Don’t ever throw away a sourdough starter discard! This sourdough fry bread is the quickest and easiest way to use up that extra discard without having to make a whole batch of pancakes or muffins! However, for those days when you do wish to go all the way with your starter, you might want to check out this sourdough babka recipe!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Done within 10 minutes.
- Tastes DELICIOUS!
- Add any toppings of your choice to this sourdough fried bread.
- Make it gluten-free by using a gluten-free sourdough starter.
What is a Sourdough starter?
Sourdough starter is natural yeast that you can bake sourdough bread (and many other things) with. To make a sourdough starter you need flour and water and some patience! It takes about a week or two to get your starter to the point of it being ready to bake bread with.
New to gluten-free sourdough? Watch my 16-minute video tutorial for beginners!
Ingredients
Use as much sourdough starter as you need to discard. There is no exact measurement for that!
For meat use any leftover meat you have on hand. I used salami pieces for this recipe!
For the Sauce
In order for the sauce to taste great, you need a good quality soy sauce. I made this sauce with bad soy sauce before and it was terrible! Good soy sauce makes all the difference.
Substitutions and Swaps
You can use any toppings of your choice. Red onions, chopped chives, olives, red pepper, fried chicken, or any leftover meat are just a few examples.
For gluten-free fried sourdough starter use gluten-free starter discard!
Tools You Might Need
- Cast iron pan, I highly recommend getting a cast iron skillet not just for this recipe but for many other ones you will make in the future! Cast iron makes most of the dishes taste better.
- Spatula. A metal spatula is easiest to work with and despite what you might have heard, it is totally safe to use metal spatulas with cast iron skillets!
How to Make Fried Sourdough Starter
Step 1
Preheat the pan and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Pour the sourdough discard onto the pan and top with salt, seasonings, sesame seeds, and other toppings right away. You want your toppings to stick to the dough and for that, you need to act quickly!
Step 2
Let the pancake fry for about 3 minutes on medium-high heat and then flip it. The pancake should be golden brown on the fried side. Let it fry for another few minutes, then transfer it to a cutting board.
Step 3
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small sauce bowl. Chop the pan-fried sourdough starter into little bite slices and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- As your starter ages it becomes sourer. To balance out the sour flavor use more toppings. You can even saute onions in some oil, add garlic, and then pour your sourdough discard on top of it. Then add pizza sauce onto the pancake and top with some cheese and leftover meat if prefer!
- Make sure to add toppings right away as the pancake will fry quickly and it will be hard for the ingredients to stick to the dough. For that, you want to make sure all your toppings are prepped before you pour the starter onto the skillet.
- Make sure to use good-quality soy sauce!
- You can also skip the meat and just use bagel seasoning.
FAQ
You shouldn’t eat sourdough discard raw but you absolutely can eat it cooked! This sourdough fried bread uses pure sourdough discard for the dough.
Yes, you can freeze sourdough discard fried or raw. If you freeze it fried, place it into a bag and fry it again when ready to use. It will keep in the freezer for a couple of months.
Oh, so many things! Check out some of my sourdough discard recipes like these sourdough discard banana muffins, sourdough soft pretzels, and sourdough chocolate chip cookies.
If your sourdough starter discard is starting to turn black and smells bad then it is safer to throw it away. Sourdough starter generally smells sometimes like vinegar, and sometimes it has a sweeter smell but if it is anything outside the norm and you can see very clear black spots then it is likely that the starter is starting to get moldy. If that happened it is most likely you did not feed the starter often enough.
📖 Recipe
Fried Sourdough Discard
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet (optional)
Ingredients
- 140 grams (⅔ cup) sourdough starter or however much you need to discard
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- any leftover meat I used salami
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon olive oil for frying
For the Sauce
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon rice vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the pan and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Pour the sourdough discard onto the pan and top with salt, seasonings, sesame seeds, and other toppings right away. You want your toppings to stick to the dough and for that, you need to act quickly!
- Let the pancake fry for about 3 minutes on medium-high heat and then flip it. The pancake should be golden brown on the fried side. Let it fry for another few minutes, then transfer it to a cutting board.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small sauce bowl. Chop the pancake into little bite slices and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Debbie says
I have never heard of sourdough starter before and definitely want to give it a try. The sourdough fry bread looks outstanding and the instructions seem perfect to follow. Thank you for the recipe!
Natashashome says
Thank you Debbie! Sourdough is so much fun. I hope you give it a try! 🙂
Toni says
Looks so good!! Have to try this soon.
Natashashome says
Enjoy!
Amanda says
Okay, this is a stupid easy fun way to use discard. I literally read the article halfway… walked out into my kitchen… grabbed what I needed and made a little snack in like 5 minutes. Nothing fancy. No toppings. So good!! Can’t wait to get fancy 😂
Kyla says
So good and easy! I would give it 10 stars if I could. I use a teff starter, so really nutritious and flavourful. I used an olive oil and balsamic dipping sauce.
Jon says
Hi, no matter how long I seem to cook this for (though I stop when golden brown), the inside is still very soft/raw. Is there a way to avoid this and ensure it’s cooked all the way through? Thanks!
Natasha Levai says
Hi Jon! Maybe making the pancakes smaller/thinner can help them cook through better!
Deb says
My fried sourdough starter turns out raw and gummy in the middle. I have tried this recipe several times and think I need to maybe thin out my starter?I would appreciate any suggestions, thank you!
Natasha Levai says
A gluten-free starter will probably be better thinned out while a regular starter with gluten would simply need a bit more time to fry through.