15 Sourdough Discard Recipes (With Quantities) + Storage Rules

Every time you feed a sourdough starter, you remove part of it first. That’s discard, and if you bake from the fridge or feed daily, it piles up quickly. It’s also genuinely useful: it adds tang, tenderness and depth to pancakes, crackers, flatbreads and cakes.

Below are 15 discard recipes with the key quantities, grouped by type, plus the rules for storing discard safely and making less of it.

What is sourdough discard?

Discard is the portion of starter you remove before a feed. It’s the same flour, water, yeast and bacteria as your active starter, just hungrier and more acidic. Two properties matter for recipes:

• It has little rising power, so recipes use baking soda, baking powder or yeast to do the lifting.
• It’s acidic, which reacts with baking soda to create lift and adds a pleasant sour note.

Before you bake: four rules for discard recipes

1. Assume 100% hydration. All quantities below are for discard made from equal weights of flour and water. A stiffer or runnier starter changes the texture.
2. Weigh it. Discard is sticky and full of air, so cups are unreliable.
3. Stir before measuring. Mix in any liquid on top first.
4. Older discard is more sour. Great for crackers and savory bakes; for sweet bakes, fresher discard tastes milder.

15 sourdough discard recipes

Oven temperatures are for a conventional oven. For a fan oven, reduce by about 20°C (25°F).

Breakfast

1. Sourdough discard pancakes

• 230 g discard, 120 g all-purpose flour, 180 g milk, 1 egg
• 30 g melted butter, 25 g sugar, 5 g baking soda, 3 g salt

Whisk everything except the baking soda, then stir it in last. The batter will puff up. Cook on a buttered pan over medium heat for 1–2 minutes a side, flipping when bubbles appear on top. Makes about 10.

2. Crispy discard waffles

• 230 g discard, 120 g all-purpose flour, 180 g milk, 2 eggs
• 60 g melted butter, 25 g sugar, 5 g baking soda, 3 g salt

The pancake recipe with more butter and an extra egg for a crisp shell. Cook in a preheated waffle iron until it stops steaming. Makes about 6.

3. Discard crumpets

• 250 g discard, 8 g sugar, 3 g baking soda, 2 g salt

Stir the sugar and salt into the discard, then the baking soda; it will foam immediately. Spoon into greased rings in a buttered pan over low to medium heat and cook until the tops are set and full of holes, around 6–10 minutes. Remove the rings and briefly flip to finish. Makes about 4.

Savory snacks

4. Rosemary seed crackers

• 240 g discard, 25 g olive oil, 3 g salt
• 5 g chopped fresh rosemary, 15 g sesame or mixed seeds, flaky salt

Mix and spread very thinly on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake at 165°C (325°F) for about 20 minutes, score into squares, then bake another 15–25 minutes until evenly golden and crisp. Makes one sheet pan.

5. Cheddar discard crackers

• 200 g discard, 120 g all-purpose flour, 100 g sharp cheddar, finely grated
• 56 g cold butter, 3 g salt, 2 g smoked paprika

Rub the butter into the flour, then mix in cheese, spices and discard to make a firm dough. Chill 30 minutes, roll to about 3 mm, cut and bake at 175°C (350°F) for 15–20 minutes until golden. Makes about 60.

6. Scallion pancakes

• 250 g discard, 40 g thinly sliced scallions (about 3)
• 10 g toasted sesame oil, 3 g salt, neutral oil for frying

Mix and spread in a hot, oiled pan. Fry over medium heat for 3–4 minutes a side until crisp at the edges. Serve with soy sauce and rice vinegar. Makes about 4.

Breads and flatbreads

7. Quick discard pizza dough

• 150 g discard, 300 g bread flour, 160 g warm water
• 10 g olive oil, 7 g salt, 3 g instant yeast

Knead to a smooth dough and let rise about an hour, until puffy. Divide in two, stretch and bake on a preheated stone or steel in your hottest oven, typically 250–290°C (480–550°F), for 7–10 minutes. Makes two 25 cm (10 in) pizzas.

8. Discard focaccia

• 150 g discard, 500 g bread flour, 380 g water
• 10 g salt, 3 g instant yeast, 40 g olive oil plus more for the pan

Mix everything except the oil into a shaggy dough. Do three sets of stretch and folds over the first hour, then let it rise until doubled, about 1½–2½ hours at room temperature (or overnight in the fridge for more flavor). Tip into a well-oiled 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13 in) pan, let it relax and puff for another hour, dimple with oiled fingers, drizzle with the 40 g oil and bake at 220–230°C (425–450°F) for 20–25 minutes. At about 79% total hydration, this is a wet dough; see sourdough hydration explained for why that’s fine here. To adjust it for your flour, plug the numbers into the hydration calculator.

