My favorite active and discard sourdough recipes

Any recipe that contains flour and water can use sourdough starter. Really!

Just remember what a certain superhero once said, “with great sour, comes great responsibility.” Did I get that right? Maybe not…

Regardless, the point is that the addition of the sourdough taste may or may not be a good idea depending on what you desire in the final product.

Here is a growing list of recipes that I have tried and recommend (or don’t- HA!). I also have added notes, in which I list modifications to make them taste better or to make them more allergy-friendly.

Enjoy!

Recipes Using Active Sourdough Starter:

Remember that the best time to take from sourdough starter is 4-6 hours after a feed, once it has almost doubled but not yet begun to sink back to its original level. See more information about using starters here. I prefer the recipes that use active starter without additional packaged yeast.

Sourdough boule recipe

• Does not require any additional leavening beyond your sourdough starter.
• Google image search sourdough bread to get ideas for artistic loaves. The slices that are made into the raw dough (that are needed to help your sourdough rise evenly) can be made in a decorative pattern. Flour or cocoa can be painted or sprinkled on the top to make a beautiful picture on top of your sourdough. There are stencils for this purpose. I had way too much fun Pinteresting this kind of thing. (Multiple Allergy Family is on Pinterest!)
• We followed the method that uses a cast iron skillet with boiling water in it (for its steam), and two sheet pans. Make sure to wear oven mitts with good coverage for this method!
• We took ours out 5 minutes early, and it was well-done. The crust was perfect! Keep this in mind and check on it before the recipe calls for it to be done. Just try to not open the oven door too often, especially if using steam in the oven.

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Sourdough no-knead sandwich bread recipe

• Does not require any additional leavening beyond your sourdough starter.
• It’s almost like a cross between a baguette and typical sandwich bread. Cook it less for a softer crust or longer for a baguette-style crunchy crust.
• It can be baked in a pyrex bowl or a bread pan depending on the desired shape. It’s a good recipe for people that don’t like to spend time in the kitchen but want home-made sourdough bread.
• If you don’t own bread pans but have pyrex loaf dishes you can make 1.5 times the recipe to get two loaves.

Sourdough no-knead focaccia recipe

• Does not require any additional leavening beyond your sourdough starter.
• This is almost the same recipe as the sandwich bread recipe. There is a bit more olive oil and salt. There is also some pushing down of the dough to form a denser crumb.
• If you don’t own bread pans and have pyrex loaf dishes, make 1.5 times the recipe to get two loaves.
• We added half a thinly sliced onion to the top of this. Fabulous!
• Once baked, we dip this in our favorite oil dip: combine non virgin olive oil, minced garlic clove, vegan parmesan cheese, and a dash of red pepper flakes.
• We cannot get enough of this recipe!

Sourdough Hearty Hamburger Buns 

• Does not require any additional leavening beyond your sourdough starter.
• We used plant-based milk instead of water since we don’t keep milk powder on hand.
• We used plant-based milk to brush the tops of the buns to encourage browning instead of using egg wash. I will try vegan butter next, and see if I like it more as the milk provided some additional browning but not much.
• The dough needed an additional 5 tbsp all purpose bleached flour more than the recipe called for to get it to the right consistency. The comments seem to indicate that I was not the only one that needed to add more flour so keep this in mind.
• I love that these stood up to the weight of our sandwiches, when conventional buns would fall apart or get too soggy. I could imagine these working very well with wetter sandwiches like pulled pork, cacoila, or bbq jackfruit.

Recipes Using Sourdough Discard:

Pretzels

• Instead of using milk powder, I substituted the water for plant-based milk. I would imagine that cow’s milk would also work.
• If you go through the work of making these, definitely make a soda bath. A soda bath makes that brown pretzel skin we all crave! Boil 9 cups water and 1/2 cup baking soda. After forming the pretzels, boil each pretzel for 20-30seconds, place back onto the baking sheet, and immediately sprinkle with coarse salt or seasonings (I like a mix of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and garlic powder). Bake as usual.
• I have also made pretzel rolls with this recipe. My family can’t get enough!

Sourdough Discard Baked Doughnuts

I “do-nut” recommend sourdough baked doughnuts using discarded starter! That recipe had too strong a sourdough taste. Keeping in mind that I did not desire a strong sourdough flavor, we even made sure to try a recipe with a lower percentage of sourdough discard to the overall recipe. I’ll have to try the fried version later, maybe. I’m averse to frying with small climbing children around so that may take a while.

Other Discard Recipes to Come!

I have heard a lot of good things about sourdough biscuits, pizza dough, English muffins, crackers, and even cake. I will update as I try more recipes. That’s if my family will let me make anything but pretzels with discard. 😉