No Need to Discard Sourdough Starter Excess

Every week I pull the sourdough starter from the refrigerator, take a small amount of it to "feed" and ferment again. It takes just a little over 1 tablespoon of starter to begin renewing or feeding, so the excess can be discarded. The discard is compostable, as it's just flour and water. I prefer to make something with it. There are numerous recipes for doing just that.

For those with gluten insensitivity, fermentation (as in sourdough starters) and germination (sprouting) helps with breaking down gluten. (No wheat is safe for those with Celiac disease).

My favorite recipe for using the discard is one for pancakes. We'll usually eat those with an egg, then applesauce, when first made. My favorite breakfast to make with the leftovers is pancakes with peanut butter and bananas. Here's my go to recipe for the pancakes.

Sourdough Pancakes

(Serves 6)

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and soda, sugar and salt.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

In a separate bowl, beat egg into starter. Add milk and oil. Stir in dry flour mix.

1/2 cup sourdough starter

1/2 cup & 2 tablespoon skim milk

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon olive oil

Drop by 2 tablespoon scoops onto hot griddle greased with olive oil spray. Cook until the pancakes start to bubble on top, then flip. Cook an addition 1-2 minutes.

Once a week I feed my starter. I pull the starter jar from the refrigerator at bedtime. In the morning, I stir the starter with a spatula, then remove about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the culture to a clean jar. To that jar, I add 50 grams flour (mine is a rye starter, to I use fresh ground whole rye flour) and 75 grams water. I mix it good with a spatula, tighten the lid, and allow to sit at room temperature for a few hours. Then the fed starter is refrigerated for 1 week until the feeding starts all over.

For lunch today, I made Sourdough Crepes with the sourdough discard. My technique was not perfect, but our lunch was quite tasty.  Here's that recipe:

 Sourdough Rye Crepes

(12 crepes-4 servings)

Mix together all ingredients. Batter will be very thin.

1/2 cup sourdough starter

1/2 cup whole grain rye flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

Spray a non-stick skillet (mine was 7 inch) with olive oil spray. Heat pan over medium heat. Remove pan from burner. Tilting the pan, add 2 tablespoon batter to one end of pan, then tilt it the opposite way to cover bottom of the pan with batter. Place pan on burner. After about 2 minutes, loosen the edges of crepe with a spatula, then flip and cook for one minute more. Make all the crepes and reheat in microwave as needed when time to eat.

My crepes are filled with scrambled eggs and ham-a perfect combination with the rye flour!  Bob enjoyed a few of the extras with butter and honey!