The Easiest Sourdough Discard Bread You'll Ever Make!
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If you have a sourdough starter, then chances are you'll have a bit of sourdough discard from time to time - depending on how often you feed it.
Baking true sourdough bread is certainly rewarding, but with our busy lives, we don't always have time for a 2 to 3 day process, right?
So I've created the easiest sourdough discard bread you'll ever make - seriously it's so so simple!
This recipe is perfect if you're still building your sourdough starter, but you really want to bake bread.
Make This Sourdough Discard Bread In Under 2 Hours!
You can make this easy sourdough discard bread within 2 hours if your house is particularly warm. It does use a little commercial yeast - but you will still get some of the sourdough tang from your discard.
If your house is a little cooler, it will take a little longer for the dough to double. Mixing the ingredients takes just seconds!
Experiment With Different Flours
I often make this bread in the evening so I can have a loaf ready for our eggs in the morning. I can knock it out super fast and my kids love to eat it. It's also a great way to experiment with different flours.
While it's super fast to make it from baker's (bread or high protein) flour (AP and plain flour will also work), you could supplement some of the 450g of flour with rye, spelt or even whole wheat.
If you are using different flours, I recommend holding a little of the water back while mixing. It's much easier to add more if you need to, than take it away (or have to add more flour if the mix is too wet).
An Easy Way To Use An Immature Sourdough Starter
This easy sourdough discard bread will also work for you if your starter is not quite ready to start baking true sourdough bread, just like this sourdough discard sandwich bread. The commercial yeast will create the rise that is lacking in your sourdough starter.
If you're having trouble with your sourdough starter, you'll find some tips to boost your starter here.
Extend The Rise
If you don't want to bake your bread immediately once it's risen, you can pop it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Just put the whole bowl in the fridge, covered with a plastic bag or some cling wrap to stop it drying out.
This is a great idea if you want to have it freshly baked for dinner for example or when you first wake up.
When you want to bake it, let it sit out on the kitchen counter for around 30 minutes before it goes in the oven (so take it out when you turn on the oven to preheat).
Want To Give Your Sourdough Discard Loaf A Flavor Boost?
You can add lots of different flavor combinations to this sourdough discard loaf. It's up to you whether you go sweet or savory. Some of my favorite ways to add flavors to this loaf include:
- Jalepeno Cheddar
- Bacon & Cheese
- Olives (you can use whatever olives you love)
- Chocolate chips and orange zest
- Cranberries and walnuts
- Raisins and cinnamon for a fruit loaf
It's best to add the flavors to the dough when you first mix it, that way you can leave it alone to rise rather than have to disturb it to add in the flavors.
Handling The Dough
This sourdough discard loaf can be quite a sticky dough. The stickiness will really depend on the consistency of your starter and how wet you choose to make it. But it's certainly not impossible to work with and is one of the most baked recipes in my Facebook Group!
With a little flour and a dough scraper, you should be able to shape it into a roundish shape. It doesn't need to be perfect, it's a rustic type of bread. If you have a bread lame or razor blade, you can score the top to encourage it to spring up in the oven.
Bake Your Discard Bread In A Dutch Oven
To get the best results for your sourdough discard bread, bake it in a Dutch Oven. It keeps the steam inside the pot and enables your bread to get the rise before the crust starts to harden. Keep the lid on your Dutch Oven for the first 30 minutes of your bake, then take it off for the last 10 minutes to give it some crunch and colour. Just like baking true sourdough, the Dutch Oven really is a game changer.
If you love this recipe, you'll enjoy making this sourdough pane di casa bread. It is a lovely rustic sourdough you can enjoy in just a few hours.
Easy Sourdough Discard Bread
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital Scales
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 450 g Bread Flour
- 360 g Water Warm
- 10 g Salt
- 7 g Instant Yeast or Rapid Yeast
- 100 g Sourdough Discard unfed sourdough starter
Instructions
- Take a clean ceramic or glass bowl and add your flour, warm water, instant yeast, salt and sourdough discard.
