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
Maurizio, is the waffle recipe using fresh discard from a mature starter or can I use discards that I have been collecting over weeks and kept in the freezer? Thanks in advance for response.
You can use either, Angel!
Wow. Waffles were delicious! and I used discard straight from the fridge. Still incredibly fluffy. I might add a tad more sugar next time. Maybe 4 tsp instead of 2 tsp, but definitely making again. (Used 100% KA AP flour).
THANK YOU! Now I just need some overripe bananas 😀
So glad you liked them, Cindy! They’re an endless playground, too. Add in choc chips, peanut butter chips, fresh fruit… So many options. Enjoy!
Hello, you mentioned that ricotta can be added to the pancake battwe. How much ricotta should I add to the pancake batter? Thank you.
I would start with 1/2 cup, its pretty thick!
Not sure why but these pancakes were a bust 🙁 I used soured 35% whipping cream and a stiff rye starter with red fife. I definitely had to add 2.5x the liquid. Then the frozen blackberries just created wet pockets so they were uncooked. Such a bust. Usually pancakes are a beeeze but I’ll try with milk next time.
Ah bummer! I’d say go with fresh BB’s if you have them as well, I’ve definitely seen them get a little soggy sometimes if they have a lot of water content and then were frozen!
Hi Mauricio, I’m craving waffles for dinner tonight. Can I mix this up and instead of an overnight ferment, ferment in a warm place and than add the rest to make for dinner????
Yes, absolutely!
Hi Maurizio, I have some leftover buttermilk from making Irish soda bread yesterday and I was wondering if I could use it this weekend in the pancake recipe instead of Greek yoghurt? I know it could be used in the waffle recipe but I don’t have a waffle maker unfortunately (although your amazing recipes are making me want to invest one!) so I thought maybe it could go in the pancakes instead? Thanks!
Yes, absolutely, use the buttermilk!
Thank you for taking the time to reply, that’s my Sunday morning breakfast sorted then! Have a good weekend!
If anyone’s wondering, the pancakes work great baked in a sheet pan! This has been my preferred method of pancake-making lately as it’s much less time and effort. I usually use a recipe that has about 3 c. flour for a 13×18 sheet pan (half sheet?), but this recipe works fine as-is without scaling up and produced pancakes about 1/2 in. thick, so if you like thicker pancakes, def. scale up a bit. Butter the bottom and sides of your sheet pan first, pour in the batter, spread even, add any toppings you like, berries, nuts, choc chips, etc., bake at 425 for about 15 mins. Light and fluffy – delicious!
Wow, Val, this is a really great idea! I’m going to try this 🙂
Lol! Thanks – Not my idea, it’s been around the food blogs for a few years, but I’ve recently jumped on the band wagon. I just popped in to report that this pancake recipe works well for this method. You do lose a little bit of the textural contrast, like the crispy edges, of pancakes cooked in skillet/griddle – in a sheet pan, the result is more like baking a thin cake in a cake pan, like what you’d do for a jelly roll or roulade, but to me it’s a “good enough” result on balance with the effort of portioning and flipping saved, and being able to serve everyone at once. Another tool to have in your baking belt…
Different, but good! I could see making a really nice layered “pancake sandwich” of sorts with this…
Another variation on this is after the sheet pan baking (or a large pancake in a big full skillet). Then tear them into pieces (large bite size), and toss & cook in butter until crispy and gold brown. Serve with sprinkle of powder sugar and fruit compote. … and you have Kaiserschmarrn, a traditional dish from the German Bavarian and Tirol Austrian regions.
Best pancakes ever, and my extreme guilt about the waste of flour in the discard is assuaged. Thank you!
So glad to hear you like them, Marianna!
I’m very sure our ancestors did pretty much the same. I don’t see them throwing away stuff.
Great pancake recipe! I let the batter sit for a bit and it was crunchy on the outside, puffy inside, nice high rise. Used a little less sugar and salt, one T and one t, added two T of ground flax seeds, half whole wheat flour. I had yogurt so I used that too, and coconut milk instead of regular, that’s what I had on hand. I added a few frozen berries once in the pan. Really delish!
Oh, your mods sound great!
Delicious, I’ve made all 3!! If you use the overnight fermentation option for the pancakes can you still add the optional yogurt and when would you add it?
Awesome, Rebecca! I’d add the yogurt in the morning (so it stays in the fridge overnight). Enjoy!
So glad you liked them, Maya!
Hi Maurizio,
This sourdough waffle recipe is the BOMB. Have you ever been experimented with adding flavors (like a cinnamon sugar or maybe a chive/green onion)? If so do you have any recommendations for how to modify the recipe? Thank you!
So glad you like it, Liz! I have done some experimentation but mostly with cornmeal, rice flour, and other grains. I know people have reported back with success doing a savory version with scallions!
