Should we take a break from baking bread for a bit? How about just one entry… Trust me, it will be worth it when you try one of my top 3 leftover sourdough starter recipes below. Plus, it’s still considered baking if we’re using a starter in a roundabout way, right? This post presents a few ways to utilize our excess sourdough starter discarded at each feeding (refreshment).
Since I feed my sourdough starter twice daily, I usually have an excess of starter in the morning and evening. Many see this excess as “waste,” but it can be used for many things besides going into your compost bin. After all, this waste can be seen as food for our starter so it can continue living.
The following recipes are tried and true here in my kitchen. I’ve made the waffles and pancakes so many weekends the process has become ritualistic: mix the batter the night before to ferment overnight, wake and finish mixing, and then get cooking.
My previously outlined schedule for creating a sourdough starter and my guide on maintaining a sourdough starter will work well with any of the following recipes, ensuring you have enough starter each day to meet the requirements. Note that you might have to adjust the hydration of the recipes below to suit your sourdough starter. If you maintain a stiffer starter (60-75% hydration), you might have to add more liquid until the consistency of the batter is typical for what you’re making.
My Best Sourdough Waffles
Lengthy fermentation time makes my best sourdough waffles impossibly light, crunchy, and slightly tangy. In addition to the wonderful flavor, because the flour is fermented for several hours, the entire batter becomes aerated, resulting in a waffle that will surprise you on your first bite. They have just the right ratio of sweet to savory, with a slight but noticeable tang at the end.
I made these recently on a snowy day here in Albuquerque, which fits perfectly with warm waffles. Arya, our German shepherd, wanted to go outside to do some hiking and investigating in the snow. It’s funny to watch shepherds outside when it snows: they run around eating the snow, digging here and there, and generally creating a little storm of their own.
As adults (maybe it’s just me?), we’re hesitant to get dirty and make a mess; sometimes, it’s great to see kids or your pets throw all that aside and care only about the moment. Thankfully, a batch of sourdough starter waffle batter was fermented and ready to hit the iron.
If you have sourdough starter discard ready, try these waffles, you’ll love them!
Sourdough Starter Pancakes
Pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast indulgences. I have memories as a child waking up to the upstairs kitchen (yes, strangely, our kitchen was upstairs, and all the bedrooms were downstairs—that’s the 50s for you) smelling like batter and butter. Fresh fruit to the top was always a staple, as was good maple syrup. I’m not a diehard maple syrup, but really, anything less than 100% maple syrup is kind of a letdown for these beautiful sourdough pancakes.
These can be made quickly and easily on a whim; you need very little pre-planning to make these happen (isn’t that usually the case on late Sunday mornings?). I’ve used this core recipe a dozen different ways based on the season: pureed pumpkin mixed in during November, fresh blueberries tossed into the batter during the summer, and ricotta added in at, well, any time of the year. If you’ve made pancakes before, you know just how versatile they can be.
I like to use a smoking hot griddle to cook pancakes; it makes a huge difference in the quality of your pancakes. If you don’t have one, you can pick up a cast iron griddle for relatively cheap, and it’ll last a lifetime.
Baker’s Banana Bread
Banana bread is something I had at least once a month growing up. A family of four always seems to have excess bananas on hand, you know, those in the kitchen that are so black and mushy no one ever touches them. Well, these are the bananas you want to use for this banana bread!
This banana bread could easily become zucchini bread by swapping out the bananas (or you can keep them) with grated and pressed zucchini (after you grate the zucchini into fine little strands, press them between two paper towels to extract some of the moisture out).
What I love most about this banana bread is that the ingredients are flexible and include items I always have on hand—a baker’s banana bread, if you will.
What’s Next?
So there you have it, my top 3 leftover sourdough starter recipes. If you get into a good rhythm, and with little extra planning, you can make a superb breakfast each weekend (or weekday if you go late).
Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, and with the recipes above, it’s just that much better. While not technically a breakfast food, banana bread is perfect in the morning with a cappuccino or pour-over.
For more, see my roundup of sourdough starter discard recipes.
716 Comments
Re Pancakes: Looks great, but assuming a “normal” diameter, how many pancakes can be made from the recipe?
Bonus Question/Request: Make it easy to print individual recipes!
so hard to say how many can be made, like you hinted it really depends on the diameter. I have to say when I make these, which is almost every weekend (either the pancakes or the waffles), I end up with a different amount each time 🙂
Yes, would be nice to print these separately… Hard for me to implement that right now, though! With my print function above, you can click on various blocks of text and delete it from the printout, this will work but might take you an extra minute or two to thin down the post. Sorry about that!
