Thought your sourdough starter could only be used for sourdough?
Think again.
Your excess sourdough starter can be used as a key ingredient in a range of delicious recipes – from pancakes to banana bread to fried chicken and even gozleme.
This means there’s no need to ditch your sourdough discard during the feeding process. This is good news for anybody, like myself, who doesn’t like to waste a special sourdough starter you have nurtured from dried starter flakes.
If you’re wondering how to use your sourdough discard, you’ve come to the right place. I have compiled a list of carb-loaded recipes to use your sourdough discard and expand your culinary repertoire.
Jump to:
- Sourdough Starter Recipe
- Complete Sourdough Starter Kit
- Dried Sourdough Starter Flakes
1. Fluffy sourdough pancakes
Can you name a better duo than pancakes and maple syrup? I’ll wait.
This simple, one-bowl recipe for fluffy, homemade pancakes is the ideal way to use your leftover sourdough discard. It can be made and left overnight, or on the same-day, which means you can make them in minutes.
Top your pancakes with maple syrup, berries, or ice cream, and bon appétit - you have yourself a dangerously good breakfast recipe to add to your arsenal.
2. Sourdough baker’s banana bread
Banana bread is a comfort food classic. The sourdough and banana bread-breaking stage of lockdown was real for us all, but what people didn’t realise is that you can combine the two using your sourdough starter.
This ultimate sourdough banana bread recipe deserves to be a staple in any respectable baker’s recipe collection. It’s soft, sweet and full of added flavour from the starter, which is what makes this recipe so unique. It takes approx. 10 minutes of prep time and then over an hour to torture yourself with the intoxicating scent of baking bread, before you can devour it,
3. Sourdough fried chicken
Who would have ever thought that your dried starter flakes could grow up to become a delicious fried chicken batter? Talk about a glow up.
There is basically no recipe I won’t try using my starter in and this sourdough fried chicken recipe is no different. It’s as simple to make as regular fried chicken batter, but the addition of the sourdough starter gives it more depth of flavour due to the wild yeast.
You’ll need to feed your starter before using it in this recipe and will actually dip your chicken into the sourdough starter mixture during the dredging process. The results are finger lickin’ good!
4. Golden sourdough waffles
Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner (topped with your sourdough fried chicken) and dessert, these golden sourdough waffles are impossibly light, crunchy and flavourful. They have a slight tanginess, due to the long fermentation time and the starter, and you can increase the sourness by holding back some of the sugar in the mix.
This sourdough waffle recipe will require you to do some prep the night before – combining your starter with your buttermilk, butter, sugar and flour and leaving at room temperature overnight – so you can make them first thing in the morning. They also freeze well, so you can make a big batch and freeze them for those lazy Sunday mornings.
5. Sourdough cinnamon donuts
Cinnamon donuts are delicious. Everyone knows that. But, making donuts with the natural yeast in your sourdough starter will take your tastebuds to a new stratosphere.
This game-changing sourdough donut recipe takes a bit longer, because you’ll need to allow time for kneading and two days for fermentation. But, it will be well worth the wait, because the long fermentation time will give your donuts a crunchy bite and slightly chewy texture that
6. Sourdough pretzels
There’s nothing more comforting than a warm, soft pretzel sprinkled with salt – especially when you make them yourself and wash them down with a German beer.
This enticing sourdough pretzel recipe is really easy to follow and only takes 20 minutes or preparation time, so all you need to do is grab your sourdough starter from the fridge to get started.
There’s no need to feed your starter beforehand, which means all you need to do is grab your ingredients (there’s only nine) and begin your masterpiece.
7. Sourdough gozleme
If you consider yourself a bit of a flavour renegade and like to like to experiment when it comes to baking, then this sourdough gozleme is for you.
If you’ve never heard of gozleme, it’s a traditional Turkish stuffed flatbread, which is usually filled with ingredients like spinach and meat, and cooked on a griddle. They’re a staple for anyone who frequents music festivals here in Australia and they’re a staple for a reason: they’re perfection.
This sourdough gozleme recipe only takes 16 minutes in total, including prep time and cooking, so it's perfect for those who are looking for a quick meal. You can fill the gozleme with whatever you want, but I always recommend a lot of cheese.
Feeling inspired by all of these creative sourdough starter recipes? Make sure you’ve got everything you need to get started with our Complete Sourdough Starter Kit, or see if you can master our sourdough starter recipe.
Don’t forget to tag us at @youkneadsourdough on Instagram, so I can “ooo’ and “ahh” over your sourdough creations and precious starters.