Oh man, the waffles are amazing! Crispy, tangy goodness. First of anything that I’ve made with my starter and well worth all the work. Thanks Maurizio!
So glad to hear you liked them! I know people who keep their starter just for these waffles 🙂
Hi Maurizio! Love all of your recipes. This site has become my sourdough bible. I made the jalapeno-cheddar loaves this weekend and they are already gone. Thank you! Oddly enough the only recipes that have given me some trouble are these discard recipes. I made the discard waffles this week and they always seemed to come out undercooked. We messed around with heat settings and length of cooking. Both low-and-slow and high-but-shorter-heat resulted in this beautiful dark golden brown much like your picture above. However the interior of the waffles were almost always undercooked and wet. Do I just need to thin out my batter? Or does this recipe simply yield high-moisture waffles?
Thanks, Brock! The interior should be soft but not under cooked. You might want to try adding more flour to the batter, it shouldn’t be _super_ thin at all. But the key really is cook temp and time. I would try dropping the heat and cooking them for longer to ensure they cook all the way through. If you’re using a stove top iron, it can be more challenging to dial that in…
O.M.G. We just finished breakfast. Your pancake recipe is the BOMB! I am not exaggerating when I say these are the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten in my life! We all had seconds. They elevate the whole pancake category and they make me feel so much better about my discard. I’m happy to discard now knowing these pancakes will be the result. Thank you SO much!
Brings a smile to my face, Kimber! So glad to hear you liked them 🙂 Happy baking!
Hi Maurizio! Today I made the banana bread recipe and it tasted amazing. The only thing is that it got a little dry and a bit denser than I was expecting. My sourdough starter was more on the stiff side, could this be the problem? Maybe I overcooked it and it ended up drying out, it’s also a possibility. Let me know if you have any insights. But again, the taste was so good that I want to try again until I nail it down. Many thanks!
Yes, if you have a stiff starter I would definitely add more liquid (whichever you want!) to bring more softness. Also, over-baking can dry it out, try to hit the internal temp I have listed there in the recipe, I usually shoot for 204F or so.
Thank you! I’ll try to do that!
Today I made the banana bread – a small loaf with 1/3 recipe amounts – using spelt, walnuts and a ripe white/wheat starter last fed a week ago. I wanted to compare it with Flour Bakery’s Famous Banana Bread that had been the winner of a taste test by Kitchn.
Tasting the batter it seemed quite acidic (I added a bit more lemon zest, too), and I was rather doubtful about the outcome, almost sure that Joanne Chang’s bread would be better. I asked 5 people to sample the banana breads side-by-side, without knowing anything about them. The unanimous result: EVERYONE LIKED IT BEST! All of us found it much more flavorful, and not acidic at all.
I had my fun with the taste test, and will definitely bake your banana bread again. Sourdough rules!
Wow, huge praise right there! So glad to hear you guys all liked it. I do find it has more flavor and a better texture, but I’m biased 🙂 Enjoy!
Hi Maurizio, hi from Australia! can I just say what a wealth of knowledge, this whole blog is fantastic so thank you so much. With the overnight fermentation what’s the reasoning behind room temp vs going back in my 26.5C environment where my starter lives?
Hey, Michael! Glad you’re liking the site–a lot to learn, but so fun along the way. Nope, you can totally drop it back into your proofing environment, no problem. That’s a bit warmer than I typically keep my dough (maybe 24C or so) during bulk, so keep an eye on your dough as it’s proofing! Happy baking 🙂
How is it safe to leave milk sitting out all night long? Doesn’t this risk food poisoning?
It hasn’t been an issue for me in many years of baking and making these! I think the acidification that occurs coupled with the fact that the milk is cool and doesn’t excessively warm, works in the end. However, if you’re every concerned, skip the overnight fermentation option–these are wonderful made the morning-of!
I think it depends on where you live. Someone living in Canada has not the same circumstances as someone living in Greece or South India.
(This said, in South India they do leave yogurt to ferment overnight at room temperature. Comes out delicious!).
Hi Maurizio! For the waffles batter, can you keep it in the fridge if you don’t want to make all of them at once? Many thanks, I can’t wait to try it out.
Hey, Gabriel! I’ve not tried this (we’re always short, not over 🙂)–the chemical leavened might run out of “steam” after a while so I wouldn’t keep it in there too long… However, a waffle doesn’t really need all that much lift anyway. I’d say it’s worth a test!
Hi, Maurizio! Do you think it is ok to just incorporate the whole eggs instead of beating the egg whites first?
Yes, that will work. You might see less lightness in the final product (due to less air trapped in the whites), but will still be great 🙂
If I wanted to “upgrade” the pancakes into protein pancakes by adding some protein powder into the mix, Can I just remove the same weight of the flour?
