Sourdough Discard Use

What is your favorite use of sourdough discard?

I’m getting the itch to start a sourdough but I hate waste.

Crackers

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I fill it into a jar, refrigerate it, and when the jar gets quite full, I use it for a so-called “detritus” bread.
But perhaps I should state that I use a firm starter, so the waste, or discard, only occurs on the 3-4 days when I refresh it before baking.

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I like sourdough waffles, but I rarely have them because I don’t discard any starter. I keep my starter in the fridge and feed it only when I want to use it (usually that’s probably once every 2 weeks, but I have gone longer without feeding it, and it’s always been fine).

Here’s another no-waste method: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/40918/no-muss-no-fuss-starter

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Detritus bread? New to me.

Recipes?

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Well, I’m in Paris right now, so I don’t have my recipes at hand. But, as I mentioned, I use a firm starter. The recipe came from Maggie Glezer. It’s available somewhere on the www.thefreshloaf.com website. The firm starter method produces much less discard than the wet starter method. But the discard that is produced, I save in a jar in the refrigerator. When the jar gets fairly full, I take 200-300 grams of the discarded starter, mix it with about 500 grams of fresh flour, I’m not sure how much water, but probably 300 grams, about 14 grams of salt, then let it rise overnight in a cool place. I let it come to room temperature, fold it once or twice, leave it in a couche for a couple of hours, then bake it in a hot covered pot. 30 minutes covered, then 20 minutes uncovered.

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I use the discard mainly to make pizza crust. I use this recipe, but usually add more water and more interesting flours. Sourdough pizza

I adore the book Sourdough by Sarah Owens and I just recently bought her newest book, Heirloom. She has many recipes using sourdough discard. So far, I’ve made the thumbprint cookies and an upside down fruit cake. Both have been a huge hit!

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I started a new starter batch last week and got impatient waiting for it to be ready. Made this STUNNING loaf today following this recipe: https://www.growforagecookferment.com/no-knead-sourdough-bread/

I also made pancakes last week following this (added blueberries) and my husband said they might be better than my regular ones :astonished:

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Beautiful bread! Do you make them in a regular basis?

Thank you! What a difference my new cast iron pot and lid are making! I go through strong periods of bread baking and usually stop or nearly stop in the summer. I like the challenge of full sourdough and tinkering around with various recipes.

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Gorgeous! You’ve inspired me… never made sourdough.

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So happy my offhand question inspired you!

Now, I’ve got to get my own starter started.

I don’t know why I find sourdough so daunting, but I do. I’ve committed starter murder more times than I care to admit. I killed a live thing and I’m so ashamed… :cry:

Does anyone have a favorite process/recipe?

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I’ve been following this guide to get my starter going and general guide. Slow going this round. I suspect because it is chilly in my house and I had ran out of whole wheat flour before so was doing a mix of rye/AP. I bought some whole wheat 2 days ago and my starter looks very happy. I’m about a week and half in and still am not at a place I can make a fully sourdough loaf (ie: no commercial yeast). I’m hoping that I can make a loaf this weekend. I may try one toward the tail end of the week and see how it goes. Might come out kind of flat but whatever.

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/guides/sourdough

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In the current issue of Olive magazine:

There are 2 other recipes in the mag but not (yet) on their website:

  • Rye chocolate chip cookies (British mags use American words and terms now?)
  • Tempura batter

Are you saying that because cookies are called biscuits?

Sourdough discard and dark (70% plus) chocolate dont pair well. Too sour and bitter. I’d try semi sweet or even milk chocolate.

No idea but I imagine sour and dark chocolate are not really a pleasant combo.

Ingredients they use: caster sugar, brown sugar, sea salt, vanilla extract, plain flour, rye flour, salted butter, baking powder, eggs, dark chocolate.

A couple of times I had chocolate stout that tasted absolutely disgusting. Turned out I failed to see the tiny, tiny word “mint” somewhere on the label or sign. Keep pure chocolate pure! (99% for me)

Late post of some cast iron focaccia I baked in the spring, I added 4 oz. of discard as a substitute for 2 oz each of flour and water.

I used a Serious Eats recipe with the aforementioned modification https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-no-knead-focaccia

This one was a dark bake - I went over by 3 minutes by accident.

The sourdough discard doesn’t serve a leavening function, but it adds a nice tang and texture. When I’ve given some away, people always ask me to bake more.

I have managed to never had too much discard by using it up in pizza dough and waffle batter. But I also specifically looked for a starter recipe that relied on small start amounts (and small feeds) of both flour and water, knowing that I didn’t want to be discarding a cup or more at a time. Good luck!