This is the Ultimate Guide to Sourdough Discard Recipes! It is not merely a list of recipes using discard; rather it is your guide to finding the right recipe for you! I will also share my process, as a pastry chef, for using sourdough discard in any bread recipe.
It is my opinion, as a pastry chef, that one shouldn’t use discard in baked goods just for the sake of using it. I prefer to use sourdough discard at the proper stage for the selected use. The key is picking the right recipe for the stage of discard that you have! This round-up will help you do just that!
I have sorted the recipes based on the stages and will also guide you through the scientific reason behind each categorization. If you are just beginning your sourdough journey, then this all probably sounds very confusing. Start with my sourdough starter recipe! Then, expand upon that understanding with my post on how to feed sourdough starter, which also includes answers to many common questions about discard.
Table of Contents
- What are the best things to make with sourdough discard?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sourdough Discard Recipes by Discard Age
- Recipes best with fresh sourdough discard
- Recipes to use with old, refrigerated sourdough discard
- Recipes that can be made with either recently fed discard or old discard.
- Sourdough recipes where you can substitute discard for active sourdough starter.
- A pastry chef’s process for substituting sourdough starter for commercial yeast in any bread recipe.
- Before You Go
What are the best things to make with sourdough discard?
This is one of those cooking questions that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer. However, my professional opinion is that the best things to make with sourdough discard are baked goods that you would have made regardless and those that aren’t negatively altered by discard.
When choosing a sourdough discard recipe, there are several important questions to consider:
- Do you want the discard to do the leavening? If so, you’ll want to use more recently fed sourdough discard (within 36 hours) in recipes that call for active starter or commercial yeast or a combination of both. Relying on discard to raise quick breads, muffins or batters often leaves you with an unappealing texture that is chewy and dense as well as an overpowering sourdough flavor. It is best to use discard along with a chemical leavener to achieve the best flavor and texture.
- Do you want a strong flavor of sourdough? If you welcome the strong flavor of sourdough, then you can use any age of discard with a longer proof time. This applies to discard recipes like sourdough focaccia as well as sourdough bread recipes like no knead sourdough bread.
- Do you want the end product quickly? When baking bread with sourdough, you cannot always have your loaf and eat it too. If you want bread quickly, you’ll need to use more recently fed discard or use discard in combination with commercial yeast. This will result in a less sour flavor but in a fraction of the time. If you want that intense sourdough flavor and the maximum health benefits, you’ll need to use older discard in combination with commercial yeast or active starter, and much longer proof times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sourdough discard is the portion of the active sourdough starter that is not being fed. When you feed sourdough starter, you only feed a small portion of the starter to ensure it has ample food to multiply. You can use or throw out discard each time you feed your starter, or you can save the starter in a separate container in the fridge for longer periods of time.
Sourdough discard will last for months in the fridge. The yeast will slowly die off from their natural life cycles, a lack of food and also an increase in the acidity in their environment.
The general rule to keep in mind is that the older the discard; the more sour the flavor, the more dense, and the less active. If you are not relying on the discard for leavening and you welcome a more concentrated flavor, then stir in any separated liquid (the hooch) and bake away.
Sourdough discard still has the same health benefits of active sourdough starter. But, it is often combined with ingredients that are less healthful.
Technically speaking, sourdough discard has only “gone bad” if it molds. If you see visible mold on your starter or discard, you should throw it out. It is unlikely, given that sourdough starter has antimicrobial properties, which makes the environment inhospitable to most bad bacteria. You might also consider discard to have “gone bad” when it is no longer living. After 2-3 months in the refrigerator, most of the active yeast will have died off. This depends on how healthy and established the starter is.
You can use sourdough discard in any bread recipes with a little bit of math. That, and an understanding that it might take some experimentation. I walk you through my professional process for that substitution in the designated section below.
Sourdough Discard Recipes by Discard Age
The key to a successful discard recipe is choosing one that is appealing to you and that is right for the age of the discard you have on hand! There are recipes that are best with fresh sourdough discard like quick breads and sourdough pancakes. And, then there are those that are fantastic for old refrigerated discard that hasn’t been fed in weeks (or months)!
Recipes best with fresh sourdough discard
Fresh sourdough discard is discard that has been fed within the past 36 hours. It has more leavening power, has a less sour flavor, and less gluten development than older discard. It can be used in any discard recipe but it particularly delightful in quick breads, breakfast treats or recipes that use additional commercial leavening.
These sourdough pancakes are light and fluffy with a little sugar to complement the sourdough flavor. This recipe uses baking powder as the leavening, but I still prefer recently fed discard for a lighter texture that more closely resembles buttermilk pancakes. Old discard will make them chewy and dense even with additional yeast.
Sourdough Pancakes
These sourdough blueberry muffins are soft, sweet, tender and moist with a little crunch on top from the demerara sugar. This recipe does not rely on sourdough discard to raise the muffin tops. That makes for tough and (not delightfully) chewy muffins. The same is true of using older discard.
