Leftover Sourdough Starter Recipes: The Ultimate List (2024)

If you have a sourdough starter, you understand the need (and desire!) to use it in creative ways.

When we first started making sourdough bread, we tried putting sourdough in all sorts of things without a recipe to use up the excess starter. While it was frugal, it didn’t necessarily always taste good!

Leftover Sourdough Starter Recipes: The Ultimate List (1)

Since then, we’ve gotten a little better at it. It takes some practice, and trying out different recipes that were made for sourdough is a great way to learn how to incorporate it into your own creations.

While cooking is an art, baking tends to be more science based. By this, I mean that ingredients have to be added in specific proportions, otherwise the recipe doesn’t turn out correctly. Trying your hand at several of these excess sourdough recipes will begin to help you understand the formula for adding sourdough to your eats so you can try it out on your own sometime if you like.

I have put together the ultimate list of leftover sourdough starter recipes, which is full of amazing recipes to use up that starter! It includes everything from sweet to savory, so try out some of your favorite treats with a sourdough twist!

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First and foremost, check out my favorite sourdough bread recipe!

It is the BEST bread – all of our friends beg us to make it for them!The recipe also has a link to how to make a sourdough bread starter!

This recipe tends to make a super crunchy, hard crust.

Leftover Sourdough Starter Recipes: The Ultimate List (2)

It is cooked in a dutch oven, with the lid on, at a very high temperature. While it tastes amazing, it can tend to be too hard for some to bite through. Plus, we often use an electric knife to cut through it!

But don’t let that stop you. If you try it out and it is too hard, try baking the loaf at a lower temp (such as 375) and in a regular bread pan for a softer crust.

Here is how we make it!

(If you don’t have a sourdough starter, click here for an easy, no yeast, recipe.)

This dutch oven is essential for making an amazing sourdough loaf with this recipe. The crust gets hard – just like a bakery loaf. If you don’t have one, pick one up!

And… how great is this set of bread making accessories?!? It comes with a proofing basket, a bowl scraper, a linen liner, and 10 adorable bread stencils. LOVE it!

If you’re totally set in the bread department, here is my ultimate list of leftover sourdough starter recipes!

There are so many amazing ways to use up that excess sourdough starter!

Adding sourdough starter gives your favorite recipes a rich complexity that you may not find in normal, white flour based recipes.

Morning Recipes

Blueberry Sourdough Muffins– Turnips 2 Tangerines

Morning Glory Sourdough Muffins – A Better Way To Thrive

Whole Wheat Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Muffins – Tasty Kitchen

Quick Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Sourdough Muffins – Cooking with Carlee

  • This is one of my favorite muffin recipes!!

Sourdough Spice Cake – Traditional Cooking School

Dangerously Addicting Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls – A Chick and Her Garden

Sourdough (raised) Doughnuts – cdkitchen

Leftover Sourdough Starter Recipes: The Ultimate List (3)

Sourdough Hot Cross Buns – Nourishing Joy

Sourdough Bagels – Full of Days

Sourdough English Muffins – A Chick and Her Garden

Perfect Sourdough Pancakes – Joy To My Heart

Sourdough Banana Pancakes – The Dutch Baker’s Daughter

Whole Grain Sourdough Waffles – Traditional Cooking School

Sourdough Coffee Cake – Turnips 2 Tangerines

Sourdough Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake – Cultures For Health

Blueberry Sourdough Scones – Wild Yeast

Sourdough (cake) Donuts – Baking Sense

Leftover Sourdough Starter Recipes: The Ultimate List (4)

Sweet Bread Recipes

Stollen (German Sweet Bread) – Pizza Rossa

Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread – What’s Cooking America

Sourdough Banana Bread – Pinch My Salt

Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Loaf – Korena In The Kitchen

French Chocolate Bread – Chocolate & Zucchini

Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Bread – NY Times Cooking

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread – Butter For All

Sourdough Swedish Cinnamon and Cardamon Buns – Milk and Honey

Dessert Recipes

Sourdough Brownies – Common Sense Home

Sourdough Sugar Cookies – What’s Cooking America

Sourdough Cookies (can add chocolate chips!) – Common Sense Home

Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies – Cultured Food Life

Chocolate Sourdough Cake – The Nourishing Gourmet

Sourdough Crepes – Homesteading on Grace

Sourdough Carrot Cake – Nourishing Joy

Pick up this huge glass flour canister to store your flour in!

Savory and Bread Recipes

Sourdough Crackers– Sourdough and Olives

Spelty Sourdough Crackers – The Bojon Gourmet

Sourdough Focaccia – Flour On My Face

Oatmeal Honey Sourdough Bread – Home Joys

Sourdough Tortillas – Reformation Homestead

Sourdough Cornbread – Tasty Kitchen

Sourdough Pasta – Korena in the Kitchen

Sourdough Pie Crust – Cultures for Health

Sourdough Pizza Crust – Butter For All

Sourdough Irish Soda Bread – Turnips 2 Tangerines

Sourdough Ciabatta Bread – What’s Cooking America

Sourdough Naan Bread – Grow Forage Cook Ferment

Russian Rye Bread – Mother Earth News

Buttery Sourdough Biscuits – Joy To My Heart

Einkorn Sourdough Sandwich Bread – Beets and Bones

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread – Joybilee Farm

Final Thoughts on Excess Sourdough Recipes

One of the reasons that sourdough bread is so great is that it is more nutritious than normal white bread. This nutritional benefit can extend to these recipes too.

