Sourdough Discard: Nothing Goes to Waste

Golden crusty sourdough boule baked fresh on a Michigan homestead

Sourdough discard and canned vegetables baked into a pot pie for chickens

Backyard flock eating sourdough discard and vegetable scraps in the grass

Every day I bake two loaves. One goes to Morgan, Tommy, and the kids; the other is for me. That's the easy part. The part nobody warns you about with sourdough is the discard — the cup of bubbly starter you pour off before each feeding so your jar doesn't stage a revolt and climb out onto the counter.

"If you've ever wondered what to do with sourdough discard instead of dumping it, here's an idea." 

You can throw it away. I don't.

The good discard goes into cookies, banana bread, and tortillas — it adds a little tang and saves me from wasting flour I already paid for. Then there's the discard that's a touch too far gone for human baking, the stuff with attitude. That, paired with whatever sad can of vegetables has been lurking in the back of the pantry since the previous administration, goes out to the hens.

They love it. Carrots, peas, and whatever mass of sour starter — to them it's a five-star tasting menu. (Standards out there are not high.)

So one bag of flour becomes two daily loaves, a batch of tortillas, banana bread for the grandkids, and a chicken buffet. Four jobs, one ingredient, zero trips to the trash can.

— While we're here — Sourdough discard isn't garbage — it's just unfed starter. The wild yeast has gone quiet and the bacteria have made things acidic, which is exactly why it works in cookies and quick breads: that acid reacts with baking soda for lift and adds the sour note. For the chickens, fermented grain is genuinely good gut support — just keep the salt low, which is why you rinse those canned veggies before they go in the bowl.

— Nana