Discarding Sourdough Starter: Do You Really Have To?

Discarding bits of your sourdough discard during feeding is a bit of a touchy subject for some sourdough starter owners. Some say that you should do it as it keeps your sourdough starter healthy, while others say that you should not do it as it detracts from the sourdough flavor, while others just do not want to do it as it seems wasteful to them. So, do you really have to discard some of your sourdough starter when you feed it?

You do not need to discard some of your sourdough starter during feeds as long as your sourdough starter is kept at a small size or kept in the fridge. There are methods to lessen the amount of discard you get; for example, you can feed your sourdough starter less, which will create less discard.

So, you do not have to discard some sourdough starter, but if you do discard some during feedings and you do not want to waste it, how do you make the discard last longer so it will last until you have the time to bake with it? And how do you know when you may have kept it for a bit too long and should maybe not use it? What can you bake with your sourdough discard to put it to good use? Let us go through these questions so you can make your decision on whether you want to discard or not. 

Do You Have To Discard Sourdough Starter?

You do not need to discard any of your sourdough starter when you feed it if your starter is small enough in size. If your starter is not small and you do not want to discard any while feeding it, then you may want to consider splitting your starter and then start giving it out to some friends who are interesting in using sourdough. 

There are three main things you should keep in mind when thinking about discarding or not discarding sourdough starters. 

These three things are ease of use, the flavor of your sourdough starter, and whether you would actually want to waste any of your glorious starter by simply throwing it out. If you want the joys of a starter that is easy to use and requires less of the starter to make the bread rise adequately, then you should discard some of your starter at every feeding.

If you want a starter that is packed with more flavor, then you should not discard some of your sourdough starter during feeds. However, this will dilute the amount of yeast in your starter, which means you will need to use more of the sourdough starter when baking. This could have the potential of depleting your supply of sourdough starter at a faster rate.

With this, your starter could also begin to grow at a rapid pace, so you will need a bigger storage container for it. If you do not bake regularly and you use this method, then your kitchen could soon be overrun by your sourdough starter. If your sourdough starter is beginning to get a bit too big, then you could split it and hand it out to family and friends, as we mentioned earlier.  

There are also a lot of sourdough starter owners out there who do not want to discard any of their sourdough starters as, to them, this seems pretty wasteful. So, they do not discard their sourdough even if they need to, as they do not know what to do with this discard, but they do not want to throw it away. 

Fortunately, there is more than one way you can use this sourdough discard, and if you do not have the time to bake at that very moment, then there are ways you can store your sourdough discard to ensure that it lasts longer. This gives you more wriggle room to work with, as you can use your sourdough starter in the following days prior to discarding it. 

This allows you to not waste the sourdough discard by throwing it out and allows your sourdough starter to remain healthy and at a manageable size that is easy to use and store.

There are also several ways you can lessen the amount of sourdough discard you get from feedings, these are easy to do, so if you do not want to keep the sourdough discard for later use, then this will at least limit the waste.  

How to Store Sourdough Discard For Later Use

There are methods that you can store your sourdough discard to ensure that it lasts longer, which will give you more time to use it. These methods are simple and will not take you long to do, so you do not have to worry about time if you are a busy person.

If you know you are going to bake within the next few days or weeks of discarding your sourdough starter, then a good way to keep your sourdough discard for later use is to simply place it in another container and put it in the fridge.

Just remember to label the jar with the date of when the discard was placed in it to help you keep track of how long it has been there. For more information you can check out my article “How Long Does Sourdough Discard Last?”

You can also keep adding the sourdough discard to the same jar every time you feed your sourdough starter to keep the discard all in one place. However, you should still label the jar from the first discard you placed in it to ensure you do not use older discard in your baking that may have started to spoil.

Sourdough discard that is kept in the refrigerator can last about a month before it starts to go off. Remember that the sourdough discard is unfed; this means that it will not live indefinitely like your normal sourdough starter, which gets regular feeding.

Another method of storing your sourdough discard is to freeze the discard. This is the best method for someone who is not going to be baking for a long time but still does not want to waste the discard. 

Now, there are two ways in which you can go about this. The first way is to place the discard in a freezer-safe container and then placing the container in a plastic bag to prevent freezer burn, and then just placing it into the freezer. 

If your freeze your sourdough this way, then you will need to make sure that when you take the sourdough, discard out and defrost it, you are able to use all of it. This is because once you have thawed the sourdough discard out, you can not freeze it again. 

An alternative way to freeze your sourdough discard is to place the discard into an ice-cube tray. Make sure the discard sits snuggly in the ice-cube tray and is flush with the surface of the ice-cube tray. Then place the ice-tray with the discard in it into the middle of your freezer, away from any other items, to avoid freezer burn.

Once the sourdough discard is frozen, take the discard out of the ice-cube tray and place the little frozen cubes into a zip-lock bag, and put them back into the freezer. This is a good way to store the sourdough discard as you can then take out and thaw only as much of it as you need, leaving the rest safely in the freezer for another day.  

