Wat do you do with your discarded starter?

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Anonymous on 8 Jan 2009 at 19:43

Since my starter is to the point where I can discard it...............I was wondering what else there was to do with it besides throw it away.  Can I freeze it and thaw when I need to use it?

What other recipes can it be used in, etc.  Just curious what the options are here.

What to do with discarded starter is an oft-asked question on this board.  Do a search for "discard", and you will find a bunch of threads with a recipes.  Basically, you can mix discard into any of your baked goods for added flavor.

Here's a link to how I manage my starter and what I do with the leftovers. I bake all our bread, and I often use sourdough, so I like to keep active starter on the counter.

More details at the link, but basically, I keep a small amount -- 45 grams or about 1.5 ounces -- of stiff starter on the counter and feed it once or twice a day. I keep the discards in a bowl in the fridge and then use them to make sourdough English muffins and sourdough waffles.

Cara,

First I agree with both gaaarp and JMonkey's suggestions.  I use the sourdough waffle recipe from King Arthur. 

I also suggest the sourdough cookie recipe here, most of the way down the page, there are other recipes there too, but I haven't tried them.

Recently I made scones with sourdough starter.  You can follow the link here.

My other favorite use of starter leftovers is pizza dough.  Sourdoughhome.com has a very simple recipe.

I'm glad to hear your starter is working, have fun!

Marni

I agree with all above : waffles and pancakes are outstanding..extremely light and flavorful. Mike Avery's Sourdough Home has great recipes for whole wheat blueberry muffins and English Muffin bread. Those I can attest to. Marni's link above will take you to a chocolate cake, cookies and her scones.

Betty

Oh..just remembered..great for onion rings, and pizza dough which I freeze for future quick dinners.

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summerbaker on 9 Jan 2009 at 19:37

I don't know if you garden, but it makes really good compost.