First, what is sourdough discard?
It is the sourdough starter that is removed or “discarded” before feeding (adding fresh flour and water) your sourdough starter in order to manage its growth and refresh the acidity levels.
Sourdough discard lasts 1-2 days at room temperature, a week or so in the fridge and indefinitely in the freezer – so there is every reason to find a use for it.
Finding uses for sourdough discard is nearly as veracious as enthusiasm for sourdough bread itself. There are collections of sourdough discard recipes littered all over the sourdough community – so I will keep this short.
Rosemary or black pepper
In little under ten minutes, Freya (13) and I made rosemary, and black pepper sourdough crackers. One batch, split in half and flavoured separately.
113g White flour or whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
227g discarded sourdough starter – left longer if you want a more cheese flavour
57g olive oil
Batch 1: two big sprigs of fresh, then dried, local foraged rosemary, finely chopped
Batch 2 – a good few turns of black pepper
Mix everything together. Rest for at least 30 mins in the fridge.
Roll out thinly. 3-4 millimetres. Brush with oil. Prick with a fork. Cut into the size squares you want (a pizza wheel is helpful here).
Preheat oven 180˚C and bake for 20-25 minutes until starting to brown around the edges and then allow to cool.
Rosemary wins!