Maurizio, thank you for always being so responsive to readers! It’s a pleasure to follow everything you’re working on.
My question is about the approximate mass/volume of mashed banana you’re using here. I like to freeze my bananas when they’ve gotten to the blackened point and save them for banana bread. I have a few different sizes in the freezer and I’m just wondering how much to use. Thank you in advance!
You’re very welcome — sorry for the delay to your message! I don’t think the exact quantity of banana matters, as long as it’s approximate. Because it’s baked in a pan there’s no worry about a lack of structure, so long as it doesn’t go overboard. I’d just eyeball it 🙂
Hello! I am excited to make the pancakes and am doing the overnight option. Wondering how much ricotta I should thow in? Does it matter? Thank you!
It definitely matters if you’re adding ricotta. I usually just do a big spoonful, whatever I have lying around!
Just made pancakes this morning, prepared the starter and flour the night before, I find the gluten development is much better and the pancakes are not doughy. I used 2 eggs and your last 5 ingredients, they were awesome. I have found perfection, thank you. P.S. I made bombolinos on Christmas morning, thank you for your recipes. I appreciate them, they make life better 🙂
Great idea there! Glad all of this is working out so well for ya. And yes, bomboloni make like much, much better 🙂
Hi! I have a question regarding baking soda… could I not add it? is the sourdough not enough to make them a bit fluffly?
You could try leaving it out but then you’d need to ensure sufficient fermentation in the batter/dough to leaven what you’re making. This would mean several hour fermentation times (or overnight) at least. You’d have to experiment with each of these to see the sweet spot for fermentation!
Hello! How long do you think leftover starter can be safely stored in the fridge? I have a few quart containers full of starter discard that I have been accumulating and I want to bake off a few batches of waffles or breads to freeze. I have had two of the containers for about 4 or 5 months, the others about 2 weeks.
Thanks!
Hard to say precisely. I’ve heard from readers who will store discard for a week or two and add it in as a flavoring additive and have had great results with this. At some point you might run the risk of spoilage, depending on the acidity in the mixture. I’d say get into a weekly or bi-monthly routine for using discard up in one of these recipes on the weekend 🙂
Glad to hear that and thanks so much for the kind words (both of you)! Yes, I use my starter to make pizza all the time — like almost every week, especially in the summer. Have a look at my sourdough pizza dough recipe! Happy baking 🙂
Hi Maurizio! First of all – THANK YOU for the awesome bread recipe! I am new to sourdough baking and after many failures came across your blog, tried your beginner’s sourdough bread recipe and voila – the result was perfect. Surpassed all expectations.
I have a question about pancakes. I have egg allergy in my family and also a weekend pancake tradition. I am intrigued by your recipe and want to try sourdough pancakes, but how can I lose eggs in this recipe? Can you recommend an adjustment that would allow me to make it without eggs?
That’s great! Happy to hear that. I’m not too sure on what you could use to sub out the eggs but I believe flaxseed is a common egg replacer. If you use flaxseed in other recipes and are familiar with the process, I’d say go with that approach and see how they turn out!
Hi! I have already made the pancakes before and I absolutely loved the complex, slightly savory flavor and fluffy texture. I’m curious though, since I only have time to feed my starter once a day and opted for the overnight fermentation option, I was using starter that was hungry and had already fallen. If I had used starter that was mature and at its peak activity, would it have affected the pancakes’ rise and flavor? Would it be better to just skip the overnight rest and sacrifice some extra fermented flavor for a more active starter?
Awesome, Allison! Glad to hear you liked the pancakes. With the pancakes it’s not so critical that you use your starter right at its peak, it’s ok if it’s a little before or after. I find these recipes are rather forgiving and have a wide window in which it’s ok to use your starter (I do like to time things more precisely for bread, however).
I hope that answers your Q’s!
just made the banana bread. amazing texture. my only complaint is that it could use more flavor. the most flavorful recipe i’ve ever used has been from america’s test kitchen. they microwave the bananas, strain the juice and reduce in a pan. i wonder how i can utilize that method using this recipe. any thoughts? thanks!
I run into the same issue from time-to-time as well. For me, it always boils down to the bananas themselves: if they’re not super, super ripe (like totally black and mushy) then I don’t even bother using them. You could try using one, or even two, more bananas as well.
On another note, one thing I’ve been doing recently with this recipe is to use an immersion blender to blitz together the bananas and all the liquids, then combine everything together. This makes a super smooth paste, if you will, that really improves the texture. It also makes it easy to increase the quantity of bananas to really bring more of that flavor into the result.
