Ways To Use Your Extra Sourdough Starter (2024)

FAQs

Ways To Use Your Extra Sourdough Starter? ›

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.

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.

Make More Sourdough Starter Using 1:1:1 Ratio

Even if you only had 10g of starter and you wanted 200g of starter, you'd just have to feed it at 1:10:10 which would mean adding 100g of flour and 100g of water to that 10g of sourdough starter.

I've kept mine in the fridge for up to 3-4 weeks without feeding and used it in sourdough discard recipes and it was just fine. As long as it's not growing mold or bad bacteria, it's safe to use.

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.

With each sourdough starter feeding, you'll be discarding some to avoid it from becoming overly acidic. Most will compost or trash this discard, but you can save it and use it in other recipes!

Yes you can mix two different starters together. Sometimes people combine starters of different ages and flour types. Combining two or more starters together will alter their flavor and behavior.

Begin by discarding all but 1/2 cup of the old starter. Then, feed the remaining starter with fresh flour and water. The feeding ratio should ideally be 1:1:1 (starter:flour:water). Leave the mixture at room temperature until it becomes bubbly and active, which usually takes about a day.

When should you throw out a sourdough discard? ›

You can store sourdough discard in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It's fine to leave it on the counter for up 24 hours, however if you aren't planning to use it straight away it's always better to store it in the fridge.

*Do not try baking with your starter right after feeding it. Allow time for it to grow and feast on the flour before using it. Starters are usually ready to bake with around 4-12 hours after a feeding depending on the amount you feed your starter. The larger the feeding, the more time it needs to ferment.

To know that you have an active starter, look to see how it's grown — as you've fed the starter, it should have doubled in volume. It should also look very bubbly and slightly foamy at the surface. The scent is as important as the look.

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).

Premature discarding and overfeeding will weaken your starter and elongate the process. Don't discard and re-feed a weak starter before it shows increasing bubble activity or height from the previous feeding. If you don't see more bubbles or a faster rise each day, skip a feeding, and give it more time.

Your workers are there, they are just overwhelmed with too much food and water. When this happens, first leave it out in the warmth overnight. In the morning discard all but a tablespoon of starter and feed it. Feed it 2x per day until you see it rising to double its size.

Why You Must Discard Some of Your Sourdough Starter Before You Feed It. 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. Let's say you start with 50g of flour & water on day 1.

Room-temperature starter should be fed every 12 hours (twice a day) using the standard maintenance feeding procedure: discard all but 113g, and feed that 113g starter with 113g each water and flour.

If you don't feed your starter regularly, particularly once it's collapsed, you will allow the yeast and bacteria to starve. You also risk the bacteria being too weak to overcome the bad bacteria, like mold.