Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (2024)

Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (1)

Many bakers know that the secret to artisan bread is a strong, active sourdough starter. But sourdough starters can seem fickle at times.

Experts recommend feeding a starter twice daily. And at each feeding, you hold onto 1/2 cup of your original starter, discard the rest, and then add its same weight in water and flour.

With this schedule, you’d discard almost a cup of sourdough starter every day. While a cup might not seem like a lot at first, it can quickly add up. And if you don’t bake often, that discard will end up in the trash.

Do you really need to discard sourdough starter daily?

Well, that depends on a few factors.

How Often Do You Bake?

I don’t run a bakery at my house, and my family is fairly small. Even though I bake regularly, I couldn’t possibly use a cup of sourdough discard on a daily basis.

To minimize waste, I keep much smaller amounts of my sourdough discard. Instead of 1/2 a cup twice daily, I only feed my starter 1/4 cup once in the mornings. This ensures I have a constant supply of sourdough starter when I need it. Unfortunately, it is also means my sourdough starter is slower and less active as a result.

If you don’t want to discard sourdough starter daily, scale back your feedings by 1/4 cup amounts. Still feels like you’re baking too much? You can further reduce your feedings to a weekly basis if you keep your starter in the fridge rather than on the countertop.

What Do You Want to Make?

Sourdough starters require regular feedings to stay active. If you don’t get rid of the excess, eventually you’ll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won’t be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, depending on what you want to bake with it.

Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (2)

Although you need an active, well-maintained starter for certain artisan breads, you can still make tasty bread with a sluggish, slow starter so you don’t have to discard sourdough starter daily.

In fact, many of my favorite sourdough bread recipes use discard for flavoring to give bread that classic tang. To get a better rise in the oven, these recipes combine sourdough discard with commercial yeast. No need to worry about timing your baking with your starter feedings.

7 Sourdough Discard Bread Recipes

If you have a new starter or if you struggle to maintain your current starter, I recommend the following sourdough recipes. These recipes make beautiful bread with a combination of discard and commercial yeast, making them a great option for beginning bakers. When you opt for recipes like these, you can discard sourdough starter daily without waste.

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (3)

Honey Wheat and Rye Sourdough Sandwich Bread

A beautiful blend of flavors, this sandwich bread combines the sweet from the honey, the tang from the sourdough, and the earthy undertones of whole wheat and rye.

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (4)

Satin Smooth Sourdough Sandwich Bread

A soft and airy sandwich loaf

Check out this recipe

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread

A bread recipe that blends the sweet with the tangy

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (6)

Sourdough Discard Bread

Use up your sourdough starter with this beginner's artisan loaf

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (7)

Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough

A wholesome whole wheat recipe with just a hint of honey

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (8)

Crusty Sourdough Cottage Bread

A sourdough sandwich bread recipe with a tasty crunchy crust

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (9)

Beginner Sourdough Sandwich Bread

New to making sourdough bread? This easy sandwich bread recipe is a great option for beginners.

Check out this recipe

7 Sourdough Discard Recipes That Aren’t Bread

I love bread. I absolutely love it. And I definitely make a lot of it because of how much I love it.

But even I get a little bored with the same recipes day in and day out. If you want to discard sourdough starter daily and minimize waste, give these fun recipes a try.

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (10)

Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies

A cake-like chewy cookie with a sourdough tang

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (11)

Sourdough Discard Waffles

A fresh new take on classic waffles

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (12)

Sourdough Discard Popovers

A fast and easy breakfast that uses up your sourdough discard

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (13)

Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Muffins

Cinnamon sugar and sourdough? Yes please. These muffins make a great snack anytime.

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (14)

Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Muffins

A chocolate chip variation of sourdough discard cinnamon muffins. A great breakfast and a great way to use up sourdough starter discard.

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (15)

Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Use up that starter with this muffin recipe. Double the chocolate, double the yum.

Check out this recipe

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Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (16)

Sourdough Discard Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

A tangy, sour yet sweet muffin. These tasty breakfast snacks use up your starter without sacrificing flavor.

Check out this recipe

My Secret for Baking With a Slow Starter

Sourdough discard recipes are a great way to bake with a slow and sluggish starter. You don’t have to worry about timing, and you can still enjoy that sourdough tang.

But what if you want to make naturally leavened artisan bread? Should you still discard sourdough starter daily?

Let me tell you my little secret: No. You don’t have to discard your starter every day.

Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (17)

In case you didn’t see my White, Wheat, and Rye Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe, you may want to check it out. In that particular recipe, I make a levain with my starter the night before I mix my bread.

To make the levain in that recipe, I take 3/4 of a teaspoon of my starter and combine it with 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water and set it aside. This essentially mimics feeding an active starter, as you’re giving a small amount of starter a large amount of food.

By the time morning rolls around and I’m ready to mix my dough, I have an active, bubbly starter that’s ready to go. I’ve successfully used this technique with multiple artisan bread recipes and my bread has still risen beautifully.

Do You Have Suggestions?