9. Discard flour tortillas

• 120 g discard, 240 g all-purpose flour, 60 g warm water
• 45 g soft butter or lard, 4 g salt

Knead until smooth, rest 30 minutes, divide into 8 and roll thin. Cook in a dry, hot skillet for 30–60 seconds a side until blistered. Keep them wrapped in a towel. Makes 8.

10. Skillet discard flatbread

• 200 g discard, 200 g all-purpose flour, 60 g plain yogurt
• 15 g olive oil, 5 g baking powder, 4 g salt

Mix to a soft dough, rest 15–20 minutes, divide into 6 and roll or press flat. Cook in a lightly oiled pan over medium-high heat for 2–3 minutes a side. Makes 6.

11. Flaky discard biscuits

• 200 g discard, 240 g all-purpose flour, 115 g cold butter, 60 g cold milk
• 12 g baking powder, 3 g baking soda, 4 g salt, 8 g sugar

Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until pea-sized, then fold in discard and milk. Pat out, fold over itself two or three times for layers, cut and bake at 220°C (425°F) for 15–18 minutes. Makes 8.

Sweet bakes

12. Discard banana bread

• 300 g mashed ripe banana (about 3), 150 g discard, 190 g all-purpose flour
• 120 g brown sugar, 80 g neutral oil, 2 eggs, 5 g baking soda, 3 g salt, 3 g cinnamon

Mix wet ingredients, then fold in dry. Bake in a lined 23 × 13 cm (9 × 5 in) loaf pan at 175°C (350°F) for 55–65 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Makes 1 loaf.

13. Blueberry muffins

• 150 g discard, 240 g all-purpose flour, 150 g sugar, 120 g milk, 1 egg
• 80 g melted butter, 8 g baking powder, 3 g baking soda, 170 g blueberries

Don’t overmix; fold the blueberries in last. Divide into a 12-cup muffin tin and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20–25 minutes. Makes 12.

14. Fudgy discard brownies

• 120 g discard, 170 g butter, 200 g dark chocolate
• 180 g sugar, 2 eggs, 60 g all-purpose flour, 25 g cocoa powder, 3 g salt

Melt butter and chocolate together, whisk in sugar and eggs, then discard, then the dry ingredients. Bake in a lined 20 cm (8 in) square pan at 175°C (350°F) for 25–30 minutes, until just set. Makes 16 squares.

15. Chocolate chip cookies

• 100 g discard, 250 g all-purpose flour, 170 g soft butter
• 120 g brown sugar, 80 g white sugar, 1 egg, 4 g baking soda, 3 g salt, 200 g chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars, beat in egg and discard, then add dry ingredients and chips. Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes gives thicker cookies. Bake scoops at 175°C (350°F) for 10–12 minutes. Makes about 24.

More ideas: granola clusters (100 g discard with 250 g oats), popovers, soft pretzel bites, scones, zucchini bread, carrot muffins and coffee cake all work well with discard too.

Need a different batch size? The baker’s percentage recipe scaler scales any of these up or down.

How to store sourdough discard

Where	How long	Notes
Counter	Use within the day	If left out longer it keeps fermenting and becomes very sour.
Fridge	Best within about 1 week; many bakers use it for up to 2 weeks	Covered jar. Gets more sour over time. Grey liquid on top is normal.
Freezer	Best within about 3 months	Freeze in labeled 100–250 g portions. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

Throw discard out if you see fuzzy mold of any color, or pink, orange or red streaks. A sharp smell or liquid on top alone isn’t a problem.

Keep a single “discard jar” in the fridge and add to it each feed. Stir it when you add more, and use the oldest first by starting a fresh jar every week or so.

How to make less discard

If you’re throwing away more than you bake with, keep a smaller starter. Maintaining 10–20 g of starter and feeding it at 1:5:5 gives you only 110–220 g after each feed, and much less discard. The starter feeding calculator works out the exact grams, and the feeding schedule guide shows how switching to fridge storage cuts discard to once a week.

How Boulie helps

Boulie’s recipe library includes a set of discard favorites, several of which the quantities above are based on, alongside its country loaves, focaccia, bagels, pizza and pancakes, all written step by step, with guided bake mode and alarms when timing matters. And because Boulie tracks your feeds and reminds you based on whether your starter lives on the counter or in the fridge, it’s easier to settle into a routine that produces only as much discard as you’ll actually use.

Key takeaways

• Discard adds flavor, not lift. Use baking soda, baking powder or yeast for rise.
• Weigh it and assume 100% hydration.
• Fridge: about 1–2 weeks. Freezer: about 3 months. Toss it if you see mold or pink or orange streaks.
• Never eat it raw.
• Keep a smaller starter to make less discard in the first place.