Sourdough Discard Mug Cake [quick sourdough recipe] (2024)

FAQs

Can I use discarded sourdough starter to make more starter? ›

Absolutely! A jar of sourdough discard serves as an insurance policy against starter death. If you have some discard on hand, remove a spoonful of it and feed it fresh flour and water in a clean jar. You should have a bubbly starter ready to bake with after a couple of feedings, depending on the discard's condition.

You can utilize a cold starter in any sourdough discard recipe. These recipes don't require a sourdough starter for leavening, so you can use your starter directly from the fridge. These recipes offer a fantastic solution for using excess sourdough.

What to do with sourdough discard? Don't throw it away! Instead, use it to make delicious and nutritious treats like pancakes, waffles, muffins, and bread. Sourdough discard is a great source of natural yeast and flavor, and can add a unique tangy taste to your baked goods.

Benefits of using sourdough discard

Flavor: Sourdough adds a delicious, nuanced flavor to desserts and savory baked goods. It adds a slight sour flavor without making them taste too off putting or acidic.

If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

Similar to case #2, above, discarded sourdough is used in recipes with no additional flour called for, so it can be baked immediately. The discarded starter's flour is already fermented and it adds sourdough flavor to the recipe.

Yes you can use sourdough discard straight from the fridge, you don't need to let it come to room temperature if you don't want to. What is this? If you are using it straight from the fridge it may be a little stiff or thick, so you'll need to ensure you mix it really well.

The sourdough starter discard doesn't bring any sourness to this classic cake, but I like including it because the mixture results in a tenderer crumb thanks to the well-fermented flour. Plus, it's a way to use flour and water that would normally go into the compost.

You can't use a sourdough starter straight from the fridge. In most cases, you will need to feed the starter and let it peak before you try to use it to bake bread.

It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.

Can you leave sourdough discard out overnight? ›

I left my sourdough discard out at room temperature for a few days. Is it okay? As long as your kitchen isn't too warm (I'd say 78°F or higher) your starter/discard will be fine stored at room temperature for at least a few days without feeding. The flavor will get more acidic the longer it sits.

If your recipe calls for more than 227g (about 1 cup) of starter, feed it without discarding until you've reached the amount you need (plus 113g to keep and feed again).

Remember, you can't use the discard from your homemade sourdough starter for the first 7 days. You can use sourdough discard in all kinds of sourdough discard recipes, including these no wait sourdough recipes, overnight sourdough discard recipes and sourdough discard recipes that use up a lot of discard.

When you're ready to use it, let the discard come to room temperature before using it to bake. I will keep sourdough discard in the fridge for about one week. I do know others that keep it much longer.

At room temperature (70 F), sourdough discard should last about 1-2 days. Beyond that, it won't go bad necessarily, it will just become more acidic as time goes on (especially in warm weather). Not ideal for sweet recipes. In the fridge, it will keep for about a week or so, and in the freezer it will last indefinitely.

Homemade sourdough starter can be kept and reused. After using some of the starter for baking, you can "feed" the remaining starter with flour and water to keep it alive and active. Some people keep their starter in the refrigerator and feed it once a week, while others keep it at room temperature and feed it daily.

It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.

When sourdough starter becomes sourdough discard you have two options. Refeed all of the discard. If you used up most of your starter to make bread and only have a little bit left you can refeed all of your discard to reactivate the starter.

You must discard some of your sourdough starter each time you feed it. You'll discover that discarding is necessary to build a healthy and thriving sourdough starter - but it's not actually as wasteful as you might think.