60+ Zero Waste Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes (2024)

Save this post for over 60 sourdough starter discard recipes to use up all your leftover sourdough baking ‘waste’! Never throw out your precious sourdough discard again!

Searching for new sourdough starter discard recipes to use up leftover starter? You’ve made it to the right page!

We have a complete list of everything from savory (pretzels and pizza crust) to sweet (cinnamon rolls and crumb cake), and everything in between.

Did you know leftover sourdough starter discard can also be used as thickening agents for sauces and soups? You can find more similar creative tips later in the post.

Six reasons you should never throw away sourdough starter discard!

Sourdough baking can unfortunately create a lot of waste. Feeding sourdough starter requires discarding most of the starter and then ‘re-feeding’ it with more flour and water. Re-feeding encourages more yeast and healthy bacteria growth, so that the starter expands in preparation for baking.

It’s especially wasteful when you’re building sourdough starter from scratch, which could mean weeks of feeding and discarding.

The only problem: heaps of leftover sourdough discard! And if you bake often, that’s a lot of waste! It may seem inconvenient or too time consuming to save the discard, but it’s worth it.

Here are six reasons you should NEVER throw away sourdough starter discard:

1. Save more food waste from the landfill by reusing your sourdough discard. Nearly 40% of the nation’s food supply already goes to landfills. More food in landfills = more harmful greenhouse gases emitted.
2. It saves money! Flour is a hot commodity these days! Sourdough discard helps extend your flour supply. Use less flour and oil when using discard in recipes.
3. Sourdough discard contains vitamins, nutrients and probiotics that are beneficial for gut health and digestion.
4. Use leftover sourdough starter discard in one of these 100+ recipes! It’s the ultimate food waste hack!
5. You don’t have to use it immediately. Discard can be stored in the fridge or freezer for later use.
6. As a last resort, compost it! The extra bacteria can help speed up the decomposition process in compost bins.

How to properly store sourdough starter discard for later use (in recipes)

Luckily, discard doesn’t need to be used right away. Plus, it can take several rounds of feeding and discarding to get enough to use in other recipes. Most recipes use approximately one cup at at time.

Save unfed sourdough starter discard for later with one of these methods:

Refrigerator

Sourdough starter can last a surprisingly long time stored in the fridge. We’ve don’t bake terribly often, and have left our starter in the fridge for up to a month before starting the refeeding process. However, leftover and refrigerated unfed sourdough starter discard should be used up within about one week.

Tips for Leftover Sourdough Discard Fridge Storage

• Store up to 2 weeks in airtight container.
• Don’t use if moldy or a pink/orange discoloration of hooch appears (this means bad bacteria has taken over).
• No need to refeed before using in other recipes.

If hooch (the liquid that collects on the starter’s surface after several days or weeks of no refeeding) develops on the surface of the discard, you know your discard is aging.

It may still be okay to use, but the flavor can become altered. Recipes made with older discard will have a noticeably tangy or sour taste.

How to Know When Refrigerated Sourdough Discard is Past Its Prime

Sourdough starter or hooch that develops fuzzy mold or pinkish/orange colored liquid or streaks should be thrown out. According to the King Arthur baking website, this is a sure sign that bad bacteria has overtaken the healthy bacteria, making it unsafe to consume.

Freezer

Sourdough discard that you don’t intend to use within a week should be stored in the freezer. Frozen discard can last in the freezer for one year.

Tips for Storing Leftover Sourdough Discard in the Freezer

• Portion out discard into one cup servings and store in a freezer safe container OR freeze an entire batch in an air-tight container.
• Store frozen leftover discard up to a year.
• When ready to use, simply remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for a few days in the fridge.
• No need to refeed! Just add it as directed to one of these 100+ recipes!

There’s some debate on whether freezing kills off all the beneficial bacteria that yeast feeds on, or if it just allows them to hibernate. Either way, if you’re just using leftover discard in one of these recipes, freezing it is perfectly fine.

If you attempt to revive the discard for sourdough bread baking, you may run into some issues.

Pantry

Lastly, discard may be dehydrated for long term pantry storage. Dried sourdough starter discard can be revived for bread baking or recipe use later. Additionally, it can be ground up and used as batter or bread crumb coating for certain recipes.

