Sourdough is a process. A, not-so-labor-intense process, but a technical one. To encourage the growth of the lactobacilli bacteria, there is a discard and feeding phase where (depending on your beginning weight) a specific amount of starter is removed (discard) and dry flour and water is added (feed). This process keeps the bacteria growing and happy, producing the flavor complexity all the kids are crazy for. But, to sentence the “discard” to the trash-can is truly a missed flavor opportunity.
The basics
Water / flour = hydration level
Using starter discard does not have to be a tedious or complicated process. There are, however, some things to take into consideration. The first is the hydration of the starter in comparison to the hydration of the recipe you are adding it. You /should/ be weighing out your jar, flour and water from the beginning when creating your starter so you should have the numbers available to do the simple math.
If I am consistantly feeding my starter 256g (125g water + 125g flour) then I would be at a 100% hydration level.
(128g water / 256g dough) + (128g water / 256g dough) =
1/2 + 1/2 = 1
Typically sourdough is anywhere from 66% to 100% so these numbers can and will vary. All of this to say, it is good to know how much water you are substituting our in your new recipe.
With my starter at ~100% hydration I have the understanding that if I use a cup of starter, roughly 1/2 is water and 1/2 is flour. I will be replacing 1 cup of dry flour and 1 cup of milk for 2 cups of starter. I know I just went super non-chalant between grams and cups — if I were staying in the world of sourdough, everything would be in grams but most “real life” recipes do not stay within such boundries and it’s OK to guesstimate in things non-sourdough.
A couple of quick things to mention before we start. Frozen or very cold butter is best to use. I am cubing and pinching in with my hands for this but you can use a food processor, cheese grater or a pastry cutter. The goal is to incorporate it quickly and keep it as cold as possible. For leavening, this recipe adds baking soda and powder. Baking soda reacts to vinegar, this is supplied by the acid in the starter. Baking powder reacts to hot water, supplied by the steam produced when baking. Here is the code:
Flour = Sourdough discard, Flour
Water = Sourdough discard, Water
Yeast (leavening) = Baking powder, Baking soda
Salt = Salt
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 425. Combine your dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda) in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
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Add your butter. If doing this by hand, cube into 1/2 inch pieces and add to bowl. With your fingers, pinch to break up into small, pea size pieces. Try not to take too much time doing this in order to keep it as cold as possible. If needed place the bowl into your refrigerator afterwords for a few minutes to keep the butter cold.
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Add 2 cups of 100% hydration starter and mix to combine.
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Lightly flour your surface and turn the dough out. Shape into a square about 1/2 inch thick.
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Cut the square into four pieces.
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Stack the pieces on top of each other and square up the sides.
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Gently roll the dough back down until it is 1/2 inch thick again.
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Cut into 12 biscuits or however many you would like and place onto a greased baking sheet. Place into your refrigerator for 10 minutes to let the butter firm up. Remove from the refrigerator and place into your oven. Turn the heat down to 400 and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.
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Once done baking, remove and place on a wire rack to cool. Or take some sausage gravy, jelly, honey, butter and slather them up and serve right away!
