Use It - Crumpets

If you jumped on the sourdough wagon you understand the dilemma. What do you do with all the discard starter? You don’t want to waste it, you can’t put it down the garbage disposal, you are up to your eyeballs in bread, and your friends and family are suddenly complaining about their pants shrinking in the wash. It takes time and attention to keep your starter alive and bubbly, but when you have multiple jars of discard taking up space in the refrigerator you know you need a better plan!

I went on a hunt for ways to use discard starter pretty early on in my sourdough journey. I just don’t have it in me to throw all of that beautiful, bubbly, fermented goodness in the trash! Lucky for me, just one internet search turned up dozens of ideas! One of the first things I made with discard starter is still one of my favorites. It couldn’t possibly be an easier recipe, so bonus!!

Here’s everything you need:

227 grams discard sourdough starter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (I only use sea salt in all my bakes)
1 teaspoon sugar

An electric griddle, 4 4-inch muffin rings, cooking spray, a bowl, a spoon, and a digital scale.

Heat your skillet to about 325 degrees, spray your muffin rings with cooking spray, and spoon the mix into the rings. Do not spray directly on your skillet if it has a nonstick coating. The additives in most cooking sprays destroys nonstick surfaces. Cook for 4-5 minutes, the tops will get full of air bubbles that will pop and leave little holes and the edges will start looking a bit dry. You can take the rings off now and flip them over. Cook for another couple of minutes. Done. That’s it, that’s all there is to these crumpets. You can adjust the baking soda a little, up or down depending on how sour your starter is. You may need a dash more if your discard is super sour. Sometimes I add a touch more sugar.

Making these feels a little like magic, I never get tired of watching it bubble and grow while mixing it up. I will figure out how to capture this on video and post, because it really is kitchen science at it’s best. Today I enjoyed my crumpet with homemade peach basil jam, but we also love them topped with a poached egg or used as a base for an open faced sandwich. The options are only limited by your imagination and taste.

If you try these, please let me know! I would love to see pictures of your creations. And drop a comment if you have a favorite way to use your discard starter. Happy baking!