I do like ATK’s idea of condensing the flavors by reducing the bananas! I’ll have to give that a try.
Let me know if any of this helps! I make my recipe very often and just can’t get enough 🙂
i just made the banana bread with day-old discard starter and as muffins. Success! Didn’t change anything else about the recipe except I baked them for 25 minutes instead of the 55, rotating halfway through because one half of my oven is hotter than the other half. Love this recipe! Thanks, Maurizio!
That’s awesome to hear, Laura! I’ve been meaning to try my bread in a muffin tin… Now I know it’ll be a success — thanks for that update! Enjoy 🙂
I’ve been making the banana bread and pancakes with discarded starter like what Maurizio described, but that I’ve stored in the fridge for several days. This morning I made the pancakes with discarded starter from 9 days ago and they were fantastic!
I tried to find a veganized recipe version in the comments, but couldn’t. I just made the pancakes with a flax egg (1tbs ground flax + 3 tbs water) for each egg, a neutral oil (grapeseed) for the butter, and soy milk. They turned out great! Has anyone veganized the waffles yet?
Sounds like really great substitutions! Haven’t heard from anyone who has made the waffles vegan… yet 🙂
I’ve been veganizing both the waffles and pancakes for a couple years now! I didn’t find a flax egg to work very well for the waffles, they come out somewhat hollow. I’ve used both VeganEgg and Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer to excellent effect in the waffle recipe. Recently, I’ve been using Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer for two eggs then whipping up some aquafaba for the egg whites. I don’t think the aquafaba egg white step is necessary though. Also, I highly recommend using a good vegan butter (I recommend Miyoko’s!) for optimal flavor.
It seems that the measurement of honey in your banana bread is off.
You’re right, it should be 42g (about 2 tbsp) — thank you!
Hi Maurizio, in the overnight version of the pancakes, you omit mention of the butter. Do you incorporate it at night, or the next morning?
Great catch; I’ve updated the post to indicate the melted butter should be added in the morning along with the salt and other ingredients.
Thanks and enjoy!
I’ve just made the banana bread – wow! It is delicious. Such depth of flavour. The bananas I had were huge so probably ended up with almost twice as much as the recipe called for…but the banana bread is extra moist and squishy, which is what we like in our household!
Glad to hear that, Fiona! Thanks so much for the feedback. I’m actually getting ready to make that this weekend, for probably the millionth time — can’t get enough! Enjoy 🙂
Wondering about sourdough wraps or tortilla type wrap recipes?
Yes, those are definite possibilities. In fact, it’s something I’ve been working on a for a little while now… I’ll have a recipe up here when I finalize a formula!
hey there! been developing my starter for some time and FINALLY made your pancakes. delish! I added more milk as recommended as my starter is thicker and they came out really yummy – although I was hoping for just a little more sour. where in the process should I adjust to achieve that? I used the discard from my mother starter and let it stand for the 30min – wondering if 1. I should let it sit a little longer otr as you suggested make the overnight version (more sour?) -or – 2. maybe leave the salt out until after the 30min as it seems like it might retard the 30min jumpstart of the batter. thoughts? thank for your site, it’s been sooo helpful to me.
Glad to hear that, Jeny! If you want to make them more sour try adding more of your starter into the mix or add in a little whole grain flour (whole grain wheat or rye) into the mix by substituting out the white flour. Either of those should help!
Thank you! My starter is with rye & white, so it likes whole grain already for sure ; ) Just made the waffles and the were much more my speed on the sour level – so yummy! I went a little heavier on starter for them and will try that as well for the pancakes (and also the overnight version). Appreciate all the help and insight -thanks again.
I am a rank beginner, just on the fourth day of my first starter. I am interested in eventually making your waffle and pancake recipes. My question is how do you end up with a cup and a half of starter using your sourdough from scratch recipe? Also what is meant by a stirred down starter? I am assuming you are stirring the bubbles out of a mature starter.
Thanks so much for your site, it is what got me interested in actually doing this.
Lyndon: I answered your other comment but I’ll paste it here as well for others to see:
“Stirred down” just means exactly that: you stir the starter with a spatula to get it to fall and condense in the jar. When I’m going to make the pancakes or waffles I’ll usually feed my starter a little extra flour and water the day before in the morning so I have enough by the night time. If you find you’re a little short, don’t fret, just use what you have and can spare (don’t forget to keep some starter in the jar so you can perpetuate your culture) and mix it up — it’ll ferment just fine overnight. Have fun and enjoy, Lyndon!
