What is Sourdough Discard? Here’s the Simple Answer Nobody Told You!

Sat, 09 May 2026 09:58:11 +0000

What is Sourdough Discard? The Simple Answer Nobody Told You! When you bake sourdough bread, one of the most overlooked yet essential ingredients is sourdough discard. But what exactly is it—and why does it matter? According to the simple answer nobody told you: sourdough discard is the friendship starter of sourdough baking—a tangy treasure trove of wild yeast and beneficial bacteria vous plunge into sourdough culture when you save leftover starter between feedings. ### What Exactly Is Sourdough Discard? Sourdough discard is the vibrant, bubbly portion of your active sourdough starter that you discard before feeding it fresh flour and water. Formed when a portion of your starter is saved daily (typically kept in the fridge), discard contains the naturally fermented mixture packed with live wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria—factors that give your bread its signature tang and chewy crumb.