Sourdough Discard

Welcome back to the Sourdough Series! Now that I have shared how I have nearly perfected my loaf (it’s my kind of perfect and I am definitely still learning and experimenting), we are ready to move on in our sourdough journey. As I mentioned in a previous post, usually the first step in most people’s sourdough journey is mastering a basic artisan loaf. This process will help you learn the ins and outs of your starter, how your home environment affects the process, and just getting a handle on sourdough baking in general. Once you have started to consistently create a solid loaf, that is when you can get into the fun stuff. The things you can make sourdough are honestly endless. This experience has opened my eyes to how versatile this style of baking is and it has been SO much fun experimenting in the kitchen. One thing I have really enjoyed experimenting with is sourdough discard recipes. With all that loaf making and feeding came A LOT of discard to use up and I definitely had to do a lot of research and get creative. Now, what is discard you ask? And how does it differ from regular sourdough baking? I am no expert, but I am ready to share with you what I have learned about discard and all the amazingly fun things you can do with it.

Basically, sourdough discard is essentially just unfed, inactive starter. When you feed your starter, the process includes removing (or discarding) a certain amount of starter and then feeding it with equal parts flour to equal parts water. An analogy I really liked while researching discard was that this discarding process is like giving your starter a haircut. You typically get a haircut every couple of months to get rid of the dead ends and refresh your hair to keep it healthy and wanting to grow. Well, our starters need this “haircut” either everyday if it’s kept at room temperature or once per week if it’s kept in the fridge. This process refreshes the live bacteria in the starter to keep it healthy and active. As with anything, if you let it get overgrown, the bacteria will have a harder time finding sufficient food from the flour and you will have a less efficient starter and one that struggles to create a balanced culture of carbon dioxide and acid. It also allows you to keep your starter at a manageable level. If you just kept feeding and feeding without ever removing, you would have more starter than you know what to do with. Typically the ratio I follow and the one that works for me is removing 100 grams of starter then feeding with 100 grams of flour and 100 grams of water. I only keep around 100-300 grams of starter in my jar at all times. I noticed if I had any more that 300 grams, Richard would become very liquidy and had a hard time getting bubbly and active after feedings. 

The starter you remove from your jar before a feeding is called “discard” because it is starter that is not activated. This discarding process typically occurs after your starter’s peak activation where the level of the starter starts to go down in the jar, there aren’t many bubbles, and it might be more liquidy. The starter you remove from the jar at this point is discard. Non-active starter is not usually used in baked goods that need to rise because it’s only active starter that will produce the carbon dioxide your baked goods need to rise. BUT, this non-active starter does not need to go to waste! It can be used in SO many other baked goods and can still provide the benefits of fermentation since there are still active, live cultures in the discard that produce antioxidants, gut healthy bacteria, and acids. If you are baking a lot, you will produce a lot of discard and this is perfectly healthy starter that can be put to great, delicious, nutritious use.

There are so many things you can make with discard, and I am just at the start. As I mentioned in my latest loaf post, Farmhouse on Boone is my go-to for any regular sourdough or discard recipe. There are tons of traditional and unique discard recipes on Lisa’s blog, and I highly recommend any of them! I also use Pinterest a lot when I’m looking for recipe inspiration. You will be amazed at how many things you can use your discard for. Anywhere from breads to pizza crust to crackers to cookies, the options are endless. Recipes usually involve foods that are already using flour and water, but I have even made sourdough discard granola so there really are no limits. I also learned that virtually ANY recipe that doesn’t need to rise that’s already using flour and water can use discard. All you have to do is subtract a certain amount of flour and liquid that the original recipe uses and replace it with equal parts discard. For example, if a recipe calls for 100 grams of flour and 100 grams of milk and you wanted to use up 100 grams of discard, you would subtract 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of the milk and replace that with 100 grams of discard (which is essentially 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water). I haven’t learned enough of hydration levels and things like that to back this theory up 100%, but I can say that I tried it on a regular chocolate cake and it came out INCREDIBLE. Not only does making discard recipes help you avoid tons of food waste, but it also provides a lot of the same benefits as active sourdough does. The benefits depend on how long you let something ferment, but if you use discard in your baked goods it will still contain some antioxidants, live bacteria that support gut health, and phytic acid to help with absorption of vitamins and minerals. The longer you let the dough of whatever you’re making ferment, the more benefits you will have. I also noticed that using discard still gives baked goods that very subtle sweet, tangy flavor and makes everything so much fluffier and softer in texture. Not to mention always having discard that needs to be used on-hand really forces you to want to make more from-scratch, homemade things. What better excuse do you need to bake than having discard lying around that needs to be used up? I know for me personally, I am cooking and baking from-scratch more than I ever have before. It truly allows you to know exactly what ingredients you are putting into your body and encourages you to use more natural, simple ingredients. 