- Use a wooden chopstick or end of a wooden spoon to gently bring all the ingredients together into a shaggy dough. You don't need to it be fully smooth, just ensure that all of the flour is wet.
- Cover the bowl in cling film and set it somewhere warm for 1 - 2 hours. It really depends on the temperature of your house with this one. If your house is warm, 1 hour will be plenty. In the depths of winter or with air con, you may need more than 2 hours. You just want it to double in size, no more or it won't rise in the oven.
- Around 45 minutes before you want to put your bread into the oven, you'll need to put a dutch oven into the oven and preheat it to around 220C/430F.
- Once your dough has doubled in size, grab a piece of parchment paper and lay it out on your counter. Sprinkle on a few tablespoons of rice flour or fine semolina flour (this is just so that the dough doesn't stick to your hands).NOTE - If you are wanting to put your bread in the refrigerator to bake another time (usually within 24 hours) then just pop the cling film over the bowl of doubled dough and put in the fridge. You don't need to do anything to the dough before it goes in.
- Scoop your dough out with your hands - if it's particularly wet it's perfectly fine to pour it onto the paper.If it's not too wet, use the flour and your finger tips to gently bring it into a round shape - you will need to pull each side over each other to do this. If your dough is too wet - don't fret, just try and bring it into some kind of shape without getting too messy.
- Score your dough if you're able to - otherwise just leave it and it will open up naturally in the oven.
- Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven and remove the lid. Use the parchment or baking paper as a handle to gently place your discard bread inside the pot and put the lid back on.
- Bake in the oven, with the lid on for 30 minutes at 220C/430F. Then remove the lid of the pot and bake for a further 10 minutes at 200C/390F. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- Try to let it cool for at least an hour before cutting it. It will still taste great if you cut it hot, but it's so much easier to cut if you let it cool!
Nutrition
I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice and the taste is so delicious. The only thing is that I’m not getting as high of a rise like the photos you posted. Any recommendations? The second time I made it I definitely let it proof for 2 hours which did give it some more height compared to my 1st one. I also used regular flour - would bread flour help it rise more? Thanks in advance!
Add white chocolate chips and a good amount of cinnamon and its AMAZING!
I made this as directed the first time and it turned out great! This time I put the dough in the fridge. I’m wondering if I need to let it come to room temperature before popping it in the oven?
Starter newbie here. Been on this adventure for about a month and I have homegrown starter that is just about doubling, so still pretty fragile. Really appreciate your discard recipes.
My question is, if I want small loaves, say I cut this mixed batch in 4ths, how long do i cook it in the Dutch oven?
This came out beautiful. Would refrigerating it overnight make it more sour? Wish it was more sour but it's really a great recipe!
Wow! This is going to be one of my forever recipes! I used white whole wheat and semolina instead of white flour (added two tablespoons of gluten to strengthen the protein content) and threw in cinnamon, walnuts and unsweetened cranberries. It was easy to score and the rise and crumb were perfect. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!
I work from home and this recipe requires so little interaction that I mixed it, shaped and baked it during my workday! It was never more than 5 minutes in the kitchen at any step. I added sliced green olives and cheddar cheese and dusted the top with Italian herbs and black pepper. WOW. The ease and lack of intervention time belied the result, which is excellent! I am making a sweet loaf today and have already offered to make a "custom flavor" loaf for my sister. Glad to have found this - thank you!
I truly thought I ruined the dough when I let it rise for like 6 hours, but I honestly did a bunch of stretch and folds with some flour and baked it according to the recipe and it came out gorgeous.
Is it possible to make this with discard only with no commercial yeast? And let ferment in refrigerator longer?
What if I accidentally over proofed it? Can it be saved? I tried the punch down and let it rerise method but that is happening real slow...
I usually love this recipe, and ude it everytime i make Bread, but something has changed in it? Its different since last time, and im not even able to make the dough now, because its so dry 🙁 help
Love this recipe. Super easy to follow and the bread comes out so light and fluffy every time!
