Are you looking for a great way to use your discard starter? This Spelt Sourdough Discard Bread will transform your sourdough discard into something extraordinary with incredible flavor. It has a strong sour taste that I love, a moist crumb and a nice firm crust.
When you work with sourdough, you end up with a lot of discard over time. So much food gets thrown away and to me it just feels wrong to throw away the discard when feeding my starter, because you can use it for many things. For example, I like to use my discard to make breads with high hydration.
Just give it a try and you’ll see that it would be a shame to just throw away all the discard, because you can make this kind of bread without much effort and it tastes simply delicious.
Tools & Equipment
- 20,5×10,5cm/8×4-inch Pullman loaf pan with lid
- Digital thermometer
- Jar with lid
- Medium saucepan with lid
- Parchment paper
- Pastry brush
- Silicone spatula
- Wire rack
Recipe Tips
Discard Starter: I used 400g of discard and 200g of fresh starter for this recipe. This may seem a lot, but depending on how long you have kept your discard starter in the fridge, it will develop more or less flavor. If you think your discard starter might be too sour, just use less. But keep in mind, that the bread won’t taste as sour as the starter smells.
Baking Pan: If you don’t have a Pullman baking pan with a lid on hand, you can alternatively bake the bread in a regular loaf pan with a size of 23×13cm/9×5-inches.
Create Steam: If you do not have a pan with a lid, you can use a 2nd loaf pan of the same or slightly smaller size as an alternative and place it on top of the loaf pan with the dough. This will create steam. If you don’t have an extra loaf pan, you can place a heatproof bowl on the bottom of the oven and fill it with water to create steam.
Ingredients for Spelt Sourdough Discard Bread
Directions – How to Make Spelt Sourdough Discard Bread
Make the Levain (Fresh Starter)
Take your starter out of the fridge the night before you want to start baking. Combine mother starter, spelt flour, whole wheat flour and water in a jar, seal with a lid. Let it sit overnight at room temperature. The next morning it should have doubled in size.
Make the Bread
Combine discard starter, levain, spelt flour, water and salt in a medium saucepan and stir until fully incorporated, for about 1-2 minutes. Cover the saucepan with a lid and let it ferment for about 2-3 hours, depending of the temperature in your kitchen.
Grease your loaf pan with non-stick spray and add some oats to the loaf pan. Rotate the pan a couple of times until the oats are evenly distributed. Pour the dough into the pan. Sprinkle some oats on top of the loaf. Cover with the lid or a kitchen towel and let it proof for about 1-3 hours.
Preheat the oven to the highest temperature. Reduce oven temperature to 230°C/450°F and spray some water on top of the loaf, then cover the pan with the lid. Bake until core temperature reaches 80°C/176°F, for about 30-35 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking until the internal temperature is about 90-95°C/195-203°F, for another 15-20 minutes. Release the bread from the pan, bake on parchment for another 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Storage: Store the bread in a cotton bag or wrap it in a large kitchen towel. It will stay fresh at room temperature for about 4-5 days. Never store bread in the fridge.
Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the bread by cutting it into slices or wrapping a whole loaf tightly in aluminum foil, plastic or a freezer bag. If stored properly, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. To thaw, remove the frozen loaf from the freezer the night before and let it thaw on the counter at room temperature without wrapping. In the morning, lightly moisten the top of the bread with a little water and bake at 175°C/350°F for about 15-20 minutes.
My Summary for Spelt Sourdough Discard Bread
Difficulty: Simple.
Taste & Texture: For this bread I used a larger amount of discard starter and less fresh levain, therefore it has a distinct sour taste. The bread has a high hydration and is therefore moist, has an open crumb with a nice crust.
Time: Preparation time is short, because you mix the ingredients briefly and later simply pour the dough into the pan. Most of the time you spend waiting: Fermenting the dough takes about 2-3 hours, it depends on the temperature in your kitchen. Then it needs to proof in the pan for another 1-3 hours and baking time is about 55-60 minutes. I recommend letting the bread cool overnight, because it tastes even better the next day.
More “DISCARD” Recipes
- Country Sourdough Discard Bread
- Pain de Campagne with Sourdough Discard
- Pumpkin and Sunflower Sourdough Discard Bread
- Rye Sourdough Discard Bread
- Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