I’ve never tried this, but I’d probably not remove the flour. I’d add in the protein powder and then add in more liquid to keep the consistency the same.
Right on, Tom! I’ve done the same, it’s such a versatile recipe. I find my kids are more apt to eat them in muffin form for some reason—maybe it’s the wrapper, maybe it’s the sense of owning something completely, hard to say. Thanks for the feedback and enjoy!
Any suggestions of how to integrate buckwheat porridge into the pancakes and waffles? We have been enjoying the pullman loaf with buckwheat and it would be great to add to these starter discards.
That’s a really great idea. I sometimes use buckwheat flour in these and it’s awesome. I’d say just mix in some of the porridge into the batter—not a large amount which will cause them to drag and not rise as high, but a good dollop. It should mix in nicely, and especially with the waffles, shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Excellent waffles (will try the rest soon enough). Used homemade milk kefir instead of the butter milk as this is what I usually have on hand. Will be keeping the recipe. Thank you!
I’ve made these with kefir as well (back when I used to maintain grains)! It’s a really adaptable recipe. Enjoy, Ina!
That should work, other bakers have reported success using vegan butter.
I made the banana bread with 1/2 bread flour, 1/2 pastry (was all I had on hand), and 1/2 cup white sugar with a dollop of molasses instead of brown (again, that’s all I had). I also browned the butter beforehand, which produced a BEAUTIFUL flavor. I’m not sure how much flavor the loaf would’ve had without the browned butter, but it’s also probably a richer flavor made with whole wheat flour. I’ll definitely add cinnamon and nutmeg to my loaf next time! I mostly like this recipe because it doesn’t have a crazy amount of sugar and I get to use my excess starter!
I like the idea of using molasses, I’ll have to give that a try! Yes, I tend to keep things not overly sweet, it’s how I like it as well 🙂 Thanks for the feedback, Lucy!
now I have only waffles to make ;D I have to watch cholesterol so I swiped butter for margarine, used half honey half maple syrup as well. SO GOOD! Such a round delicious flavor, it’s not very sweet but I loved it this way. I also halved the recipe and made it in a tiny (but same shape) form – extra cute)
Awesome, Anna! Glad to hear you liked them 🙂
OMG The banana bread is SPECTACULAR !!! I did it a week ago and it was a success, they ate it all in one day … it’s delicious. My family liked it so much that I just made another one today and they will surely keep asking for it. =)
So happy to hear that, Pilar!
Yoooooo those pancakes tho…. !!! I use Einkorn flour and an Our Place “Always Pan” instead of a griddle and the results are fannnnnntastic, so much flavor and not too sweet/oily/sour… it’s just right. Family loves them and now they think I’m chef-level in the kitchen thanks to you. Going to try and freeze some so we can heat them up later (not sure the best way to do this but I’ll do some googling). Thank you for putting this recipe out there in the world and making me look like a breakfast-expert. 😀
Ha ha, Thanks, Joe! Glad you guys liked them.
I just made Pancakes and they are phenomenal! I added Greek yogurt and it quite concealed the sourness of the dough. I also left the dough to ferment overnight. Can’t wait to try the Banana bread. Thank you!
I had leftover levain from baking bread yesterday, so I used that to make the best waffles ever – light, crispy, and full of flavor. I had to add a bit of water to get the proper consistency, but it is an amazing recipe. Thanks!
Great job on the modification and thanks for the feedback, Bob!
Every single recipe I have followed from your website has given me outstanding results. Thanks Maurizio. We are making pancakes very regularly, I know the recipe by heart… and I’ve just tried the best banana bread ever today… now to test the waffle recipe sometime next winter to comfort us in the cold weather (writing from New Zealand and autumn is already upon us).
So glad to hear that, Nasrine! I spend a significant amount of time testing each recipe, so that makes me happy to hear. Enjoy!
Hi! Just pulled the banana bread out of the oven – okay not just, I had two pieces already haha it’s SO good! I did one egg + one yolk and subbed sesame oil for butter. I just happened to have a lot. It turned out really nice, the sesame adds an interesting nutty note in the background and I topped it w some sesame seeds to lean in a bit. Great use for discard and I liked that it wasn’t a ton of discard. Will definitely make again, thank you!!
Oh, I really like the idea of adding sesame to that! I’m going to have to try that, even a simple topping of sesame would be wonderful. Enjoy, Sarah!
The waffle image above for this recipe is truly AMAZING and I want to make that! For the various types of flours in the recipe’s ingredient list, which blend of flours and amounts did you use to achieve that deep colorful striation?
Thanks! That waffle was 100% white flour if I recall, but I can also get that with up to about 25% whole grain. It’s all about that smoking hot aluminum waffle iron I have linked above!