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? ›

Sourdough discard works well in many baked goods that don't require lively yeast—flat foods like crackers, tortillas and pancakes. Or you can use it to flavor recipes that rely on leavening from other sources, such as active dry yeast, baking soda and baking powder.

When can I use sourdough starter discard in recipes? ›

Culinary-wise, sourdough discard can be used in various recipes such as pancakes, waffles, muffins, sourdough pasta and quick breads like sourdough banana bread to impart a tangy flavor, reduce food waste, and add complexity of flavor to your baked goods.

Why discard half of sourdough starter? ›

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.

What to do with too much starter? ›

10 ways to use up sourdough starter
  1. Sourdough crumpets. Add your sourdough starter to crumpet batter for a super light and airy texture. ...
  2. Sourdough crackers. ...
  3. Sourdough pancakes. ...
  4. Sourdough pizza.
  5. Sourdough scones. ...
  6. Sourdough focaccia. ...
  7. Sourdough toad-in-the-hole. ...
  8. Sourdough hot cross buns.

What to do with sourdough starter after it doubles? ›

When the starter has close to doubled, refrigerate it and relax until the next time you want to bake. Try not to let the starter double and sit unfed for more than a few hours at room temp. Either feed it or hibernate it in the refrigerator.

What is sourdough discard good for? ›

It adds a delicious flavor and imparts moisture to recipes which keeps bakes tasting fresher for much longer. You can also use sourdough discard to ferment recipes which makes them healthier and easier to digest.

What is sourdough discard called? ›

Sourdough discard refers to the excess starter that remains after it doubles in size and begins to fall back down. This term can be deceiving though as “discard” doesn't mean it's unusable or wasted. A better way to think of it is as leftovers.

How do you use old sourdough discard? ›

Savoury options include English breakfast muffins, pretzels, caramelised onion biscuits, and sourdough pizza dough. For those with a sweet tooth, you may prefer pancakes, muffins, pumpkin bread, or chocolate cake. Keep reading for our favourite sourdough discard recipes below.

Can you feed starters without discarding? ›

How to increase a starter. 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).

Do I have to discard starter every time I 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.

What is the best flour for sourdough starter? ›

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour. Why do you need to use these two types of flour?

How do you use a large amount of sourdough starter? ›

How to Use Up Your Sourdough Discard
  1. Pizza. Sourdough Pizza Crust. ...
  2. Pancakes & Waffles. Classic Sourdough Pancakes or Waffles. ...
  3. Chocolate chip cookies. Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies. ...
  4. Quick bread. Sourdough Banana Bread. ...
  5. Miscellaneous. Sourdough Granola. ...
  6. Crackers. Sourdough Crackers. ...
  7. Sourdough. ...
  8. Biscuits & Shortcakes.

Can I use more starter in my sourdough? ›

Generally, a smaller amount of sourdough starter is all you need. But there are some instances where you might want to increase the amount of starter you use. Some instances could be: If it's particularly cold, you could increase your sourdough starter to make your bread ferment more quickly.

What to do with sourdough starter when not using? ›

Storing Your Sourdough Starter In The Refrigerator

Take out a new, clean jar with a lid. To the jar add the 20g ripe starter and 100g flour (whatever flour you usually use for feedings). Then, add 80g room temperature water and stir until all dry bits are hydrated. Place a lid on top, and secure.

Do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it? ›

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!

References

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