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
These sourdough waffles have a fluffy interior with a crunchy outside! They are a quick and easy breakfast that stores very well in the freezer! This recipe uses baking powder as the leavening. Yet, I still prefer recently fed discard for a lighter texture and more mild flavor. Old discard will make them chewy with a stronger sourdough flavor, which my 2 year old doesn’t appreciate!
Sourdough Waffles
This sourdough focaccia recipe calls for active sourdough starter but you can also make it with discard. It would take twice the time, or you can add 1 package of instant yeast to make it within one day!
Focaccia benefits from fresh discard’s extra leavening power, giving you more rise and a softer interior.
Easy Sourdough Focaccia
These soft, tender overnight sourdough cinnamon rolls use recently fed discard and no additional commercial yeast. It’s the perfect sourdough variation on my overnight cinnamon rolls! Overnight is the ideal amount of time for sourdough discard to puff these rolls to cinnamon sugar perfection.
Fresh discard provides enough rise overnight to create tender, fluffy rolls without additional yeast.
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Recipes to use with old, refrigerated sourdough discard
Any of the recipes below can be made either with fresh sourdough discard or older discard. But, not every recipe is great with sourdough discard that hasn’t been fed in weeks. Sometimes that is due to the lack of commercial yeast; not desiring a strong sourdough flavor; or the age of the starter negatively impacting the texture.
Light, crispy, crunchy sourdough discard crackers use 1 cup discard! These easy crackers don’t require any leavening. That makes this the ideal recipe to use that old, refrigerated discard that you’ve been saving for months.
Sourdough Discard Crackers
While testing this sourdough discard pizza dough recipe, I used various stages of sourdough discard. Ultimately I ended up using sourdough discard from the refrigerator that hadn’t been fed in weeks, and it was delightful. The more active the discard, the bigger the bubbles and the more neutral the flavor.
This dough shines with older discard, which adds a complex tang that balances richer toppings.
Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
These whole wheat sourdough rolls are one of my most recent creations (and obsessions). Just like my sourdough dinner rolls recipe, I use a full cup of sourdough discard and add instant yeast to get soft, fluffy rolls in 2.5 hours!
Whole Wheat Sourdough Rolls
These sourdough discard bagels can be made with discard straight from the refrigerator that hadn’t been fed in weeks! There was no noticeable difference, which is rare, and it means you can mix, boil & bake in confidence.
Sourdough Discard Bagel Recipe
Recipes that can be made with either recently fed discard or old discard.
There are some recipes that are delicious with either recently fed discard or old, unfed discard. Sometimes, they require a little additional help from commercial yeast.
As I mentioned above, these sourdough crackers use an entire cup of discard and are excellent when made with old discard, but you can also make them using more recently fed discard or even active starter. I do recommend using a scale to weigh the discard or active starter because 1 cup of active discard is closer to ¾ cup older discard.
Crackers succeed with any stage of discard, but expect stronger flavor from older discard and milder crunch from fresh discard.
Sourdough Discard Crackers
This sourdough pizza dough recipe can be made using old, refrigerated discard or more active discard. It all depends on what you have on hand. The recipe calls for active dry yeast. This means that it isn’t relying on the starter for the main rising of the dough.
Because the recipe also includes yeast, it doesn’t rely on discard for rise! So fresh discard makes a milder, quicker crust, while old discard gives a chewier, more flavorful one.
Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
These sourdough dinner rolls can be made using recently fed discard or old, refrigerated discard. It all depends on what you have on hand. The recipe uses instant yeast, so the dough isn’t relying on the starter alone for its rise!
Because yeast is included, the discard mainly affects flavor rather than structure. Fresh discard produces softer, milder rolls, while older discard adds a more pronounced tang without sacrificing the fluffy texture.
Sourdough Dinner Rolls
This sourdough focaccia recipe calls for active sourdough starter. I mention above that you can also make it with active discard, but you can also use older discard in combination with a packet of either active dry yeast or instant yeast. The flavor of the resulting focaccia will be more sour.
Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
Though the recipe is written for active discard, you can make these sourdough cinnamon rolls using older discard if you don’t mind a more dense, less tender texture. I do recommend adding 1 packet of active dry yeast and preparing them like overnight cinnamon rolls, or using 1 packet instant yeast and following the instructions for strawberry cinnamon rolls.
Both fresh and old discard work here, because the difference is in flavor (milder vs. tangier) and texture (fluffier vs. chewier).
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
These sourdough bagels can be made with active sourdough starter, recently fed discard or discard straight from the refrigerator that hadn’t been fed in weeks! There was no noticeable difference – they were still soft, chewy bagels with a glossy, chewy crust!
Sourdough Discard Bagel Recipe
Sourdough recipes where you can substitute discard for active sourdough starter.
