Recipes that use sourdough starter (and discard)

Add some sourdough bite to your cakes, buns, pretzels, doughnuts and... yes, even potato scallops.

Quick-mix chocolate cake Source: Alan Benson

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You've painstakingly fed your sourdough starter to create... well, a monster. It's a healthy, happy monster, but a monster nonetheless. You've given globs of it away to grateful friends and you've baked so many loaves of sourdough bread you're starting to turn into a carbohydrate, yet still, this beautiful beast keeps growing. How can you get it under control?

For starters, keep your baby beastie in the fridge. That way, you only need to feed it once a week so it will grow much, much slower than if you kept it at room temperature with the necessary daily feedings.

Secondly, you can discard part of your starter before feeding. You can also experiment with feeding it less each time.

Next, you'll want to expand your baking list beyond bread so you can really take advantage of all the gut-friendly, fibre-rich, vitamin-packed sourdough benefits. This is the ironic bit, as each of these recipes will soon have you lamenting the fact that there's never enough sourdough starter to bake all of the things you crave.

Pretzels

Poaching the sourdough pretzels in a salt and bicarb solution gives an impressively shiny, dark golden crust. Source: Alan Benson

These German favourites are soft and fluffy on the inside, crisp and salty on the outside. Naturally, they make the perfect breakfast, especially when you prep them the night before and bake them fresh in the morning.

Cinnamon buns

Make the dough the night before and rise early to finish them off. It will totally be worth it. Source: Alan Benson

Sourdough cinnamon buns are surely the only thing that could give pretzels a run for the 'perfect breakfast' category. These ones are sweet and gooey, with an added bitter kick provided by the coffee glaze. Is there a finer way to start your day?

Cinnamon doughnuts

Don't miss the sprinkle of rapadura sugar to give these sourdoughnuts a rich caramel crunch. Source: Alan Benson

Keep the cinnamon puffing with a batch of sourdough cinnamon doughnuts, aka (from this moment) as sourdoughnuts. Maybe.

Popovers

A sourdough gives these little buns a lovely subtle sourness. Source: Alan Benson

The name alone makes us want to try a sourdough popover. These fun little high-rising savoury rolls are a breeze to make, just ensure your batter goes into the oven warm for maximum pop.

Spring onion pancakes

You know you're onto a good thing when a batch of spring onion pancakes takes under 20 minutes to whip up. Source: Alan Benson

Spring onion pancakes have become something of an obsession lately. They are highly addictive, especially when made with the added tang of sourdough. This dough doesn't result in the flaky texture of a typical Chinese street food scallion pancake, but the flavour is all there and then some.

Potato scallops

Add some homemade tartare and your tastebuds will be partying hard. Source: Alan Benson

How much do you want to smash these sourdough potato scallops right now? We can already feel the hearty crunch of batter giving way to meltingly-soft spud. The little hit of sourdough perfectly complements the potato flavour and suggests that this deep-fried treat could easily rest under the banner of 'healthy food choice'. We'll take it!

Blackberry cake

Turn this cake into a luxe dessert by serving with a generous dollop of clotted cream. Source: Alan Benson

Enough with the savoury stuff, it's time to bring on the cakes! Like this blackberry crumble sheet cake that's perfectly at home with your afternoon cuppa. Any berry would love this sourdough cake, so try it with blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, and even cherries. Matter of fact, try it again and again with every kind of berry you can find.

Carrot cake

The sourdough starter adds a touch of sourness that works beautifully with the sweetness of the carrots. Source: Alan Benson

The only thing that could possibly make carrot cake better is adding a sourdough starter. It brings a tang to cream cheese frosting's yang.

Chocolate cake

This moist sourdough cake is so simple to make, but delightfully complex in flavour. Source: Alan Benson

We all need a crowd-pleasing chocolate cake to add to our sourdough repertoire and this quick-mix version won't let you down. Sourdough highlights the rich chocolate flavour and encourages lightness in the cake. It's a big cake, but it will stay happy on your bench for at least three days.

Keep it next to your sourdough starter... we've got a feeling you won't be storing your darling monster in the fridge after all.

Anneka's mission is to connect home cooks with the magic of baking, and through this, with those they love. For hands-on baking classes and baking tips, visit her at BakeClub. Don't miss what's coming out of her oven via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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