4 Easy Farmstead Recipes From Scratch – What Can You Do With Sourdough Discard?

Before you reach for that jar —

before you tip it toward the sink —

before you decide it’s waste —

read this.

Because here on our farmstead sourdough discard isn’t something we throw away. It’s something we look forward to. It’s the ingredient that turns an ordinary morning into something that smells like a bakery, tastes like home, and feeds your family something real.

If you’ve been wondering what to do with sourdough discard — you are in exactly the right place. Pull up a chair. Let’s make something good. 🌾

A Little Note From Our Farmstead Kitchen

Can I be honest with you for a second?

When we first started making sourdough loaves here on the farmstead I was frustrated. Every single feeding I was scooping out that discard and throwing it straight in the trash. All that good starter — gone. It felt wasteful and it drove me a little crazy.

I had no idea what I was missing.

It wasn’t until a dear friend pulled me aside and said — “You know you can save that in a jar in the refrigerator and USE it for all kinds of things, right?”

Y’all. I just stood there.

How did I miss that memo?

But from the moment she told me that a whole new world opened up in our farmstead kitchen. Pancakes. Crackers. Banana bread. Pizza dough. Recipes I didn’t even know existed — all hiding right there in that little jar of discard I had been throwing away.

If you’ve been doing the same thing — throwing it out every time — this post is for you. Consider this your memo. You’re welcome. 😄🌾

“She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.” — Proverbs 31:14, KJV

There is something quietly faithful about wasting nothing. About taking what might be discarded and turning it into something nourishing. That spirit — the spirit of the Proverbs 31 woman, the spirit of the farmstead — is exactly what sourdough discard cooking is all about. Nothing goes to waste in a faithful kitchen. Everything becomes something.

What Is Sourdough Discard and Why Do You Have So Much of It?

Before we get to the recipes let’s answer the question we hear most often — what exactly is sourdough discard and why does my recipe tell me to remove it?

When you maintain a sourdough starter you feed it regularly — typically equal parts flour and water by weight — to keep the wild yeast alive and active. Before each feeding most bakers remove a portion of the existing starter. This removed portion is called the discard.

It’s called discard because you’re removing it from the main jar before feeding — not because it’s unusable. In fact sourdough discard is one of the most versatile and flavorful ingredients in a farmstead kitchen.

Discard is slightly tangy, thick, and pourable. It contains wild yeast and good bacteria that have been developing since your starter first came to life. It won’t make bread rise on its own — it’s not active enough for that — but it adds incredible depth of flavor, nutrition, and texture to almost everything you bake with it.

And here on our farmstead we never let it go to waste.

If you don’t have a starter yet — we carry Duffy Dust right here in our Momma Missy’s Pantry. Duffy Dust is our very own dehydrated sourdough starter — a living culture carefully dried and preserved so you can rehydrate it, feed it, and have a thriving active starter ready to bake with in just a few days. No building from scratch for weeks. No guesswork. Just real sourdough goodness ready when you are. 🌾

What to Do With Sourdough Discard — Our Favorite Farmstead Recipes

Here are our four favorite ways to use sourdough discard right here at Promised Land Ranch. Every one of these is simple, from scratch, and absolutely delicious.

1. Sourdough Discard Pancakes

This is where most farmstead bakers start — and for good reason. Sourdough discard pancakes are fluffy, slightly tangy, and so much more flavorful than anything that comes from a box mix. They have become a staple in our farmstead kitchen on slow mornings when we want something real on the table.

What you need:

• 1 cup sourdough discard
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon melted butter or oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

How to make them:

Whisk the egg, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla together in a bowl. Add the sourdough discard and stir until just combined. Sprinkle the baking soda over the top and fold it in gently — you’ll see it react with the tangy discard and create little bubbles. That’s what makes these pancakes so beautifully light.

Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat and grease lightly with butter. Pour roughly ¼ cup of batter per pancake. Cook until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look set — about 2-3 minutes. Flip once and cook another 1-2 minutes until golden.

Serve warm with real butter, local honey, and fresh fruit. Put them on the table and watch your family’s faces. That right there is the farmstead reward. 🌾

2. Sourdough Discard Crackers

If you’ve never made homemade crackers before — this is where you start. Sourdough discard crackers are shockingly simple, incredibly crispy, and completely addictive. They’re wonderful on a charcuterie board, alongside a bowl of soup, or just eaten standing at the counter with a little something good on top.

The secret to these crackers is getting the dough as thin as possible before baking — the thinner the crispier. We love to season them generously with our Homestead Season Salt or Farmhouse Garlic Blend from Momma Missy’s Pantry right before they go into the oven. It gives every cracker a savory farmhouse depth that makes them taste like they came from a specialty shop.

What you need:

• 1 cup sourdough discard
• ¼ cup melted butter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1-2 teaspoons Homestead Season Salt or Farmhouse Garlic Blend
• Optional toppings: fresh rosemary, sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning

How to make them:

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Mix the discard, melted butter, and salt together until smooth. Spread the mixture as thinly as possible onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle your chosen seasoning generously across the top and press lightly so it adheres.

Score the surface into cracker-sized pieces with a pizza cutter or knife before baking — this makes them much easier to break apart after cooling.

