This Sourdough Discard Bread is the result of working with homemade sourdough. When you start making your own sourdough starter and of course later when you use your starter for baking sourdough bread, you will feed it over and over again to activate and maintain it.
Overt time you produce a lot of “discard” and I think it’s too bad to throw it all away, so I decided to turn it into this bread instead. I gather my discard in a separate jar and keep it in the fridge until ready to use. When you open the jar, you can already sense a good sour smell, which is perfect for making this bread.
This bread has a high hydration and transforms your sourdough discard into something extraordinary with an amazing flavor. Give it a try and you’ll see that it would be a shame to just throw all that “discard” away.
Tools & Equipment
- 30x11cm / 12 x 4-inch loaf pan
- Medium saucepan with lid
- Plastic wrap or bag
- Silicone spatula
- Spoon
- Wire rack
Recipe Tips
Prepare Your Starter: remove your starter from the fridge 2 days before the actual baking and feed it twice a day in the ratio 1:5:5 (mother dough, flour, water). This will give you enough time to activate your starter.
Acidity: the long fermentation of the discard starter produces strong flavors. In case the dough seems too acidic, you can adjust the acidity level by simply using a little less discard. However, the bread will not taste as sour as the dough may smell. In the end it’s a matter of preference, of course.
Hydration: this dough has a high hydration. Do not even try to knead it, simply stir all the ingredients together. Most of the water evaporates in the baking process, creating a nice open crumb.
Loaf Pan: the dough is very liquid due to the high hydration, so you cannot bake it on a baking sheet or in a dutch oven. It would not hold its shape, that’ s why a loaf pan is just the perfect pan to bake this bread in.
Ingredients for Sourdough Discard Bread
Step by Step Guide – How to Make Sourdough Discard Bread
Combine the discard starter, fresh starter, flour, water, salt and seeds in a medium saucepan.
Stir until everything is fully incorporated, for about 1-2 minutes. Cover the saucepan with a lid and let it ferment for about 5 hours.
Grease your loaf pan and add some oats to the loaf pan if desired. Rotate the pan until the oats are evenly distributed. Pour the dough into the pan with and smooth the surface. Sprinkle some oats on top and cover with plastic.
Let it proof for 3 hours. Preheat the oven to the highest temperature and place a heatproof container on the bottom. Reduce the temperature to 230°C / 450°F and place the pan in the oven. Add boiling water to the container to create steam and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the water from the oven and bake until the internal temperature is about 90-95°C, for 20-25 minutes.
Storage: store your loaf in a cotton bread bag or wrap it in a large kitchen towel to allow the bread to breathe. It usually lasts for about 4-5 days at room temperature. Make sure to not refrigerate your bread.
To freeze, slice the bread or keep a whole loaf and wrap tightly with aluminum foil, plastic wrap or place in a freezer bag. It will maintain its best quality for about 3 months, if stored properly.
Take the frozen loaf out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw at room temperature on the work surface, still wrapped. In the morning, moisten the bread slightly with water and bake at 175°C / 350°F for about 15-20 minutes.
My Summary for Sourdough Discard Bread
Difficulty: simple.
Taste: I feed my starter with rye flour. Therefore, this is a rye bread with a distinctive, strong and sour taste. So if you like this type of bread, this is a perfect bread for you.
Texture: the bread is moist with a nice crust. By adding whole wheat flour to the dough, the bread has a more open crumb.
Time: active prep time is minimal, as you just mix the ingredients together briefly and later simply pour the dough into the pan. Waiting time is what takes the longest: fermenting the dough takes about 5 hours, next it needs to proof for another 3 hours followed by baking for about 50 minutes. On top of that, there is the cooling time at the end. I suggest letting the bread cool overnight, which makes it taste even better the next day.