You can actually make any sourdough recipe with a sourdough discard bread recipe if you have the patience. If you reframe “make a loaf of bread” as “feeding,” then you can see how that is possible. Here are a few easy recipes to substitute discard that has been fed in the past 36 hours for active starter. I do recommend substituting based on the metric measurements rather than the American volume measurements. Yes, this is even though the volume measurements for active discard is very close to that of sourdough starter at its peak.
The recipe for sourdough sandwich bread calls for active sourdough starter used at its peak. But, I have also included instructions in the post for using sourdough discard and for speeding up both options by adding a teaspoon of instant yeast. Using older discard without additional yeast will increase the needed proof times and will impact the flavor. I preferred it made within one day because the flavor more closely resembles that of my white sandwich bread recipe.
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
This 100% whole wheat sourdough bread recipe makes soft, flavorful and healthy bread with just 4 ingredients! The levain in the recipe is not 1:1, so if you are feeding your starter equal parts flour and water, you might consider using double the amount of discard in place of the sourdough starter in the levain build. You could also substitute discard for all the levain with 2 tablespoons additional water.
100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
This is an easy sourdough bread recipe for beginners that makes a crusty loaf of bread with a big, open crumb. You can either use discard to build the levain the night before making the bread or you can substitute discard for the entire amount of the levain called for in the recipe. You will need to be patient either way – the bread will take the time it takes to rise!
Sourdough Bread Recipe
This no knead sourdough bread recipe makes a chewy loaf of sourdough bread with minimal effort. The starter build for this recipe is purposefully low hydration. As such, I recommend substituting double the amount of discard for the active starter in the starter build rather than substituting discard directly into the bread recipe.
No-Knead Sourdough Bread
This cinnamon raisin sourdough bread has a wonderful chewy, slightly sour interior with a crunchy, craggy crust! The recipe for the levain calls for whole wheat flour. Because of that, I do recommend using sourdough discard to build the levain rather than skipping straight to making the bread with discard.
Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread
A pastry chef’s process for substituting sourdough starter for commercial yeast in any bread recipe.
For the most accurate and best results, you should use the metric measurements to adapt standard bread recipes to sourdough. I never write bread recipes based on volume measurements. If I want the recipe to be convenient for a home baker who doesn’t own a kitchen scale, then I will make adjustments after my initial draft. Then, through testing, I will make sure they work. Bread is a science and sometimes science doesn’t fit nicely into cups and tablespoons.
- Identify the composition of your sourdough starter. Most likely it will either be equal parts flour to water (100% hydration) or it will be 125% (125 g water to 100 g flour). Any hydration percentage is fine, as long as you know what it is! If you feed your starter will-nilly without a scale, then you have some experimentation to do and your results will be inconsistent.
- Decide how much starter you are going to add to the recipe. A safe place to start is with 200 grams (approximately 1 cup) of active starter for every 3 cups of flour. You might need to add a few different types of flours together to get the total flour amount. The weight of the 3 cups will also depend on the type(s) of flour.
- Copy the recipe you want to transform into sourdough into a new note, document or however you work! Add the amount of active starter to the recipe that you determined in Step 2. Write out the flour and water measurements in that starter to the side. This is determined by the composition of your starter (Step 1).
- Subtract the flour and water measurements from the ingredients in your bread recipe. You are reducing the flour and water quantities in the recipe to accommodate the specific composition of your starter. This makes sure you keep the same overall hydration of the dough consistent with the original recipe.
- This gives you a great starting point, which might be perfect, but there will be some testing and experimentation. This is especially true if you are trying to use different combinations! I mean of whole grain flours, different liquid ingredients (water vs. milk) or adding large quantities of ingredients that hamper fermentation, like garlic, tomatoes, or cinnamon.
For example, I used this pizza dough recipe as the starting point for developing my sourdough discard pizza dough recipe. I started by reducing the flour and water by the amount in 200g of my sourdough starter, but I found that dough to be rather wet.
I adjusted in further tests, and I ended up with ¾ cup water (the original recipe has 1 ¼ cups) and 2 ½ cups Caputo flour (the original has 3 cups all-purpose flour). It is important to note that I tested the recipe in grams, while keeping in mind round volume measurements when adjusting.
Before You Go
Like sourdough starter, this post is a living, breathing organism. Just kidding, but I am constantly updating it to include new recipes that I develop, so check back frequently. You might also enjoy perusing all our sourdough recipes!
I love that you sorted the recipes by discard stage; it is genuinely brilliant and something I’ve never seen done before. Already made the crackers with my weeks-old discard and they were so good! This is now my go-to reference every time I feed my starter.
I found this post because my sourdough discard was piling up during finals week and my social calendar wasn’t slowing down. I made the crackers last Monday, and the tang from refrigerated discard tasted really nice and intentional and made them stand out in the best way. I brought them to a wine and cheese night and got to explain to people sourdough and discard like three times because people wanted to make the recipe!