From inventive desserts like sourdough brownies and (vegan) banana bread, through to classic (and delicious) recipes like sourdough bagels and waffles, there are discard recipes for all sorts of occasions.
How to make sourdough starter
If you haven’t got a sourdough starter yet, I have a comprehensive guide on starting and maintaining a sourdough starter right here.
Sourdough Banana Bread (Vegan)
This recipe uses up 150g (3/4 cup) of discard, is super moist and is vegan (eggless!) too. You can even use buckwheat flour or rye flour in the recipe so it’s flexible to suit your pantry. It can even be baked as banana muffins.
Sourdough Brownies
A classic dessert of brownies, revamped with the addition of 120g (just over 1/2 cup) of sourdough starter so they need no additional flour at all. These babies are fudgy yet light with that crisp meringue-like topping. They’ll soon become a favourite!
Sourdough Crumpets (Vegan)
A simple way to use up that discard, only needing discard, flour, baking soda and some sugar (so the recipe is easy to scale up/down using what you have on hand) – these are a classic British breakfast food/snack. They’re cooked on the stove top in a pan using metal rings – if you don’t have Chef’s rings for making them, metal cookie cutters or even a rinsed out tuna can will work.
How to make Wholemeal Sourdough Bread (Step-by-Step GIF guide) (Vegan)
The most obvious of them all, bake a lovely sourdough loaf! I’ve broken down my simple method of making a wholemeal sourdough loaf here, with step by step GIFs and images to make it as simple as possible. You’ll be on your way to a tall, beautiful loaf in no time!
Crispy Sourdough Waffles
An overnight fermented batter which produces light and crispy waffles, full of that sourdough flavour! An excellent addition to your at-home brunch spread.
Sourdough Hot Cross Buns (Vegan)
An absolute *must* when it comes to Easter baking! These buns are enriched with a tangzhong paste to make them fluffy without needing eggs. They’re full of mixed spice and studded with mixed dried fruit for that authentic flavour.
Sourdough Wholemeal Bagels (Vegan)
Chewy, tangy and moreish! These sourdough bagels are such a great thing to make with your discard. They’re not too hard to make and freeze very well (halve them before freezing for easy toasting).
Sourdough Cinnamon & Date Swirl Bread
An updated version of the classic cinnamon-raisin swirl bread. This sourdough version is super light, fluffy with a bit of tang, studded with dates instead of raisins for a more caramel-like flavour. The recipe incorporates dry yeast as well to speed things up but you can go full on sourdough if you have more time on your hands.
I’m so excited to find this post being a sourdough ‘newbie’. I hate throwing out all that sourdough starter, it seems like such a waste and I knew there must be something it could be used for! Love the crumpets -they will be my project this weekend and I’ll be cooking them in my pie maker which saves the hassle of greasing rings. After that, it will be the Swirl Bread. Thanks heaps for the ideas.
Hope you enjoy the recipes, Sam! Happy baking 🙂
I am a bit confused. When I go to the cinnamon date bread Recipe it asks for sourdough starter, but it is included in a post about using sourdough discard. Can I use discard and then add the yeast?