 If you've been baking sourdough bread for any amount of time, you know that you tend to end up with a lot of discard from feeding your starter, and most of the time you probably just throw it away because you don't really know what else to do with it. Well today I'm going to show you two of my favorite super easy ways to use up that extra discard so that it doesn't have to go to waste anymore. So let's get into it. If you're new here my name is Charlie and on this channel I show you how to make delicious food using simple ingredients and techniques. So let's talk sourdough discard. Now first off I just want to specify what I mean when I say sourdough starter discard. So this isn't a freshly fed starter that I'm using at its peak rise. This is just leftover starter from previous feedings, so it may have been sitting on my counter for up to three or four days before I actually use it. Typically when I feed my starter I'll pour off the excess into a dedicated discard jar so it'll always be there when I need it. And once this jar becomes full then I'll start to think about throwing some away, but I've found that if I'm adding fresh discard every day and using it somewhat regularly, it takes a long time to go bad if ever. So with that said let's get into the recipes. We're going to start simple here and get more complex as we go and this first one really couldn't be any simpler. It's just a basic sourdough flatbread and in its simplest form the only ingredients you need are the sourdough starter itself along with a couple pinches of salt. To make it start by heating up a pan over medium-high heat or if you're using an electric griddle like me heat it up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit which is about 190 degrees Celsius. Then add a thin layer of oil and pour out a small portion of your starter onto the griddle and cook it just as you would a pancake. Add a few pinches of salt over top then let it cook for about four to five minutes until the top is bubbly and the bottom is sufficiently browned. Then flip it and cook for a few more minutes on the other side until it's cooked all the way through. The end result is a tangy chewy flatbread which makes a great snack with very little effort. But of course with something this simple there's bound to be ways to improve and in this case the flatbread is pretty dense and it could use a bit more flavor so let's take it up a notch. To address the flavor aspect you can really add whatever herbs or spices that you like. So this time in addition to the pinch of salt I'm adding some chopped rosemary along with some minced garlic and a few grinds of black pepper. Then to really take it to the next level I'm going to add some baking soda which will give the bread a much lighter and fluffier texture. The baking soda reacts with the acid in the starter in the same way that vinegar and baking soda would react. So once the baking soda is added the starter will bubble and rise vigorously which creates some nice leavening for our flatbread. So I'd recommend adding just about one half teaspoon of baking soda per cup of sourdough starter then just stir it in and wait for it to rise a bit and cook it on the griddle in the same way as before. This time it should actually cook a bit quicker though in just about two to three minutes per side and the baking soda will also help to achieve some deeper browning on the exterior since it raises the pH of the batter therefore speeding up the myriad reaction which is a process responsible for creating browning on cooked foods. Of course you can also add your toppings once the flatbread is in the pan so feel free to top it with more garlic, chopped scallions, sesame seeds or anything else you want. When serving I also like to dip it in some good quality extra virgin olive oil and all of a sudden you've got a pretty complete appetizer that looks and tastes like it took a lot more effort than it actually did. Now next we're going to make some sourdough pancakes which does take a bit of preparation but it's still very simple overall. And believe me when I say these pancakes are incredible. The slight tanginess and complexity from the sourdough starter just adds another element that's impossible to replicate in traditional pancakes. So as with most sourdough bread we're going to prepare a sort of levan which in this case we're going to call our overnight sponge. To do this just combine 100 grams of your sourdough starter with 125 grams of all-purpose flour, 170 grams of buttermilk and 12 grams of sugar and stir until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. This will end up making about six to 10 pancakes depending on how big you make them. In this case I'm just mixing the ingredients of one of my usual sourdough starter jars but you can also do this in a bowl if you prefer. Either way once everything is fully mixed just cover it up and leave it to rise at room temperature around 75 degrees Fahrenheit or 24 degrees Celsius. For about 12 hours until it's grown in size by at least 50%. Of course if you want it to rise faster you can leave it at a warmer temp and if you want it to rise slower you can leave it at a cooler temp but either way you'll want to let it go until it's risen by at least 50%. So here we are the next morning and we're ready to start making the rest of the batter. It comes together really quickly so before you start go ahead and heat your pan or griddle over medium to medium high heat to around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I like to use this electric griddle because it allows me to control the exact temperature of the surface and it allows me to cook a lot of pancakes at once but if you don't have one of these I'd recommend using a large cast iron pan since cast iron retains heat very well which leads to more evenly cooked pancakes. Now in a medium sized bowl beat together one large egg with two tablespoons or 24 grams of sugar, one teaspoon of vanilla extract and about three quarters of a teaspoon of kosher salt until everything is mostly dissolved. Then slowly whisk in two tablespoons of melted butter which ideally should be slightly cooled so that it doesn't cause the eggs to curdle when you add it. Now go ahead and add all of your overnight sponge to that same bowl and gently fold it in trying to maintain as many of the air bubbles as possible. We're again gonna utilize baking soda for this recipe so first make sure your griddle is fully heated then add one half teaspoon of baking soda and stir it in. After about 10 to 20 seconds the mixture should be bubbly and nicely risen and you're ready to start cooking the pancakes. If you like you can use a neutral oil on your griddle but I like to use butter not only because it provides some extra flavor but it also allows me to verify that my griddle is at the ideal temperature. If the butter bubbles vigorously when added it doesn't burn immediately. I know I'm at the right temp. If the butter starts burning and turning brown right away I know the griddle is too hot and if it doesn't bubble immediately then I know it's not hot enough. Either way make sure to use just a thin layer of butter or oil to ensure that the pancakes brown evenly. Then just lay the pancakes onto the hot griddle and if you like to use any add-ins like blueberries or chocolate chips now is the time to drop them into the batter as they cook but in this case I'm just leaving them plain. So just let them cook for about two to three minutes until the top side is bubbly and the bottom is nicely browned. Then flip them and cook for another two to three minutes until the second side is nicely browned as well. If you're cooking your pancakes in multiple batches which you probably will you can keep the first few batches warm by setting them on a baking tray and loosely covering it with aluminum foil then throwing that tray into a 250 degree oven and so you're done cooking the rest of the pancakes. Of course you can serve the pancakes however you like but personally I like to top them with a good smear of butter along with some good quality maple syrup.