The sourdough discard will last indefinitely if kept in the freezer, so there is never any waste to worry about. 

How To Lessen The Amount Of Sourdough Discard

Having to discard some of your starter at each feeding can lead to a lot of waste, and you may not want to bake with discard every time you do bake something. There are methods that you can use to lessen the amount of sourdough starter that you will need to discard at each feeding. 

This will keep your sourdough starter at a size that is easy to manage without wasting much in the discarding process. 

An easy way to lessen the amount of discard is to simply feed your sourdough starter less at each meal. Feeding less flour and water to your sourdough start will require you to take out less discard compared to if you were to feed it normally. 

The normal ratio to feed your starter by is a 1:1:1 ratio; you can lessen this to a ratio of 1:4:4 to decrease the amount of discard you collect. Then you will just need to feed your sourdough starter this smaller amount until it has grown too much, in which case you will need to discard some. 

Although this method will still require you to discard at some point, it will take a longer period of time to reach the point of needing to discard anything. 

Another way to lessen the amount of sourdough discard that you get is to keep your sourdough starter in the refrigerator when you are not using it or are not expecting to bake for a while. 

Keeping your sourdough starter cool in the fridge will slow down the yeast activity in your starter; this allows your sourdough starter to go for longer periods without the need to be fed, which will mean that you do not have to discard any starter.

To get your sourdough starter ready to be stored in the fridge, you will need to feed it as you normally would and then leave it to rise on your kitchen counter for a few hours and then put it in the fridge. It is preferable to place your sourdough starter on the top shelf of your fridge as this section is the coldest part of the fridge.  

If you store your sourdough starter in the fridge and you are planning to bake with it in the near future, then a few days before you use your starter you should feed it. Ideally, you should feed your sourdough starter about three times before you use it again, which will help the yeast to build up its strength again, so you get the best result possible. 

What You Can Use Sourdough Discard For

There are many delicious recipes you can use your sourdough discard in. These baked goods will use up your sourdough discard, making space in your fridge and your freezer as well as making your stomach and taste buds very happy at the same time. 

For many people who do not like the idea of wasting the sourdough starter discard, this is a good way to use the excess and still get a usable product out of it that can be given away, consumed yourself, or sold.

These baked goods are relatively easy to make and store once they are made. You will not throw away your sourdough discard again but will continue to used this method to make use of the discard. 

Here are a few things you can bake using your sourdough discard:

• Muffins 
• Sourdough cookies
• Sourdough banana bread
• Blueberry crumb cake bars
• Sourdough pancakes 
• Sourdough crackers 
• Sourdough brownies 
• Sourdough waffles
• Pretzels 
• Scones
• Pizzas and flatbreads
• Sourdough tempura batter
• Sourdough Fish Batter
• Sourdough pie crusts 
• Cakes
• Pasta 
• Bagels

These are only a few baked goods that are out there with recipes that can include sourdough starter discard. There are so many more baked goods you can make using your sourdough discard that are not on this list. 

Note: If you are looking for more inspiration on what to do with your sourdough discard you can check out my article “16 Inventive Ways to Use up Sourdough Discard“.

Once you find your favorite baked goods to make using the sourdough discard, you will never even consider throwing out your sourdough discard again, but rather look at it as a useful ingredient for other products. 

When Not To Use Your Sourdough Discard

Now that we know how to store sourdough discard and what we can do with it, how do you know when you have stored it for a bit too long and should probably let it go?

There are a few ways to tell when you should throw away your sourdough discard; for example, if your sourdough discard has an orange or pink streak in it or tint to it, you should not use it and should throw it away. 

If your sourdough discard has any signs of mold on it or in the lid of the container that you keep it in, then this is a good sign that you should say goodbye to it and throw it away. 

If your sourdough discard was left in a place that got to a very high temperature, for example, you forget to place it in the fridge, and it was left on the counter for 2 days, and your country had a heatwave, then you should probably throw your sourdough discard out. 

This is because the yeast in the sourdough discard could die if it gets too hot, which could change the taste of the sourdough, and if you use it in any recipes when the yeast is dead, then the baked goods may not come out how you wish them to.

As a rule, you should not use sourdough discard that has been out on the counter at 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 Celsius) for more than 3-4 days, and you should not use the sourdough discard that that has been kept in the fridge for more than one and a half to two months. 

If you follow this rule for sourdough discard, it will ensure that you only use sourdough discard that is still good and healthy to make your baked goods.

Conclusion 

You do not have to discard some of your sourdough starter during feeds if you keep your sourdough starter at a small size. There are methods that you could use to decrease the amount of discard you will get from your sourdough starter, like placing it in the fridge or feeding the starter less. 

Even if you do get some discard from feeding your sourdough starter, there are many delicious recipes you can use the discard in. and if you do not have the time to bake with your sourdough discard just yet, then there are ways to store the discard that will preserve it until you are ready to bake. There is no need to waste your sourdough discard. Enjoy your baking!

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