Sourdough Mac & Cheese
The ultimate sourdough comfort food, sourdough mac and cheese uses sourdough starter to thicken the sauce and create a truly flavorful dish. Serve it as a main meal or as a delicious side to your favorite meals.
Ingredients
Macaroni Ingredients
- 250 g Macaroni
- 15 g Butter (can be salted or unsalted)
Topping Ingredients
- 50 g Bread Crumbs (homemade or store bought)
- 30 g Butter (can also use olive oil if you prefer)
Sauce Ingredients
- 60 g Butter (can be salted or unsalted)
- 100 g Sourdough Starter (can be active or discard - see notes)
- 650 g Milk
- 250 g Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 100 g Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 5 g Salt (see notes)
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder (optional)
- 1 tsp Mustard Powder (optional)
Instructions
- First cook the macaroni to the instructions on the packet. Once the macaroni is cooked, drain it (don't rinse it). Place into a bowl with 15g of butter and toss though to stop it from sticking together. Cover and set aside.
- Now in a saucepan add 60g of butter, 100g of sourdough starter and dash of the milk and stir over very low heat to form a roux. As it comes together and starts to cook, add a little more milk and start whisking. Get those arms moving!
- Continue whisking over a medium heat as you add more of the milk, a little at a time, until all of the milk has been added. Continue whisking for around 5 minutes and you'll see the white sauce begin the thicken.
- Once the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spatula, remove from the heat and add the shredded cheeses, mustard powder and garlic powder (if you're using them). Continue whisking until all of the cheese has melted through (it really doesn't take long).
- Add the pasta on top of the cheese sauce and stir to coat all of the macaroni.
- Now pour the macaroni cheese into an oven safe baking dish and top with the bread crumbs. Add dollops of butter (30g) all over the bread crumbs and bake in a 180C (350F) oven for around 30 minutes or until the bread crumb topping is golden and the sourdough macaroni cheese is bubbling underneath.
- Once the sourdough mac and cheese is done, remove from the oven and allow it to sit for around 20 minutes before serving. This just allows it to cool slightly (so you don't burn your mouth), but also lets the sauce thicken up - believe me it's worth the wait!
Notes
Butter - I've used salted butter for all of the butter in this recipe because I just love salt but if you prefer things less salty, use unsalted butter. If you use unsalted butter, don't skip adding the salt, if you use salted butter, add salt to your own taste.
Sourdough Starter - you can use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter with no issue in this recipe. The only thing I will add is that if your discard is old and sour it will overpower the flavor of this dish, so use with caution. I prefer using discard that's only a few days old or active starter for a better flavor.
Cheese - you can use whatever cheese you like to use in mac and cheese. I love using up bits and pieces from the fridge, but mostly use cheddar and mozzarella. Get creative!
Bread Crumbs - you can use store bought bread crumbs (no shame here) or you can use breadcrumbs made from a sourdough loaf. If you want to take your sourdough mac and cheese next level, chop up a loaf of classic sourdough bread, toss in olive oil and then top your mac and cheese with that before placing it in the oven ... it's oh so good!
Nutrition
Calories: 383kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 19gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 674mgPotassium: 244mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 585IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 350mgIron: 1mg
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