Convert Recipe to Sourdough

You may wonder just what else you can bake with either your bubbly starter or the discard left over from feeding it (but probably both). Fortunately you can substitute sourdough starter for a portion of the flour and water (or possibly juice or milk) called for in many non-sourdough recipes—quick breads, yeast breads, muffins, tortillas, focaccia, pizza and more.

Using sourdough starter, either fed or unfed, is possible in a wide range of recipes – so long as the recipe includes sufficient water/flour for you to substitute your starter. A cookie recipe wouldn't work well; cookie recipes generally don't include significant amounts of water or milk. But muffins, biscuits, quick breads, pancakes, scones... all of those usually include enough liquid for the substitution to work.

One thing to keep in mind: when you're substituting sourdough starter in a recipe calling for milk, you'll lose something: milk fat and milk solids, which add flavor and enhance texture and the finished product will have a drier consistency. You may be willing to make the tradeoff, but it's useful to manage your expectations ahead of time.

Think of recipes in your own repertoire using flour and water. Or flour and another liquid, like milk or coffee or juice. By liquid means liquid that doesn't contribute additional attributes to the baked good's texture, e.g., vegetable oil, which is mainly fat; or honey, which is mainly sugar. Don't substitute sourdough starter for liquid sweeteners or liquid fats.

Do the Math

Bob wants to add 1 cup of sourdough discard to his favorite pizza dough recipe for a bit of sourdough flavor. He uses a 100 percent hydration sourdough starter, meaning his starter contains equal parts flour and water—by weight.

Sourdough starter substitute

250 grams (1 cup) stirred down sourdough starter

Replaces

125 grams (1 scant cup) flour
125 grams (½ cup plus 2 teaspoons) water

So if a recipe calls for 2¾ to 3 cups all-purpose flour, you would now use 1¾ to 2 cups all-purpose flour. The 1 cup warm water would now be a scant ½ cup warm water.

If you are using sourdough discard to this dough for flavor, not for leavening, keep any the commercial baker’s yeast in the recipe. The sourdough starter you remove for feedings and store in the refrigerator does not contain enough yeast to leaven dough. But it tastes good and has fermented for a long time, making it more easily digestible.