sourdough discard
/ˈsaʊrdoʊ dɪˈskɑːrd/
CommonThe portion of sourdough starter removed before feeding, often repurposed in other recipes instead of thrown away.
Online, discard culture has a whole subcommunity. The word can also signal someone is serious about their sourdough practice.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | made crackers with the sourdough discard and they were actually really good | The discard turned into a good recipe result. | instagram, 2023 |
| 02 | i have so much sourdough discard i could open a restaurant | The discard pile is accumulating faster than the person can use it. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | sourdough discard waffles are the only reason i keep this starter alive at this point | The discard recipes are more rewarding than the actual sourdough bread. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 04 | just fed the starter, time to figure out what to do with this sourdough discard | Routine starter maintenance generates discard that now needs a purpose. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- Someone is talking about the removed portion of their sourdough starter.
- Someone is sharing a recipe that uses leftover starter as an ingredient.
- Someone is explaining the routine of starter maintenance to someone new to it.
Do not use it when
- You mean sourdough bread itself.Use “sourdough” instead.
- You are talking about any other kind of kitchen scraps.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
The term comes from standard sourdough baking practice. It gained widespread internet recognition during the 2020 pandemic sourdough surge when millions of new bakers learned about starter maintenance for the first time.
- First seen
- 2020
- Confidence
- medium
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Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/sourdough-discardUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0