Sourdough Discard Recipes
One of the challenges for casual home bread bakers using sourdough starters is the waste of flour when going through sourdough starter feeding cycles. Keeping a relatively small starter implies removing some of the starter prior to taking it through the normal feeding cycle. Although I keep my sourdough starter dormant in the refrigerator when I'm not planning to use it, I still need to extract it from the refrigerator and give it a few feedings before being able to use it again. Each of these feedings results in sourdough 'discard'. Instead of discarding the excess starter, you can place the 'discard' in a separate container; accumulating more and more with each feeding; and store it in the refrigerator without any additional feedings for 2-3 weeks. Then when the mood strikes, you can extract that accumulated sourdough discard and, without feeding, just use it in one of many recipes for pretzels, crackers, pancakes, crumpets, english muffins, etc. This type of use is not for the purpose of acting as a leavening agent, but rather a way of using the discard to add flavor to whatever you are making.
Listed below are several recipes that I've found to be useful in using up sourdough 'discard'.
Listed below are several recipes that I've found to be useful in using up sourdough 'discard'.
Sourdough Crackers#2-09-01-S (preferred procedure)