I made this recipe today with Bobs Redmill Gluten Free Bread Flour and it turned out amazing! Was too sticky to score, but turned out beautifully and tasty! Thank you for the great recipe!
I am a beginner with sourdough starter and I have struggled with making sourdough bread but this recipe was so straight forward and easy to make! My husband keeps requesting i make more and bringing into work to share with everyone. Its a hit!
This is my first time in building a sourdough starter.
I've been reading & studying everything I can find.
What is a "bin" & a "bench"?
I take scraps to my egg lady for her chickens so I don't have a compost pile at this time.
So do I just toss all the discard in the trash, then begin keeping it in a jar with tight fitting lid in the fridge after 5-7 days?
Love this recipe! We have made this bread several times just with organic white bread flour and an artesan all-purpose flour and every time it turned out great. Wondering if anyone has incorporated wheat bran as I have a huge bag of it I need to use. Should we be able to substitute some bran for some flour, or just add it to the mix?
If you prep a dough ahead of time and refrigerate, should you let it get to room temperature prior to baking?
Very yummy bread, easy for a beginner as long as you follow the directions and read the tips!
I absolutely love this recipe. I have made it about five times since I found it. I do admit that it feels a bit like cheating because it's so easy! My kids love it, and I love how easy it is to throw together in just a few minutes.
Thank you for the best recipe EVER!! I’ve made it several times with aged white cheddar and pepper jack cheese and and it’s always gone within a day! No other food sounds good to my family of 3 when this bread is sitting on the counter! All the friends and family request it when visiting! If I split the recipe in half do you know if the oven instructions would stay the same?
I'm so glad you love the recipe! Ooooh and those inclusions sound amazing! Yes same oven instructions, even if you split it in half 🙂 xx
Can you use more then 100G of discard, I'm thinking of around 125G. Love this recipe and have made it several times, however I have a fair bit of discard and wanted to use it up.
Thank you
Marc
You could use more discard, but then you'd need to adjust the flour and water amounts to suit. A great way to use up lots of discard are these easy 2 ingredient sourdough crackers 🙂
Hi,
What is the size of your Dutch oven ? 4 or 7 qt ?
Thank you!
I'm completely new to sourdough, and I've only just made a successful starter after three attempts xD
Giving this one a go now (it's literally proofing as I type). As someone who bakes regular bread all the time, I'm so confused that there's no second proof, but I'm excited to give it a try!
Made this yesterday! So yummy. Wasn’t expecting much cause the dough was very floppy. Surprised how it turned out. Thank you for sharing 👍
Can you make this bread in multiple? Just wondering if it would be too difficult to divide or if it wouldn’t rise properly. Thanks for the help!
I would recommend a single batch for this recipe as the dough can be difficult to divide 🙂 You could make like 3 x the dough, just separate it into different bowls to make life easier for you 🙂
May I know how long do I mix and knead in Thermomix?
I don't recommend kneading this one in the Thermomix. If you want to use your Thermomix, check out this Thermomix sourdough recipe 🙂
What a phenomenal consolation prize for my starter that has been slumping! Thanks for helping me bake my very first loaf of bread. It turned out PERFECT and I'm never buying one at the grocery store again 😛 Soft and springy inside, crunchy outside, beautiful, elegant, simple... the best!
Hi! I followed this recipe and the result was yummy! However, the crumb was rather dense. Is that because there was no kneading? How can we make the crumb more open with this recipe? My starter was 50% rye 50% whole wheat. Thank you!
I'm so glad your bread was delicious! This doesn't tend to have a dense crumb, however it will if it's not able to rise enough before baking. Try leaving it a little longer before you shape it 🙂
Made two loaves last night and they came out amazing!
Thank you for the easy directions 🙂
Can this be done in a loaf pan with another loaf pan inverted onto the top?
Yes you can do this 🙂
I love this recipe! You really can't go wrong with it. I fell asleep and left it for about three hours, then it had to go in the fridge for a couple more hours as I had to rush out. I baked it anyway, and it's soft and delicious, and the kids both love it.