DISCARD STARTER VERSES ACTIVE SOURDOUGH STARTER

There is a lot of confusion about discard starter verses active sourdough starter. I was confused too when I first started with my Sourdough Starter (Voldoughmort) back in 2021. But I’m here to make things easy for you and answer all the same questions I once had!

If you’re more interested in learning the differences in wizarding language, check out my post Active Starter vs Discard – Harry Potter Edition!

Discard Verses Active Sourdough Starter.

Discard starter is simply unfed starter. Active starter is simply fed discard starter.

You may be wondering if you need one jar of each. The simple answer is no, you don’t.

Discard starter is kept in the fridge to slow down the fermentation process. If you don’t use your starter very often, you most likely just have discard sitting starter in your fridge.

You can leave active starter (fed starter) out on the counter for the day while it rises and then either use it at it’s peak or put it back in the fridge for up to three days. It will still be considered active for up to three days. But if you don’t use it within those three days, then it becomes inactive (or discard).

Don’t forget to check out How to Feed Your Sourdough Starter post here!

Benefits of Discard Sourdough Starter

1. You have a backup starter.

It’s not a bad idea to have some additional discard stored in a small container in the fridge or the freezer just in case your active starter dies. Starter is naturally a lot more forgiving than people realize, but it can die if the temperature gets too high, mold, or contamination occurs, etc.

If you have a discard backup, you can just feed that backup and make a larger amount of starter. Once you feed it, then you have active starter again.

If you’re using a dormant piece of dough that has been in the freezer or unused in the fridge for a long period of time, you may need to feed it a couple of times back-to-back before it starts to get really active.

If your starter develops hooch, or a black liquid on the top of your starter, you can simply mix it into your starter for a more sour taste, or dump it off if you don’t want the extra tang.

2. You have active and discard starter ready to use – at the same time.

The other benefit to having separate jars is that you can make a recipe that calls for active starter and discard starter at the same time.

You can make all kinds of recipes at once!

Typically, breads and rolls are going to need active starter for the recipes. But crackers, scones, cookies typically need discard starter. If you have some of active and discard both ready, you can make a variety of goods at the same time!

Otherwise you have to use the active starter within the first three days of feeding it, and then wait until the fourth day to use the inactive starter for your discard recipe.

Pro tip: discard starter still has all the same health benefits as fed starter, so no need to throw it away, use it in a recipe!

How to Manage Your Discard and Active Starter

You can keep all of your starter in one jar or you can use multiple starter containers. I tend to do the latter because it allows me to have plenty or active and discard starter on hand. It also prevents me from having to throw out or waste any of my starter.

If you use one container, you’re going to want to manage the amount of starter you have by either throwing starter away or using it in a recipe.

You need to manage your starter because…

The more starter that you have in your jar, the more feed you will need to give it. This either means you spend more money one flour, or your jar runs out of room.

To solve this problem, you can have a couple of jars of starter. I leave a jar of starter in my fridge, when I am ready to feed, I take a little from the jar and feed it in another container. I can then use whatever starter I need from the new container and use it in my recipe. Whatever I have left over, I put back in my discard jar in the fridge. This usually means I have an pretty good supply on hand for any discard recipes.

I hope this breakdown gives you a much better understanding of sourdough discard vs active starter. Remember, you can easily make active starter from discard by feeding it. And you can easily get discard from by active starter by allowing the starter to rest. They’re the same thing! It just depends on the state that they are in.

If you have any questions, leave a comment below!