Hey Lyndon! I wondered the same thing when I started – how in the world will this little starter be able to used in recipes calling for much more?? If you plan ahead, the starter you discard from the mother can be fed at the same time into its own batch and that can be used for your recipe, preserving the mother starter. Does that make sense?
I made the pancakes using the overnight fermentation process & though the pancakes were super fluffy & light, I found them to be too sour. What went wrong?
That’s awesome! You could try reducing the amount of starter you add to the batter to reduce that sourness — it might have fermented a bit too far. Try cutting that amount in half and see if the sourness is reduced, then adjust as necessary until you find just the right flavor profile.
I ended up not fermenting it overnight & it turned out great! I’m still very new to this whole starter thing. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe & helpful site!
Hi Maurizio,
I’ve just made the waffle batter for tomorrow’s breakfast with my grandkids. The recipe says to leave at room temp overnight. It’s a hot 77 degrees here. Will the milk in the batter spoil after sitting for 8 hours or does the starter properly ferment the milk over night?
That temp should be just fine. The acidity in the milk/buttermilk will keep things safe until the next day. Enjoy!
Made the pancakes this morning, and they are hands down the best pancakes I’ve ever had. Not only was the texture incredibly airy and fluffy, but the flavor was wonderfully developed – not really sour, but not “flat”/1-dimensional like most pancakes I eat/make. I ended up eating them on their own without toppings… next time I’ll try some syrup and fruit, but they were honestly delicious by themselves. Thanks for the recipe!
Glad to hear that, Katherine! You pretty much summed up exactly why I love these pancakes. Happy baking and thanks for the feedback!
Hi Maurizio! I made the banana bread last night and it came out so so delicious! It actually tastes similar to the ones they sell on the side of the road in Maui!
I actually made it once over a year ago, but that time the banana bread came out dense, dry, and a bit tasteless. Fast forward a year and I learned that my oven tends to run hot (so my first banana bread I made a year ago was definitely over-baked) and I also realized I needed to use BLACK (gooey, fermented) bananas (the first time I used bananas that were heavily spotted with black but still relatively yellow).
So this time, I used my 3 black bananas that looked really ugly and were almost liquid to the touch. I also used coconut oil instead of butter (husband and I are both off-dairy at this point) I used Trader Joe’s Organic Triple Filtered Coconut Oil that has barely any coconut flavor to it (I didn’t want a strong coconut flavor to overwhelm the banana bread; using this brand, I don’t even taste coconut at all in the finished product). The ratio I used was 102.06 grams of coconut oil + 23.94 grams of a liquid (I read that butter is fat plus liquid at a specific ratio, so if you just used all coconut oil it would be too oily). I used soy milk as my liquid.
I also used 200 grams of cake flour….I figured I couldn’t “cream” the butter and sugar to lighten up the mix since I wasn’t using butter, so I thought cake flour might help me create a lighter, less dense cake.
I then baked at 325, which is my oven’s equivalence to 350.
The last “trick” I tried is that I wrapped up the banana bread in plastic wrap when it was still very warm and then let it sit overnight. The condensation actually made the banana bread very very very moist.
Anyways, the results really are fantastic. I wanted to share in case others out there wanted to try a dairy free version.
I did have a question…I can’t quite figure out how many grams of cake flour I should have used. Isn’t cake flour “lighter” than all purpose flour, so does that mean I should have used more cake flour than the 200 grams?
Thank you so much for sharing all of these amazing recipes. You are the best!
That’s great to hear, Diana! Yes, first off the bananas have to be super, super ripe. Like you said, almost ready to turn to liquid. This really helps add texture, flavor, and moisture to the result.
Thanks for posing all of you modifications, too. Really interesting changes I’ll have to try next time I make this (which is often!). I’ve never thought to wrap the bread up to retain moisture, another really awesome idea.
No, still use the same weight of flour even if it’s pastry or cake flour. Usually this flour is heavily sifted (making it more white, removing lots and lots of bran/germ) and is made from “softer” wheat. This means it usually has a really low protein percentage — hard to make bread with this flour, but really nice for other baked goods as it makes for a super tender crumb.
Glad I could help and happy baking!
Thank you for your time Maurizio! Your help is much appreciated! I am really excited now as I believe I am ready to start trying the recipes for pancakes, waffle, and beginner bread!
