Don't Throw Away Sourdough Starter Discard – Use It To Enhance Your Baked Goods

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

One troublesome thing about baking sourdough bread is when the instructions prompt you to get rid of some of the starter before you feed it. Why all this maintenance for something that's just going to wind up in the compost bin? Wasteful though it may seem, removing a portion of the starter is necessary to prevent the whole thing from growing to the point of becoming unmanageable. (A classic children's story called "The Duchess Bakes a Cake" involves dough so out of control it takes the unfortunate baker on a ride into the sky.) This doesn't mean you literally need to discard the sourdough discard, though. Chef and entrepreneur Vivian Villa recommends using it in other baked goods. Villa, proprietor of Villa's Sauces and Unbutter, told The Takeout, "The acidity in starter discard not only adds flavor, it creates a tender crust since acid inhibits gluten formation."

Villa's instructions for adding sourdough starter to a baking recipe were nice and simple. "Using a scale, weigh the amount of discard to be added to the recipe, divide that weight in half, and subtract that amount from the flour and liquid in the recipe." As an example, you can replace 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water with 100 grams of discard. You shouldn't substitute starter for all the flour and liquid in a recipe, but Villa says you can use it to make up about 20% of the dough or batter.

So, what can you bake with sourdough discard? According to Villa, "Any recipe using high protein flour will benefit from the incorporation of discard, including pizza, breads, cookies, and biscuits because the acidity yields a tender crumb and gives an umami flavor boost, as well."

Even recipes such as chocolate cake or banana bread which typically call for all-purpose flour can be made with sourdough discard. It can also help make fruitcake moist and delicious. (If you enjoy this polarizing dessert, that is.) Leftover sourdough starter can even be turned into kvass, a mildly alcoholic Eastern European drink typically made from fermented bread.

Before you start baking with sourdough discard, there are a few caveats. For one thing, you should only do so with discard that's over a week old. During the first few days, sourdough starter is full of extremely active bacteria and has a strong odor which doesn't translate to tasty baked goods. Also, it probably goes without saying, but you won't want to use starter that's gone bad. As Villa cautions, obvious signs your sourdough starter needs to be thrown out include "a distinct smell of rot or ... signs of mold growth such as strange colors and fuzz on the surface."