Bake for 25-35 minutes until golden and crispy — watch carefully toward the end as the edges can go quickly. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the pan. They will continue to crisp as they cool.

Break apart along your scored lines and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week — if they last that long. In our farmstead kitchen they rarely make it past day two.

3. Sourdough Discard Banana Bread

If you have discard AND overripe bananas on the same day — this is your sign from above. Sourdough discard banana bread is moist, rich, and has a subtle tang that makes the banana flavor taste more complex and interesting than any regular banana bread. It’s one of those recipes that people ask about every single time they taste it.

What you need:

• 3 very ripe bananas mashed
• ½ cup sourdough discard
• ⅓ cup melted butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour

How to make it:

Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a standard loaf pan. Mash your bananas well in a large bowl — the riper the better, almost liquid is perfect. Add the sourdough discard, melted butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir in. Add the flour and fold gently until just combined — don’t overmix or your loaf will be tough.

Pour into your prepared loaf pan and bake 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.

This loaf freezes beautifully. Slice it, wrap each slice individually, and pull them out for quick nourishing breakfasts all week long. That is farmstead wisdom right there — make once, feed many.

4. Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough

This one surprises people every single time. Sourdough discard makes a remarkable pizza dough — chewy, flavorful, with a subtle tang that makes homemade pizza taste like it came from a wood-fired restaurant. We add just a little commercial yeast to help it rise quickly so you don’t have to wait all day. King Arthur Baking also has a helpful sourdough resource for beginners.

What you need:

• 1 cup sourdough discard
• ¾ cup warm water
• 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2½ cups all-purpose or bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

How to make it:

Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Add the sourdough discard, olive oil, and salt. Stir in the flour one cup at a time until a shaggy dough forms.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.

Roll or stretch to your desired thickness, top as you like, and bake at 450°F on a preheated pizza stone or baking sheet for 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.

Friday night farmstead pizza night. It doesn’t get better than that. 🌾

How Do You Store Sourdough Discard?

One more question we hear constantly — can you save up your discard instead of using it every single day?

Yes. Absolutely yes.

Keep your discard in a separate jar in the refrigerator. Add to it each time you feed your starter. It will keep refrigerated for up to two weeks — and the flavor actually deepens and becomes more complex the longer it sits, which makes for even more flavorful crackers, pancakes, and bread.

When you’re ready to use it just pull it out, let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes, and use it exactly as called for in your recipe. No need to feed it or activate it — discard recipes are designed to work with it exactly as it is.

If you are just getting started and don’t yet have a starter of your own — our Duffy Dust dehydrated sourdough starter is the simplest way to begin. Find it right here in our Momma Missy’s Pantry and you’ll be baking real sourdough within days. 🌾

🌾 The Table Challenge

This week we have one simple invitation for you.

Make something.

Pick one of these recipes — just one — and make it for your Sunday dinner table. Not because it’s perfect. Not because your kitchen is clean or your schedule is clear. But because some of the most precious memories your family will ever have are going to be made right there around that Sunday dinner table.

I know this because my boys tell me all the time how much they love those memories. The smells. The warmth. The feeling of coming home to something good on the counter on a Sunday afternoon. Those moments didn’t feel like much at the time — just another Sunday dinner, just another loaf of bread, just another ordinary afternoon on the farmstead.

But they weren’t ordinary at all.

My oldest has his own family now — and he does the same thing with them. He carries those Sunday dinner memories right into his own home and passes them on to his children. That right there is the whole point. That is why we bake from scratch. That is why we gather. That is why we slow down long enough to make something real.

So this week — make something from scratch for your Sunday dinner table. Pull someone into the kitchen with you. Let your kids measure and stir. Invite someone over. Set the table. Say a blessing. Sit down together and breathe it all in.

The memories you are making right now matter more than you know.

“Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” — Proverbs 15:17, KJV

You don’t need a fancy meal. You don’t need a perfect loaf. You just need to show up at your own table and invite someone to share it with you.

That’s the farmstead way. That’s our way. 🌾

Come Rest in the Quiet Nook

Feeding your family from scratch takes time, intention, and a certain kind of faithful showing up every single day. If your soul needs that same nourishment — if you are hungry for something that feeds you from the inside out — come visit our Quiet Nook.

Our devotional journals and quiet time companions are made for women who want to tend their inner life the same way they tend their sourdough starter — faithfully, consistently, and with the expectation that something good is always rising.

Come Back Every Tuesday

Every Tuesday we pull up a chair right here in the Farmstead Chronicles and answer one real question — the kind you would ask a trusted friend who has been doing this a long time. Recipes, farmstead life, seasonings, bread, faith, and everything in between.

Next Tuesday we are walking through the complete steps for making sourdough bread from scratch — start to finish, farmstead style. You will not want to miss it.

Come back. Bring your questions. We will be here. 🌾

Join our Grace Notes community and get farmstead encouragement, recipes, and faith delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday morning.

If this blessed you today follow along at Promised Land Ranch and Goods — we’re here every morning with faith, encouragement, and something good from the farmstead. 🌾

With love, Promised Land Ranch and Goods.