Tips for Dehydrating Sourdough Discard for Pantry Storage

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread recently discarded sourdough starter thinly onto parchment.
• Allow the starter to dry out completely until brittle. This may take 24-72 hours depending on location.
• Break dried discard into pieces and store in an air-tight container in the pantry for extended storage.
• Process into a crumb mixture for use as a breading or crunchy topping, or revive it for bread baking.

Unconventional Ways to Use Sourdough Starter Discard (no recipe needed)

There are tons of recipes for leftover sourdough starter discard. As an alternative, here a few creative ways to use up all that discard (no recipe needed).

• batter for frying veggies or fish (onion rings, anyone?)
• sauce thickener (works with cheese, gravy, or plain white/Bechemel sauces)
• soup thickener (instead of flour or cornstarch)
• crunchy topping for salads, stir fry, or desserts (dehydrated sourdough starter)

60+ Zero Waste Recipes for Sourdough Starter Discard

The options are endless when it comes to cooking and baking with sourdough starter discard. Reference this of extensive list of over 60 recipes to reduce your sourdough baking waste!

Are you gluten sensitive? Check out this section of gluten free sourdough starter discard recipes.

Sweet Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes

There’s no shortage of sweet breakfast and dessert recipes using sourdough starter discard.

Breakfast/Brunch

• Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Easy Sourdough Discard Muffins with Orange and Cardamom
• Sourdough English Muffins
• Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter Pancakes
• Homemade Sourdough Pop Tarts
• Overnight Sourdough Pancakes
• Sourdough Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe
• Quick Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Sourdough Muffins
• Sourdough Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Overnight Sourdough Muffins
• Sourdough Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
• Easy Sourdough Discard Biscuits
• Sourdough Starter Discard Biscotti
• Dangerously Addicting Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Desserts

• Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Double Chocolate Sourdough Discard Brownies
• Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Cake
• Cinnamon Maple Sourdough Apple Pie
• Sourdough Discard Blondies
• Apple Cider Donuts with Sourdough Discard
• Sourdough Discard Apple Galette
• Quick Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Sourdough Muffins
• Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies
• Sourdough Starter Lemon Cake with Sugary Glaze
• Simple Sourdough Cobbler
• Sourdough Pie Crust Recipe
• Decadent Sourdough Discard Puff Pastry
• Sourdough Discard Donuts

Savory Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes

Bread Variations

• Homemade Sourdough Pasta With Spicy Sauce
• Sourdough Discard Everything Pretzels
• Easy Peasy Sourdough Sandwich Bread
• Sourdough Discard Tortillas
• Focaccia Bread with Sourdough Discard
• Sourdough Discard Flatbread
• Sinful Sourdough Pretzels
• Sourdough Discard Jalapeno Cheese Bread
• Simple Sourdough Discard Naan
• Easy Sourdough Irish Soda Bread

Crackers

• Everything But the Bagel Sourdough Discard Crackers
• Sourdough Cheddar Crackers with Discard
• 5 Ingredient Sourdough Discard Crackers (with Herbs De Provence)
• Seriously Addicting Spicy Sourdough Discard Cheese Crackers
• Sourdough Gourmet Crackers (for cheese platters)
• Buttery Parmesan Sourdough Discard Crackers
• Sourdough Crackers with Herbs and Olive Oil
• Homemade Za’atar Sourdough Crackers
• Rosemary Olive Oil Sourdough Discard Crackers

Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes

• The Best Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Bagels
• Gluten Free Blueberry Banana Sourdough Muffins
• Fluffy Gluten Free Sourdough Pancakes
• Gluten Free Sourdough Chocolate Cake
• Gluten Free Sourdough Starter Cornbread
• Easy Gluten Free Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
• Gluten Free Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gluten Free Sourdough Discard Crackers (with optional herbs and cheese)
• Vegan and Gluten Free English Muffins (Gluten and Dairy Free)
• Gluten Free Sourdough Discard Pizza Crust (Gluten and Dairy Free)
• Simple Gluten Free Sourdough Waffles (Gluten and Dairy Free)
• Pumpkin Sourdough Muffins (Gluten and Dairy Free)

Finally, one of my all time personal favorites from the No Waste Nutrition recipe archives! Spicy sourdough discard cheese crackers! See the full recipe below.

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