Honestly think sourdough starter discard is overrated for most bakers

Had a chat with a pastry chef named Carmen at a shop in Austin last week who said she just throws her discard away, and it got me thinking. I've been trying all these discard recipes and half of them come out gummy or flat, and in the end I'm just using extra flour and butter to make something mediocre. Why not just compost it or toss it and put that energy into a proper loaf? Anyone else feel like the discard hype is more about feeling frugal than actually making better baked goods?

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3 Comments

rivera.keith4mo ago

Honestly, yeah, I used to hoard my discard but you're right, it's just not worth the mediocre results.

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mia_anderson4mo ago

Read an article saying cold discard actually works better for flavor.

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finleythomas2mo ago

@rivera.keith has a good point about mediocre results. Does the article say anything about how long you should keep the discard in the fridge before it actually makes a difference?

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