Overnight Sourdough Discard Recipes (2024)

Here's a round up of overnight sourdough discard recipes which you can use to cook with the discard produced by your sourdough starter.

Sourdough discard is really just unfed sourdough starter. Cooking with this "waste product" means less food waste in your kitchen.

There are many ways that you can incorporate sourdough discard into overnight recipes that work with your lifestyle.

Some of these recipes utilise commercial yeast as the leavening agent. This compensates for the lack of inactivity in your sourdough discard.

It's also helpful if you have a young sourdough starter, where the discard won't have the leavening power required.

What Is Sourdough Discard?

Sourdough discard is the portion of sourdough starter that you take out of the jar before you feed your starter. There are many reasons you must discard some of your starter before you feed it.

When the starter is very young, it's best just to throw this portion of the sourdough starter away.

In the early days of starter activity it will smell really bad and the bad bacteria will be more prevalent than the good. It's really not something you want to be baking with!

Once the starter becomes more active, you can use this unfed portion of the starter in many recipes (in fact you can add sourdough discard to almost any recipe).

The recipes in this post concentrate on overnight sourdough discard recipes, so the ingredients are left to ferment for a period of time before baking. You can read more about the different types of sourdough discard recipes here.

How Long Does Sourdough Discard Last In the Fridge?

The answer to this question really depends on what you want to use the discard for.

Remember, sourdough discard is just unfed sourdough starter. Sourdough starter can be stored in the fridge for a very long time.

Now, you would usually feed your sourdough starter before you place it into the fridge, so putting unfed sourdough discard into the fridge will give it a shorter life.

That said, it will last quite a while. But it will get more sour as time goes on.

As a general rule, try to use your sourdough discard within 2 weeks of placing it into the fridge.

If you're wanting to bake something sweet (like this sourdough discard cake) you definitely don't want to use older sourdough discard as it will be too sour.

Can You Let Sourdough Rise Overnight On The Counter?

You sure can! My simple sourdough recipe features an overnight bulk fermentation - given that it uses just 10% starter or you can try this overnight sourdough recipe.

As long as the amount of starter is towards the lower end and the temperature is right, there's no reason you can't let sourdough rise overnight on the counter.

Similarly, you can use certain sourdough discard recipes in the same way and allow them to ferment overnight.

Overnight Sourdough Discard Recipes To Try!

Overnight Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

These delicious sourdough blueberry muffins use a mixture of flour and milk which is mixed with sourdough starter and fermented overnight to create the muffin base. The other ingredients are added and baked the next morning. They are mouth watering, moist and out of this world good!!

Long Fermented Sourdough Chocolate Cake

This unique sourdough chocolate cake has been fermented overnight to create an easy to digest, rich chocolate cake, worthy of the most special occasion!

Sourdough Pasta

Did you know that not only can you use sourdough discard to make homemade pasta ... you can also ferment the pasta overnight!

This helps to make the pasta more easy to digest as the bacteria in your starter have worked their magic and made the nutrients more readily available for you!

Even if you've tried this recipe before, try it again and pop the dough in the fridge overnight. It's well worth the wait!

Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough

This easy sourdough discard pizza dough can be made in the evening and left on the counter to ferment. When you get up in the morning, pop it in the fridge and then you'll have pizza dough ready for dinner that night!

Overnight Sourdough Crinkle Cookies

If you love recipes that you can mix and leave to ferment overnight, you're going to love these sourdough crinkle cookies in either chocolate or gingerbread. You can ferment the dough for around 24 hours, making them the perfect overnight recipe!

Overnight Sourdough Discard Pancakes

These sourdough discard pancakes can be made and fermented overnight. The mixture can be mixed and then popped in the fridge until the next morning.

These pancakes are a great way to use up your sourdough discard and create a delicious breakfast for the whole family!

Overnight Sourdough Waffles

These long fermented waffles use 50g of sourdough discard and make the most delicious long fermented breakfast waffles!

Serve them as a sweet or savory dish for a breakfast the whole family will love!

Easy Sourdough Bagels

These deliciously chewy sourdough bagels can be fermented overnight! So easy and oh so good!! You can make them with sourdough discard.

Sourdough Discard Crackers

Sourdough cracker dough can be fermented overnight. Fermenting them in this way can make them easier to digest.

In order to ferment these sourdough crackers overnight, you just need to pop it into the fridge. I wouldn't leave it more than 12 hours though - that should be sufficient time for the bacteria to work their magic!

Overnight Sourdough Discard Bread

While this sourdough discard bread recipe is famous for it's speedy timing, you can actually pause this dough overnight if you prefer.

With normal timings, you can have this delicious loaf out of the oven in just a few hours, you can leave the dough in the fridge overnight.

You can then take it out and bake it the next day.

Overnight Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns

These sourdough discard hamburger buns can be left overnight. If using the overnight option, it's better to shape the dough and then let them do their second rise in the fridge.

You can then take them out and bake them the next day. Allow them to sit out on the counter for around 30 minutes before baking.

Overnight Sourdough English Muffins

These sourdough English Muffins are the ultimate overnight sourdough recipe. Using just a few ingredients you can easily create these sourdough English Muffins.

The overnight ferment make them super convenient - and you can use up 200g of sourdough discard which makes them a great option if you have lots on hand.

Sourdough Garlic Bread Bites

Sourdough Garlic Bread Bites {with a discard option}Sourdough Garlic Bread Bites can be made with either active sourdough starter or sourdough discard. Whichever way you wish to make them, they can be fermented overnight.

Using sourdough discard (and commercial yeast) the sourdough garlic bread bites will need to be fermented overnight in the fridge.

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Overnight Sourdough Discard Naan Recipe

This simple sourdough Naan recipe can be left in the fridge overnight. In fact, it can be left in the fridge for a few days which makes this recipe super convenient!

You can choose to just use a little dough at a time, or cook them all at once. And the best thing is that this dough makes a lovely pizza base too!

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading this article featuring overnight sourdough discard recipes, you might enjoy these:

• You'll find 15+ no wait sourdough recipes here - for those times you have starter, but no patience.

• Create a sourdough baking timeline that works with your lifestyle and allows you to bake sourdough when you want to.

• Wondering if your sourdough starter is ready to bake with? These sourdough starter readiness signs will help!