How to store sourdough discard and starter » the practical kitchen (2024)

I was recently gifted my very first sourdough starter. I read your post on how to feed and discard starter, and I'm looking at buying a nice container for my sourdough starter to live in. But I don't want to waste my sourdough discard. What kind of container should I be using to store sourdough discard?

Signed,
New starter, how dis-card?

This is a great question! As with all things sourdough, there is no one "right" way to store sourdough starter and discard. There are a lot of different methods for feeding and storing sourdough starter. The kind of container you use for storing your sourdough starter (and discard) in will depend on how often you use it, how much you feed it, where you store it, and how much you like to keep on hand.

I am an extremely casual sourdough baker. I use my starter maybe once a month to make bread. I mostly use unfed sourdough starter (aka "discard" starter) in recipes to add that nice tangy sourdough flavor. Whenever I feed my starter, I don't throw out the discard. I store the discard in the fridge until I have enough to bake with. When baking with unfed/discard starter, I don't need to worry about the starter being at its "peak." I can use it right out of the container without feeding it. Even if it's been in the fridge.

So, before I answer your question, here's what I'll be going over in this post:

Sourdough Starter vs. Sourdough Discard

Sourdough starter and sourdough discard are the same thing. The discard is just the sourdough starter you're not currently feeding or baking with. It's called discard because it often gets "discarded" during feeding. If you don't "discard" some starter during feeding your starter will just grow and grow and grow until you're staring in a remake of The Blob.

BUT! You can also use that discard for baking. Some people will use it right away, in which case it'll still be pretty active. Other people prefer to store their sourdough discard until they have enough to bake with.

No matter what, it's still technically sourdough starter; At any point you can take a portion of the discard out, feed it in a new clean container, and have nice bubbly sourdough starter for making bread.

But if you want to keep your active starter for bread making and your sourdough discard separate, or you just feel wasteful discarding discard, you can hang on to it and use it in a discard recipe.

How to Store Sourdough Starter

Sourdough starter is wild yeast and bacterial culture made from flour and water, which means it's pretty much always in the process of fermenting . As the flour starches break down and become sugars, the wild yeast eats the sugars and produces gas and alcohol (aka "hooch").

When mixed with additional flour and water and kneaded to develop gluten, this gas helps your bread dough rise. But on its own, that gas needs somewhere to go. That's why it's always important to feed your sourdough starter in a container with a good lid that will keep bugs out, but that will still let air escape.

Sourdough starter can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge. If you're feeding and making bread with your starter regularly (once a week or so) you can leave it out at room temperature. If you're going away for a bit or if you don't use it that often (once a month or less), store it in the fridge. You'll just need to take it out a few days before you plan to use it and feed it a few times to wake it up again.

Just like bread rises faster in warm temps and slower in cold ones, sourdough starter is the same. Decide if your starter should live at room temp or in the fridge based on how quickly it feeds, how often you need to use it, and the temperature in your kitchen!

How to Store Sourdough Discard

Remember how I said sourdough starter and sourdough discard are the same thing? YEP. The best way to store sourdough is discard exactly the same way you store sourdough starter: in a non-porous, easy to clean container with a loose-fitting lid that will let gas escape but won't let bugs in.

Some good options are:

• A 1 qt. mason jar with the lid only loosely screwed on (aka "fingertip tight")
• Any of these sourdough containers
• A 1 qt. Cambro container with the lid slightly open

Sourdough discard is basically just any starter you're left with after baking or feeding your starter. Fresh sourdough discard will be very bubbly and active. But, if you're storing your discard for later use, it will not not be very active, it might have some hooch floating on top, etc.

When you feed your sourdough starter to get it ready to use in another recipe, you can feed the remaining discard so it becomes your new, active starter. Or, you can choose to collect and store the discard for baking (a small amount of discard is perfect for making sourdough discard scallion pancakes or soft sourdough beer pretzels). If you want to store the discard for later, instead of discarding it, I recommend just stirring it back to your main sourdough container.

You should be feeding your starter for baking in a new, clean container, so your main sourdough container really is your sourdough discard container! See? I told you they were the same thing.

Depending on what method you use for feeding, you might have a lot of discard or a little discard from each feeding. If you follow the Tartine bread method for using and feeding your starter, you'll have very little — if any — sourdough discard. If you follow King Arthur Baking's sourdough instructions, you'll end up with a lot of discard, so it's definitely worth not letting that go to waste!

Sourdough Discard is Best Stored in the Fridge

Because sourdough discard is not as active as the starter you're feeding to use for bread making, and because you don't need it to be super bubbly and active, it's safest to keep it somewhere dark and cool where you don't have to worry about temperature fluctuations.

The cold temperature of the fridge also slows yeast activity so that the discard doesn't produce quite as much gas. But you'll still want a lid that lets air escape so those gasses don't build up over time!

Note: The flavor of your starter will change slightly depending on what temperature it's stored at. If it lives primarily in the fridge, it will develop bacteria that thrive in cold temps and vice versa for a starter kept primarily at room temperature.

Sourdough Starter and Discard Storage FAQ

Have a question about storing sourdough discard? Leave a comment below!

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