For example, while chocolate chip muffins taste great, adding oatmeal and sourdough starter to the recipe gives it a little nutritional boost (and that makes me feel better about eating them for breakfast!).

Some of sourdough’s amazing health benefits are:

  1. Sourdough is full of vitamins and minerals that regular bread doesn’t have (unless it is enriched). Sourdough contains iron, selenium, zinc, magnesium, folic acid and B vitamins!
  2. Sourdough has prebiotics and probiotics – meaning it increases your gut health. There is a big push in dietetics for foods that are good for your gut, such as yogurts, keifer and sauerkraut. This is because they increase the good bacteria in your digestive system. Check out how to make your own yogurt, how to make greek yogurt, and how to make sauerkraut for more gut healthy recipes!
  3. Sourdough has protein in it.

So, if you haven’t started making sourdough yet, get started! And if you are well versed in making sourdough bread, give some of these recipes a try!

What recipes did I miss in my ultimate list of leftover sourdough starter recipes? Share your favorites in the comments below!

Remember to pin this post for later!

Leftover Sourdough Starter Recipes: The Ultimate List (5)

Leftover Sourdough Starter Recipes: The Ultimate List

Leftover Sourdough Starter Recipes: The Ultimate List (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with my extra sourdough starter? ›

Use your sourdough starter discard in sourdough pancakes, waffles, and banana bread.

When can I use sourdough starter discard in recipes? ›

Remember, you can't use the discard from your homemade sourdough starter for the first 7 days. You can use sourdough discard in all kinds of sourdough discard recipes, including these no wait sourdough recipes, overnight sourdough discard recipes and sourdough discard recipes that use up a lot of discard.

Is sourdough discard healthy? ›

Sourdough discard recipes not only reduce waste but also offer health benefits, making them a wonderful addition to a balanced diet. The fermentation process of the sourdough starter increases the availability of certain nutrients and can help improve digestion.

What is extra sourdough starter called? ›

Sourdough discard can be defined as the portion of unfed sourdough starter that you remove from the jar before adding fresh flour and water. This "leftover sourdough starter" is called discard because it can be discarded or thrown away.

Do you discard sourdough starter each time you feed it? ›

It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.

Can you freeze leftover sourdough starter? ›

Freezing sourdough starter is a simple way to preserve your starter for up to a year without feeding it. If you need to take a sourdough hiatus, this is a perfect way to save starter for later use. Over the two decades that I have been baking, I've had seasons where I bake non-stop and times when I don't bake much.

Can you freeze sourdough starter discard? ›

Can you freeze sourdough starter discard? While feeding an active starter is a better idea, freezing discard will also work. I would suggest freezing discard that has been more recently fed, it may take longer for the starter to become thriving and active after thawing.

How old can a sourdough starter be? ›

It's a beautiful thing for something to be tended to for 20, 50, 100 years.” Here at King Arthur, our Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter is descended from one that's been lovingly nurtured in New England for decades.

How to tell if sourdough discard is bad? ›

You can store mature sourdough discard in the refrigerator indefinitely. As long as there is no mold, it is good to use. It may develop a grayish liquid on top called “hooch” which can be poured off before use or stirred in. If you stir it in, the flavor will become more sour.

Can I use Day 4 sourdough discard? ›

At room temperature (70 F), sourdough discard should last about 1-2 days. Beyond that, it won't go bad necessarily, it will just become more acidic as time goes on (especially in warm weather). Not ideal for sweet recipes. In the fridge, it will keep for about a week or so, and in the freezer it will last indefinitely.

Can I bake with my first sourdough discard? ›

You can always use this discard by directly mixing it into a dough for baking. Your discard, as long as it's in good shape, will leaven any bread dough just as well. The discard is just like a levain you would make for a recipe. The only difference is it's the same makeup as your starter.

Do you refrigerate sourdough discard? ›

If you need your starter to take a nap or be babysat, just stick it in the fridge! I have kept my inactive starter or “discard” in the fridge for six months and brought her back to life in three feedings.

Can you use 2 week old sourdough discard? ›

Can I Use Old Sourdough Discard? You can use old sourdough discard if it's been stored in the fridge, however, you really want to use it up within a week - 2 weeks max.

What is the difference between sourdough discard and sourdough starter? ›

Sourdough discard is the portion of starter that gets removed as part of its routine maintenance. Sourdough discard is the portion of starter you don't feed during routine maintenance. You can choose to dispose of it or bake with it.

Can you freeze sourdough starter? ›

Fortunately, you can chill or even freeze your sourdough starter to slow down the yeast's activity and preserve it until you're ready to bake. Sourdough starter stored in the fridge will stay in good shape for the occasional baker who might be making a loaf or two every couple of weeks.

Can you add too much starter to sourdough recipe? ›

If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.

How do you store extra sourdough starter? ›

Sourdough starter can be stored on the counter or in the refrigerator. "If you're someone who bakes sourdough bread more than a couple of times a week, keep your starter in a cool, dry place. If you don't bake every week, keep it in the refrigerator," Pellegrinelli explains.

Can you mix old and new sourdough starter? ›

Just be sure to stir some of your old starter into the new — so you can continue to brag about how long you've kept your starter going!

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