dough, cinnamon buns, crackers, muffins, cookies… basically anything that has baking soda, baking powder, or yeast (those are leavening agents😉)

I’ll be posting awesome sourdough discard recipes that I’ve tried on the blog!

Delicous Sourdough Discard Crackers!

Will Sourdough Discard help my dough rise🎈?

Sourdough discard doesn’t have the same leavening power as sourdough starter, because it’s not active. So recipes with sourdough discard also have a leavening agent- baking soda, baking powder, or yeast!

SO Why would i want to use sourdough discard🤷🏼‍♀️?

People like to use sourdough discard for a few reasons.

1) It eliminates waste because otherwise it would be thrown out!

2) It can also add a bit of a (sourdough-type) more complex flavor to your baked goods!

3) Sourdough discard has some health benefits (vitamins, probiotics-good stuff:), and can be easier to digest (which means my cookies are healthy now-right😜?).

how will sourdough discard change the taste of whatever i am making🍪?

It depends on how long your starter has been in the fridge without feeding it (longer time in the fridge=more sour), how much sourdough discard is in your recipe, and the specific recipe-so it’s hard to know. Generally, it won’t make your baked goods sour, it just makes them fluffier!

Can I Use Extra Active Starter Instead of Discard?

YES! I've tried it and it totally works and tastes delicious!

So if you have some extra sourdough starter, give a try at baking with sourdough discard and let me know how it goes!

Questions? Email me at raizy@sourdoughforstarters.net