I started off my discard experimenting by following Farmhouse on Boone recipes and a few recipes I found on Pinterest, but I am now at a point that I have been testing some recipes of my own that I would love to share someday soon! The very first discard recipes I tried were pumpkin muffins and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies – Yes it was fall at the time and I was all about embracing my basic pumpkin spice girl life. Let me tell you, I was amazed. I have never had such moist, fluffy muffins in my life and the cookies…think a cookie with a moist, fluffy cake texture that has a little crisp on the outside but gooey inside. I’m telling you, once I switched to all discard baked goods, I have never looked back. Everything comes out elevated – They are richer, fluffier, gooeyier, softer, everything you want a baked good to be. If you ever want to give these a try here is the Pumpkin Muffin Recipe that I used and the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe I used, both are amazing and I got delicious results! After these trial runs, I got a little obsessed with sourdough discard recipes, I’m not going to lie to you. I had so much fun (and still am) experimenting, getting creative in the kitchen, and seeing all the things you can use discard for. I’m at a point that I use discard AT LEAST once per week but realistically I am using it typically around 3 times per week. To date I have made pasta, pie crust, pancakes, pizza dough, granola, a bunch of different cookies, tons of muffins, and cake, and I have an extremely long list of things I am dying to try lined up on my Pinterest board and in my notes. Here are the recipes I followed if you ever want to give anything a try:

Sourdough Pasta

Sourdough Pie Crust

Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough Pizza Crust

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies

I have also been working on my own sourdough granola, whole wheat trail mix cookies, whole wheat carrot and chocolate muffins, whole wheat pancakes, and chocolate cake recipes that still need a lot of work but would love to share on The Nourished Lens soon! As I mentioned, the opportunities to use up discard are endless and instead of letting it go to waste, get into that kitchen, have some fun, and make delicious baked goods for you and your family. I also love giving away my bakes to family, friends, and neighbors as gifts! It’s a humbling, rewarding experience and if I haven’t convinced you yet, use this as your sign to start your sourdough journey today.

To close out this post, I wanted to share some discard tips and tricks I have learned along the way. First up, the only discard that should ever go to waste is your discard from when you’re first starting your starter (before you have your active, healthy starter that’s ready to be used). During this process, the discard is actually pretty nasty and I wouldn’t use it. It typically smells like dirty gym socks, it has a really odd chunky texture, it often has a gross liquid over it (the liquid is called a hooch and is a sign your starter needs to be fed), and I’m not actually sure it’s food safe. So for your sake, please actually throw away this discard. But once you have your beautiful, healthy starter, don’t let that discard go to waste! If you can’t use up your discard right away, you can actually store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. I have read that it’s best to use it within the first 2 weeks but can be stretched to 3-4 weeks as long as it still has a pleasant smell. You definitely don’t want to use it if it has an unpleasant sour smell (like dirty gym socks) or has signs of mold (typically shown as pink or orange in discard). Since it’s not being fed, your discard will still continue to ferment and break down slowly in the fridge and it will get to a point that it’s broken down too much and shouldn’t be used. I also read not to store discard on the counter unless you plan to use it that day. Personally, I have used a 3-week discard that was stored in the fridge because it still smelled good and there were no signs of mold and I was just fine, but use your own judgement here. Last but certainly not least, don’t be afraid to get creative. If you think of a wild way to use up your discard, I bet there is already a recipe out there and if not, try it anyway! In my opinion, you really can’t go wrong and that’s all a part of the fun. Some recipes will definitely be better than others, but that’s how you learn and grow. Have fun, make a mess in your kitchen, and work towards nourishing your body with homemade goodness.