My Sourdough Discard Sweet Bread Journey
Alright, so the fridge was getting crowded again with that jar of sourdough discard. You know how it goes. Feed the starter, get discard. Feed it again, more discard. I hate throwing the stuff out, feels like such a waste. I’d seen folks online making sweet things with it, not just pancakes. Thought I’d give sweet bread a shot this time.
Getting Started
Pulled the discard out first thing in the morning. It wasn’t super bubbly, more like sludge, really. Didn’t matter much for discard recipes, or so I told myself. Dumped about a cup of it into my big mixing bowl. No precise measuring, just eyeballed it.
Then I started adding the other stuff. Some flour, regular all-purpose, maybe two or three cups? Poured in some milk, maybe half a cup. Cracked an egg into the mix. Added a good knob of softened butter I’d left out on the counter. Oh, and sugar, of course. Probably half a cup, maybe a bit more, plus a splash of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Just tossed it all in.
The Mixing Mess
Got my hands dirty and started mixing everything together. It was sticky. Really sticky. Way stickier than I thought it would be. Added a bit more flour, spoonful by spoonful, until it started pulling away from the sides of the bowl just a tiny bit. Still pretty messy, honestly. Didn’t really knead it like regular bread. More like a few good folds in the bowl with my dough scraper thingy. Called it good enough.
Waiting Game
Covered the bowl with plastic wrap and just left it on the counter. Kitchen wasn’t particularly warm, so I figured it’d take a while. Went off and did other things, checked on it every few hours. It definitely puffed up, maybe not doubled, but it got noticeably bigger and airier after about, I don’t know, 5 or 6 hours?
Shaping and Baking
Turned the dough out onto a floured counter. Gently deflated it and tried to shape it into a rough log. It was still pretty soft. Plopped it into a greased loaf pan. Let it sit there for another hour or so while the oven preheated. Set the oven to around 375F, maybe 190C.
Before putting it in, I brushed the top with a bit of milk and sprinkled some coarse sugar on top. Why not, right?
Baked it for maybe 40 minutes? 45? I just waited until it looked nice and golden brown on top and sounded a bit hollow when I tapped the bottom of the pan. The whole kitchen smelled pretty amazing, sweet and a tiny bit tangy from the sourdough.
The Result
Let it cool in the pan for a bit before turning it out onto a wire rack. It wasn’t the prettiest loaf I’ve ever made, a bit uneven. But slicing into it? The crumb was soft, tender actually. You could taste the sweetness, the vanilla, and just a very slight background tang from the discard, which was nice, not overpowering.
- Texture: Surprisingly soft and moist.
- Taste: Sweet, pleasant, subtle sourdough background.
- Effort: Pretty low, mostly waiting around.
Was it perfect artisan bread? Nah. But for using up discard that would’ve gone in the bin? Absolutely fantastic. Tasted great toasted with butter the next morning too. Definitely doing this again. Less waste, tasty bread. Win-win.
