My Sourdough Journey: Part 2 - What to Do with Sourdough Discards

Sourdough bakers are a kind of their own. I guess I'm now one because I've made a few successful loaves (?! - read with a very unsure intonation). But, many of us are a tad obsessive. Like, can't shut up about it, read about it, and stop making bread obsessive.

Now I don't know where I was going.hm

Anyways, like I said in my first post, I really don't like the idea of actually discarding my starter. Little did I know that by being called discard, doesn't mean you actually have to throw it away down the drain. (duuuh)  WHICH I'VE DONE IN THE PAST. oh dear. (YES I KNOW I'M AN IDIOT).

So, this time, I've done two things RIGHT with my excessive amount of discard.

1. Drying

I did this once, and probably am just going to do once more for good measure. Unless I'm going to gift it to someone. Basically after feeding the sourdough, you let it mature for a few hours and spread it as thin as possible onto a parchment paper or any non-stick surface. Leave it to completely dry, and put it in an airtight container. I put mine in the freezer, but just because I had extra space. Otherwise, leaving it where you would your flours are fine.

2. Quick breads 

This means muffins, banana bread or loafs. I tried a couple banana bread recipes with wonderful results, so my take is that most recipes will be fine.  This is the recipe I used, but you can use any recipe, and replace the liquid it calls (sour cream, milk, etc) with ripe or unfed(*( sourdough.

*please let me know if there's a difference between the two! 

Banana Bread Recipe (from The Perfect Loaf)

Ingredients:

240g (2 cups) flour

3g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda

3g (1/2 teaspoon) sea salt

125g (1 cup) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

126g(1/2 cup or 1 stick) vegetable oil or softened butter 

100g (1/2 cup lightly packed) brown sugar

2 eggs

125g (3/4 cup, stirred down) sourdough starter

42g (2 tablespoons) honey

3 super ripe medium mashed bananas

28g (2 tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil

4g (1 teaspoon) vanilla

Method:

1. Cream butter/oil with sugar, add eggs.

2. Mix in sourdough starter, honey, bananas, vanilla extract, and olive oil.

3. Mix in dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) and lastly, fold in nuts (if using).

4. Bake in greased pan for 50-60 minutes at 350 F (180c)

 

3. Elaine's biscuits/scones

the most interesting recipe from my Sourdough guru, Elaine Boddy. (Her Master Recipe method is a must try for all noobs like me) It was yummy, chewy and super easy to whip up. Although do not expect your regular savory and flaky biscuit, it is more to the chewier side and best eaten fresh.  I folded some sharp cheddar cheese and garlic powder, but here below is the basic recipe. Oh boy was it devoured!

Cheese Sourdough Biscuits  (adapted from original recipe here.)

350g plain/cake flour

85g active (fed) starter

300g buttermilk /full fat milk with a little bit of vinegar or lemon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp italian herbs or oregano (optional)

Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Mix everything together gently, with the cheese folded in last.

(Elaine mentioned that you can leave it to rest for up to 3 hours, I have not personally tried it and went along with the next step.)

2. Lightly flour a surface and roll it about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick

3. Cut in circles or just using a knife, biscuit size.

4. Bake at 200c (400 F) for about 16 minutes or until golden.

4. Pancakes  

You will see a lot of sourdough pancake recipes out there, but THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME. I tried 2 high-ranking recipes in google (clue: they use both baking powder and baking soda), but they all tasted awful. Like, weird aftertaste awful. It could have been something that I did, but whatever it is, the only recipe that tasted OK was the King Arthur Flour's Classic Sourdough  Pancake/Waffle Recipe.

Maybe because I don’t really make a lot of pancakes, I am honestly not a great fan of sourdough pancakes. With breads, I always prefer sourdough. But I prefer my pancakes conventionally unfermented, I guess. 

If you'll notice, this recipe only calls for baking soda, and asks for an overnight leavening of the batter. I'm no sourdough expert, but if there's anything I can abide to is whenever possible, opt for recipes that call for longer fermentation. (In which case, The Perfect Loaf's recipe is one to go too)  

But King Arthur Flour’s recipe still yielded a very fluffy, easy to cook, and super-flavorful pancakes and/or waffles that also freezes well. I made one whole big batch at one go, and freeze the rest we didn't eat. To reheat, just pop it in the toaster or microwave (make sure you cover it with a damp paper towel for an even softer pancake).