Discard recipes with more starter, less flour

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LittleGirlBlue on 5 May 2020 at 17:19

Now that I've finally got my starter all bubbly and happy, and I'm feeding it twice a day, I'm starting to accumulate a bit of discard, which I'm storing in the fridge.  I know there are numerous recipes that will help me use this up, and I'm really not concerned about that at all.  However, I was surprised that it seems the majority of these recipes use at least as much flour and sometimes several times more flour than they use starter.  I know the flour in the discard starter is kind of spent, so needing to add some makes lots of sense.  I just didn't expect the ratios to be as high (or low, depending on which way you look at it) as they are on average.

Especially with flour in short supply right now, I'm hoping to find more ways to use up discard without also using up a ton of flour.  Please point me in the direction of any favorite recipes you have that use a relatively small amount of fresh flour compared to how much starter they use.

PS- I know it's possible to reduce or even eliminate how much starter must be discarded.  Right now I want to keep my guy at room temperature and feed him 2x/day until he's a little more mature and I'm sure he's totally stable.  Since I won't be baking bread daily, that means for the moment, I have discard to use up.

I agree, they were super easy and fast!  I thought it was a great discovery when you just want to use it up and don't have time for something more.

I read you could use tuna fish tins with the top and bottom cut off instead of buying, but I bought them as they're pretty cheap.  I worry about eternal tuna flavor and if not, cutting myself somehow.

I have been using mine as pancakes (with milk as the liquid) or crepes (with beer as the liquid). I started with this recipe:

The pancake trial:

  • one egg (1/4 cup)
  • one part milk (1/4 cup)
  • two parts dough (1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda whisked with a tablespoon of flour.
  • pinch of salt

I hit it with the stick blender to emulsify. It turned into a very nice pancake batter that cooks up into lovely, fluffy, tender pancakes. Since then I have also used beer instead of milk, at about twice the volume, to make delicious savory crepes.  

 Method:
  1. Combine the starter, the liquid (milk or beer or a combination), the eggs, and the sweetener in a large sturdy bowl. Use a stick (immersion) blender to break up the starter. Work gradually, lifting and lowering the blender stick, until all the starter lumps are dissolved into a smooth batter. Add more flour or liquid to adjust to your desired consistency: like thick cream for crepes, and like ...um...pancake batter... for pancakes. 
  2. Use a whisk to combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Get your skillet or crepe pan hot and a little greasy. Whisk the dry mix into the batter.
  3. Cook off the batter immediately, ladling it up from the bottom of the bowl. If your cakes/crepes stop rising/showing bubbles before you're done cooking all the batter, whisk together another tablespoon of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, whisk into the remaining batter and then finish cooking.

The beer crepes are great with savory fillings and also great for eating stew out of hand. Think of them as a substitute for injera. The pancakes are fluffy and delicious. The sourness of the starter is greatly reduced by the addition of the alkaline baking soda, so even a very sour starter discard is only faintly tangy in the finished product. 

Thanks!  I think this is the first sourdough pancake recipe that I've seen that doesn't require a lot of flour.  Perfect!  Thanks for the biscuit recipe, too.

Benito found this recipe and posted it when I was needing a way to use up the sourdough bread dough I let get overproofed and ruined. I haven't tried it, but it uses a decent amount of starter. He said he found it on thekitchn.com

 

Sourdough Biscuits (uses discard) 

This biscuit dough is likely a bit drier than you’re used to, so don’t stress if it feels dry while mixing and kneading, or if you leave some crumbs of dough behind. You’ll get six sandwich-sized biscuits from this recipe — perfect for bacon and egg breakfast sandwiches.

 

MAKES

6 (3-inch) biscuits

PREP TIME:

15 minutes

COOKING TIME:

18 minutes to 20 minutes

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sourdough starter discard

 

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 425ºF. 
  • Place 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. 
  • Grate 1 stick cold unsalted butter on the large holes of a box grater. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and use your fingers to toss and coat the butter in the flour, breaking up any clumps of grated butter.
  • Make a well in the flour mixture and add 1 cup sourdough starter. Stir together with a spatula until a rough, shaggy dough forms. 
  • Scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface. Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick rough rectangle (about 5 x 7-inches), with a long side close to you. Sprinkle the dough with a little more flour, if needed. Fold the dough in half from top to bottom, then pat it back down into its original shape. Repeat with the folding and patting, alternating folding from each side, the bottom, and the top until you have completed a total of 8 folds. At the end, the dough should be a little springy to the touch.
  • Pat the dough until 1-inch thick. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out 6 biscuits. If you don't get 6 the first time around, gather the scraps together into a ball, pat back down until 1-inch thick, and cut out more as needed. Discard the scraps of leftover dough.
  • Place the biscuits on an ungreased, unlined baking sheet, arranging them so they just barely touch each other. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately with butter or jam. 

RECIPE NOTES

Storage: Leftover biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Warm in a low oven or toast in a toaster oven. 

 

https://www.thekitchn.com/sourdough-biscuit-recipe-23020482 “

Add enough milk to make your discarded starter 500% hydration, then 1 egg for each ~65 gr of that, plus a drizzle of oil and a shake of salt.  Mix well and spoon into hot buttered fry pan to make crepes.  We roll them up like canneloni, enclosing a spanakopita-like spinach-ricotta mix, pour tomato sauce over the top and bake.  Crepelloni!  Mmmm.

Tom

Note:  Hydration corrected above.  Should be 500%, not 200%

I am so stealing that idea. The last time I made these I was thinking lasagna, but yes, rolling them up around a filling, saucing, and baking is so clearly the right way to go. Hmmm. This is tomorrow's dinner.

Damn that sounds good.  And my mind is already taking off with the endless possibilities with different fillings & sauces.  Thank you so much for the idea!

I've made this banana bread recipe a couple times, it's really good and uses almost a cup of 100% starter. I used 4 bananas and 3/4cup of brown sugar. About 1/2c dark choc chips goes in really well too.

www.savoringitaly.com/sourdough-banana-bread/

You could also add some starter to a yeasted dough, just adjust the water and flour weights to allow for what's in the starter. Example: if your starter is 100% hydration and you're using 100g of it just take out 50g each of flour and water from the recipe.

Keep up the good work!

 

Kate

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around sour(dough) banana bread.  Lol.  But people keep saying it's good so I should give it a try.  I do love banana bread.  Thanks for the recipe!

I have made this so many times in the past three weeks.

Perfect for a husband who is off sugar and have been wanting savoury tidbits. I sprinkle a pizza/ pasta topping I received as a gift and it works perfectly in flavouring the cracker. I even omit brushing the oil on the dough before baking.

Sourdough Crackers Recipe

Yes, crackers are great! I found this recipe that is super simple and requires nothing but starter discard, butter and seasoning. I’ve done it with many variations. Favorites are rosemary & Parmesan and everything bagel seasoning. They make a very thin and crispy rustic type cracker.