Thank you, Maurizio, for the pancake recipe—they turned out delicious! I am so amazed with how everything turns out so delicious using sourdough starter. You truly have the most helpful website on how to make sourdough breads/sweetbreads! I am forever grateful for you. I haven’t had so much joy in the kitchen ever since I made my sourdough starter from your site a few months ago.
Thanks so much Kathryn! Happy to hear all that. The uses for sourdough starter discard really are endless!
Hi, just now working on my sourdough starter. Reading about what to do with leftover starter. Can you please clarify for me what left-over starter can be used for these recipes. I am on day 5 of making my 1st sourdough starter. What exactly is meant by “ripe” starter? Thank you for your time. – Sincerely, Jonathan
Once your starter is rising and falling predictably each day it’s ready to be used for baking bread. When you feed your starter each day, the amount you remove from your starter (per my guides) is what you could use for the recipes here — that is the “ripe” starter. Happy baking!
Maurizio, thank you so much for the recipe! Just made the waffles today, and it was heavenly. Both my husband and I voted the best waffles ever! I made it with 40% whole wheat and 60% AP flour.
Really glad to hear that, Blair! I make these waffles almost every weekend, they’re the highlight of my weekend 🙂 Enjoy!
Just tried it with 1.5 cups of hydrated and very active L. sanfranciscensis starter fermented overnight with 1.5 cups of flour and 3 very ripe bananas. Finished with 6 Tbl melted butter, 2 eggs, vanilla extract, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and baked @ 350F. Decent lift and tangy taste, but still balanced. Moist, approaching mushy, could use 5 extra minutes beyond clean toothpick and maybe 4-8 hours extra fermentation for added lift. It’s a very wet dough due to the hydrated starter
Fantastic, thanks for that update. I need to get this test going over here! I’d definitely expect some tang to it, but I bet the sugar and bananas help balance it out, as you said. Perhaps reduced hydration would also help control the mushy texture — although a super soft, tender banana bread is a great thing!
Great ideas, thanks. Is there a version of the banana bread which relies only on the yeast for leavening, rather than baking soda? Thank you!
I actually haven’t made this without baking soda, surprisingly. It could work, you’d have to drastically change the timetable and let the dough ferment quite a bit longer, similar to a regular loaf of bread. I’ll have to try this sometime…
Just made the waffles. I have never had a better waffle. Used 50% whole wheat bread flour (good quality local mill) and 50% AP. Recipe made 3.5 bakes in my large All-Clad waffle maker (14 square waffles). Texture is crispy yet tender and the taste is gorgeous. There’s a slight hint of sourness which makes your mouth water and the aroma is of a traditional pastry shop. I’m sold, Sir. Well done.
Thanks and super glad to hear that! Yes, it’s that slight sourness in there that really makes these waffles something special. It’s a little unexpected but it seems to help brighten and heighten all the other flavors. Enjoy!
Perfect. You all enjoy and have a great breakfast!
I have an answer to that question at the bottom of the bomboloni post! In short: I’m not sure as I haven’t tested it. I’d much prefer just using the fridge for a day or two!
Thank you, I’m shaping them this morning, and as I have visitors this evening I will have to fry them in the morning. If they are successful I will post a pic tomorrow! Fingers crossed! Thank you for your wonderful recipes 😊
Do you think the bomboloni would freeze?
Maurizio,
Great starter recipe and the family is loving the starter breakfast foods. I’ve seen one or two stray recipes using starters and I wondered if there were more. Could you post the links to all your starter recipes?
-Mike
That’s awesome, Mike! I have all of my leftover starter recipes over at recipes page, scroll down towards the bottom and you’ll see the section. Happy baking!
Just found this site and recipe. Also, I have used your basic sourdough bread recipe and starter maintenance guide. THANK YOU! I have made the banana bread twice now. The first batch was good but the second round was wonderful. Changes: coconut oil instead of butter, accidently forgot the olive oil, larger chunks of bananas so they kind of ooze out, and added three shredded zucchini that were squeezed very well between paper towels (about 1 cup packed). VERY moist and not too sweet. Excellent recipe. Now, tomorrow will be waffles! Thanks again. (BTW Cute puppy you have there.)
Glad to hear that, Helen! These three recipes are staples here, in fact I’m mixing up yet another batch of the waffle batter tonight for Saturday — as always! I’m just like you, I don’t like cakes like these to be too sweet, just the right balance is needed.
Happy baking!
Ok. One more thing. I tried the banana bread again but this time, I substuted 1/2 cup of cocoa for 1/2 cup of flour. Also added pieces of chocolate. Amazing!
Whoa, truly decadent banana bread — love those mods!