If you are homesteading, working towards homesteading, or even just making more food from scratch…
You’ve likely at least thought about sourdough
Having a sourdough starter is like having a pet
It needs to be cared for, fed every day, and it can die
There are ways to make it less needy, unlike animals, but it needs to be fed once or twice a day if you want to use it for bread
Or anything else that needs yeast
But what does it mean to feed a sourdough starter and how is it connected to discard?
What is sourdough discard?
Sourdough discard is the starter that you remove before adding more flour and water (called feeding). This prevents issues with your starter, keeps it healthy, and prevents an overload of starter you don’t know what to do with.
When you feed your sourdough starter, you need to add the same amount of flour and water as you have starter
So if you have 20 g of starter, you need to add 10 g of water and 10 g of water
Tomorrow you will have 40 g of starter and will need to add 20 g of flour and 20 g of water
As you can probably guess, this will turn into an issue fast
To avoid this, we discard half the starter before feeding (adding the four and water)
So we have 40 g of starter and we remove 20 g so we have 20 g again
Then all we need is 10 g of flour and 10 g of water again
When I first started my sourdough starter, I was throwing away most of my discard
I quickly realized how much waste that was and made a commitment to use as much of my sour discard as I could
That began my journey of finding and making recipes to use all that discard
I was having so much fun that I ended up getting a bigger jar for my starter so I could have more discard!
What is the difference between sourdough discard and sourdough starter?
The difference between sourdough discard and sourdough starter is when it was last fed. If you fed the starter within the last 12 hours, it is an active and bubbly starter. If you have not fed it within 12 -24 hours, it is no longer active. Sourdough discard is half the inactive starter that you remove before feeding again.
When you look at sourdough recipes, the recipe will tell you what stage your sourdough starter needs to be in
Bread and anything that needs active yeast will need an active sourdough starter.
Some recipes can use discard instead of active starter by adding instant yeast
But it isn’t true sourdough anymore and rising times will change
It takes a lot longer for sourdough to rise than it takes for instant yeast
Time is also required to develop that sourdough taste
The longer a dough sits, the stronger the sourdough taste will be
When can you start using sourdough discard?
It is recommended to wait to use sourdough discard until your starter is a week old and active
Some people use it right away, but I wanted to wait until the starter was more stable so the discard was more consistent as well
What can you do with sourdough discard?
There are unlimited options for using the sourdough discard
We like to make all kinds of things with it in my home!
I started by making sourdough crackers
But you can use it in anything that uses flour
If you have been making food from scratch for any amount of time, you know that makes A LOT of options
I have used sourdough to make pancakes, waffles, tortillas, brownies, pizza dough, cookies, and more
The process of experiments is never-ending with sourdough starter and discard!
I made a commitment to not waste my sourdough discard
And I have done well with that commitment
(other than when I was 38 and 39 weeks pregnant and couldn’t stand long enough to cook much)
If I have a lot of discard and I feel overwhelmed, I make a huge batch of tortilla dough
Last time I used about 3 cups of discard and froze ¾ of the dough that I made
Then all I needed to do was defrost the dough and cook the tortillas when I was ready
If you are willing to get creative and have fun, you can also have a sourdough discard without being wasteful
Is sourdough discard healthy?
Sourdough discard is just sourdough started that isn’t bubbly and active
Sourdough is full of nutrients that are amazing for your gut
It is rich in vitamins and minerals along with healthy carbs, protein, fiber, and iron
Sourdough has so many things that you need for a healthy diet
So yes, sourdough discard is a healthier option for you because of all the amazing nutrients that your body can easily digest and absorb
Do you really need to discard sourdough starter?
It may feel weird to discard half of your starter at first, but it is needed to keep your starter healthy without growing out of jar after jar
The amount of starter that you need to keep up with and keep healthy increases and becomes overwhelming fast when you have to double the amount every day to feed it
Even more when it is time to make bread since I have more success if I feed my started twice a day for a day or two before making bread
Discarding feels better when you save it in another jar for discard recipes though
We aren’t wasting anything
I take a jar and add discard to it every day before putting it in the fridge
Then I have a goal to use that jar within two weeks
Putting the discard in the refrigerator makes it last a lot longer
Then I use most or all of it the next time I make something with the discard
Usually, my recipes using discard are recipes that I can make in bulk and then freeze
So using all the discard is rarely an issue for me
All of this takes time and practice to perfect in your life
So give yourself time and patience as you learn to work with your sourdough starter!