You don’t have to waste flour on a daily basis if you want to maintain a sourdough starter. By adjusting how much you feed your starter and by choosing discard recipes, you don’t have to discard your sourdough starter daily.

However, I realize that my recipe list is still somewhat small and limited. Do you have a favorite sourdough discard recipe that you don’t see here? Feel free to submit a recipe of your own, and I’ll share it on my site! Or tell me about what you do with your starter discard in the comments below.

Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? (2024)

FAQs

Do You Have to Discard Sourdough Starter Daily? ›

Room-temperature storage: Feed twice a day

How often should I discard sourdough starter? ›

Experts recommend feeding a starter twice daily. And at each feeding, you hold onto 1/2 cup of your original starter, discard the rest, and then add its same weight in water and flour. With this schedule, you'd discard almost a cup of sourdough starter every day.

Do I have to feed my sourdough starter every day? ›

A starter stored in the fridge will only require feeding once a week to maintain it. If you use your sourdough starter every day, keep it at room temperature. Follow the feeding instructions above and then leave it at room temperature. You will need to 'feed' it every day (at the same time, if possible).

Can I leave my sourdough starter out all the time? ›

Mature sourdough starter aged more than 6 months old should be able to survive unfed on the counter for around 3-4 days without any risk of mold. The caveat here is if the temperature is very hot, this timeframe would be reduced. A mature sourdough starter will survive unfed in the fridge for months.

Can you skip a day of feeding your sourdough starter? ›

Don't worry — everything will be just fine. A sourdough starter is often likened to a pet, but unlike a puppy, if you forget to feed it when you're supposed to, nothing bad will happen. Because even though starters are technically alive, they're incredibly resilient.

Can I feed my sourdough starter without discarding? ›

If your recipe calls for more than 227g (about 1 cup) of starter, feed it without discarding until you've reached the amount you need (plus 113g to keep and feed again).

What happens if you don't discard sourdough starter? ›

If you don't discard your sourdough starter, it will grow too big and be unmanageable. Not to mention you will go through an unmentionable amount of flour.

Should I stir my sourdough starter between feedings? ›

stir your starter in between feedings - try stirring it twice in between feedings and really give it a chance to get oxygen into the mix. This will help to activate your starter without too much effort.

What is the difference between active starter and discard? ›

Active starter and discard both come from the same sourdough starter. However, they are in different phases. Active starter has been fed flour and water within the last 12 hours or so and is growing until it hits its peak. Once it begins to fall it is considered discard.

How long can sourdough starter go without feeding? ›

A starter stored in the fridge can be fed once a week. If you plan to use it often, you can store it for up to two months without feeding. When you want to use the starter again, remove it from the fridge for a few hours, then feed it every 12 hours for 36 hours before you make bread with it.

Can I feed my starter at night and use it in the morning? ›

Yes, if you have just fed it. Since the night is rather long, feed it in a 1:4:4 ratio so that's not over fermented by the morning.

How old is the oldest sourdough starter? ›

The World's 'Oldest' Sourdough Starter Was Made With 4,500-Year-Old Yeast. There's no bread quite like sourdough. In addition to being tasty as a sandwich bread, delicious as sourdough croutons, and even great just toasted with butter, sourdough's production process is decidedly unlike other breads.

How do you know if you killed your sourdough starter? ›

How to tell if your sourdough starter is dead?
  1. Even after 5 refreshing periods the starter isn't bubbling or showing signs of activity.
  2. If the starter smells rotten. ...
  3. If mold is growing.
May 18, 2021

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

Do I have to discard my sourdough starter? 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.

Why is my starter bubbling but not rising? ›

If your starter gets completely covered on top with bubbles but does not rise, it is healthy but may just be a wet mix. Try reducing the water in your next feeding and see if you have different results. Also, the type of flour you are using can impede the rise of your starter.

Can you use sourdough starter the same day you feed it? ›

It's not a good idea to use a sourdough starter right after feeding. Ideally you should wait at least 2-4 hours. When you first feed a sourdough starter, it's at its weakest point. It has not had time to consume the sugars in the flour and is flat and inactive.

How do you know if you need to throw out sourdough starter? ›

As you can see (or smell!), a sourdough starter should have a sour, tangy, and yeasty aroma, with subtle undertones depending on the type of flour used. However, offensive or foul odours such as rancid, putrid, or mouldy smells are signs that something has gone wrong with the starter.

How often should you change your sourdough starter container? ›

How Often Should I Clean My Sourdough Starter Jar? Use the same jar daily and keep it as clean as possible. During a feeding, discard part of your starter per usual and then scrape down as much residual starter as possible, reincorporating it back into the mixture.

How do you know when you can use sourdough discard? ›

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.

How long can you keep a sourdough starter alive? ›

Warmer homes or frequent baking will require more frequent feeding (around every 12 hours), while colder homes every 24 hours. Storing your sourdough starter in the fridge will require feeding around once a week. It can, however, be stored up to two months in the fridge without being fed.

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