Recipes and Cooking Bread Recipes Sourdough Discard Recipes So You Don't Have to Toss Your Starter You worked too hard on your starter to throw any of it away. These delicious sourdough waste recipes will use up your surplus starter. By Sheena Chihak, RD Sheena Chihak, RD Instagram Sheena Chihak is a registered dietitian, former food editor and current edit lead for BHG with over 15 years of writing and editing experience for both print and digital. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Katlyn Moncada Katlyn Moncada Instagram Katlyn Moncada is the associate food editor at BHG.com, sharing food news and tutorials on becoming better home cooks. She is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, photography, and video production. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on November 29, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email If you're one of those talented home bakers who has perfected sourdough bread making (or at least has made homemade sourdough a time or two or three), you know all about using a sourdough starter. Making the starter is simple, but then comes the process of letting it sit and feeding the starter regularly. There's no denying it takes a lot of care. Eventually, after so many rounds of feeding the starter, you'll have too much, and you have to discard the excess—this is what's known as sourdough discard or sourdough starter discard. After all that hard work it's a shame to let any of the starter go to waste. Rather than discarding the sourdough, try making recipes using the sourdough starter as an ingredient (aka sourdough discard recipes) like these ideas that each call for at least a half-cup of sourdough discard. 01 of 07 Sourdough Discard Waffles View Recipe Jason Donnelly One of our favorite sourdough starter discard recipes is a fluffy stack of waffles, and after one bite, you'll likely agree. There's a bit of honey and vanilla in the batter to balance the tang from the starter. With their just crisp exterior and tender insides no one will be able to resist. Be sure to plan ahead though, once the waffle batter is stirred together it needs to be refrigerated overnight before cooking in your waffle maker. 02 of 07 Sourdough Discard Oatmeal Lace Cookies with Currants View Recipe Kelsey Hansen When you want a sourdough discard dessert idea that serves a crowd, make these sourdough discard cookies. The recipe makes about 45 cookies, each of which gets loads of flavor from maple syrup, currants (or your favorite dried fruit), and warm spices. One whiff and no one will be able to resist. 03 of 07 Buckwheat Sourdough Discard Banana Bread View Recipe Jason Donnelly Is it even possible not to love a mash-up recipe of sourdough and banana bread?! Unlikely. For recipes using sourdough starter and a few bananas that are getting too brown on your counter, this sourdough discard banana bread needs to be top of your list. The buckwheat and banana flavors are the most prominent, but the sourdough discard gives great texture to the final baked bread. 04 of 07 Sourdough Cardamom Rolls with Honey Cream Cheese Icing View Recipe Kelsey Hansen Warning: These sourdough discard rolls may cause drooling. In fact, it's virtually guaranteed thanks to spice trio of cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg plus a made-from-scratch honey cream cheese icing. For the ultimate indulgence there's an optional caramel topping that can be layered under the icing to make these stand out from other cinnamon roll recipes. 05 of 07 Seedy Sourdough Discard Crackers View Recipe Jason Donnelly When you crave a crisp, salty snack give these seed-filled crackers a try. Eat them plain, dunked in your favorite dip recipe, or as a substitute for croutons on a salad. The cracker flavor is a bit tangy, but otherwise neutral depending on your seed and spices choices. Try a variety of combinations until you find your favorite to make any time you've got sourdough discard to use. For a professional-looking edge to your crackers use a pastry wheel to cut the squares. 06 of 07 Sourdough Pasta with Herbed Brown Butter Sauce View Recipe Kelsey Hansen That's right, sourdough discard recipes can go beyond baked goods and here's a sourdough discard pasta recipe to prove it. Because you're going to the effort to make homemade pasta, we kept the sauce so very simple. Just heat some butter and garlic then add fresh herbs and black pepper. Garnish with a bit of Parmesan, if you like. 07 of 07 Pumpkin Sourdough Discard Bread View Recipe Carson Downing Pumpkin bread is a fall staple and this recipe featuring sourdough discard is hard to beat. Active starter better mimics the slow rise leavening action of yeast (in breads and rolls vs. quick acting leaveners like baking soda and powder. With a few ideas of what to do with sourdough discard, you don't have to trash any of that well-cared-for starter in the future. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit