Sourdough Discard Flatbread
This tasty Sourdough Discard Flatbread is made 100% using spent and unfed discard, and can be made in 5-10 minutes. Enjoy it plain with flaky salt, or add fresh herbs or Everything Bagel Seasoning!
I absolutely love having sourdough in my kitchen and have made my fair share of sourdough loaves over the past year.
But part of the package deal is figuring out what to do with all the discard, and at first I found it overwhelming. That is, until I started making this skillet flatbread.
There are plenty of recipes online using sourdough discard, recipes like pancakes and muffins and even cake. In our house, we do love making batches of these Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins from time to time.
But sometimes that can feel like too much of a fuss since the discard would only be one of maybe 10 ingredients that I’d need to bring together to make something new.
Well, not here.
What you see here is just pure sourdough discard, cooked up in the skillet in a matter of minutes. We love this stuff!
What I Love About This Recipe
- It’s made only with sourdough discard. No need to add baking powder or other ingredients.
- It only takes 5-10 minutes to cook in a skillet. Cook it straight from the fridge or from the countertop, wherever you keep your discard. It doesn’t matter if it’s refrigerated or at room temperature.
- Easy to customize the flavor. Most of the time we just add salt, but you can also add your favorite herbs, seasonings, cheeses, whatever!
- Delicious texture and sourdough flavor! It’s crispy on the edges but chewy in the middle. It has great texture, and of course, a classic sourdough flavor.
A Few Notes on the Discard
While it’s slightly easier to spread around a room temperature discard, most of the time we make it cold from the fridge. Either way will work.
This right here is a room temperature discard, so it flows a bit easier:
Since the discard doesn’t have salt, you’ll need to add that to the recipe.
You can either sprinkle some on while the flatbread is cooking in the pan, or you can mix a pinch of salt into the discard while it’s still in the bowl.
Mixing salt directly into the discard will make it more evenly seasoned, but I find it hard to stir in, so I usually just sprinkle it on in the skillet.
How to Make It Step by Step
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of your desired fat.
Here I am using ghee, but butter is the best if you tolerate it, because it spreads beautifully around the pan.
You can also use olive oil, coconut oil, and so on.
Scoop up the sourdough discard with a measuring cup and pour it into the hot fat:
As quickly as you can, use a spatula to spread it around into a circle. The bottom sets pretty quickly, so you have to sort of wiggle it as you spread the discard around:
Add whatever seasoning you like. It could be salt, or spices, or this Everything Bagel Seasoning. I love keeping that seasoning on hand and also use it for sprinkling on Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns and this Everything Bagel Cheese Ball.
You can also add fresh chives, which I use below, or fresh thyme, rosemary, parsley, or scallions.
After the top no longer looks raw, check underneath to see if it’s golden brown:
Then flip it over and continue cooking for a few more minutes to crisp the other side.
It’s now ready to slice or serve whole.
We enjoy this on its own, but you can also add it to an Antipasto Platter or enjoy it with some Baba Ganoush and Marinated Olives. Enjoy!
FAQ:
How to Store – Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Reheating – I honestly find this easiest to reheat in the toaster, where it crisps nicely. You can also microwave for 15 seconds to warm, or warm them in a 250F oven for 10 minutes.
Freezing – These freeze well, stored in an airtight container or bag for up to two months. I suggest putting pieces of wax paper between flatbreads so they don’t stick together.
Cooking Fat – The best cooking fat is butter, if you can tolerate it. It spreads around the pan nicely and has great flavor. I tend to use ghee, but you can also use olive oil or coconut oil.
Cooking Equipment and Scaling – You can use any size nonstick skillet you like, and also make as many of these flatbreads as you want. I do about 1/2 cup of sourdough discard for a 10″ skillet that has 1 tbsp of cooking fat added, and still have good space for flipping. I use this 10″ skillet (affiliate).
Sourdough Discard Flatbread
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter (or ghee, olive oil, etc)
- 1 cup sourdough discard unfed
- 1/8 tsp salt
- everything bagel seasoning optional
Instructions
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp of butter, or your desired cooking fat.
- Add 1/2 cup of the sourdough discard to the hot cooking fat and quickly spread it around the best you can using a spatula. I sort of wiggle and spread at the same time, to try to spread it into a circular shape.
- Before the top sets, quickly sprinkle it with salt, everything bagel seasoning, or whatever flavoring you desire.
- Cook until no more raw discard remains, about 3-4 minutes, then check underneath to see if the bottom is golden and crispy.
- Flip over the flatbread, and cook for a couple more minutes, until golden and crispy on the other side.
- Repeat with the remaining butter and starter. Serve while hot and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
35 Comments on “Sourdough Discard Flatbread”
Absolutely wonderful. We loved them will definitely have to put on my list to fix again.
Soooo good and easy! I mixed in salt, garlic powder, and rosemary. Dipped in hummus for a delish brunch. Thx!
super excellent and easy! fabulous idea and yummy flatbread!
Yes! This is the BEST discard recipe. Totally delicious and perfect way to easily use discard without discarding it (lol).
I’ve been searching for easy ways to use my discard but had the same problem that only a tiny bit of discard was used in a recipe with a bunch of other ingredients. This is ideal for simplicity and no waste and the flatbread tastes truly amazing! I used olive oil and sprinkled some homemade garlic herb seasoning on mine. Yuuuum.
Can I use discard that’s been taken straight out of the refrigerator?
Yes, this is what we do most of the time. It’s a little harder to spread, but sometimes I dip the turner in the oil and use that to spread it better without it sticking to the turner.
It worked exactly like the directions said. Thank you
Was looking for something sourdough to eat but didn’t want a workout these are perfect
This flatbread really amazed me! So quick and easy and yummy too! I used herb flavored olive oil for the butter and sprinkled some with Everything Bagel and some with red sea salt. Both were so good!! I will try some herbs next time. The options are limitless.
I was feeding a new starter, so I had a lot of discard last week. I made these about 4 times. I never quite figured out the temp for the pan. Too hot, and the pan started smoking a lot when it was cooking. Too cool, and the flatbreads came out gummy inside. The flavor was good, especially with the Everything Bagel Seasoning. I preferred using a cast iron skillet. I felt with the nonstick pan, the bread absorbed too much fat and ended up greasy.
My favorite way was to sprinkle salt on the wet side just after putting it in the pan. Once done, I cooked egg white in the same skillet, put it on top of the bread, and had a fantastic, quick breakfast!
This recipe absolutely ROCKS! What a time-saver. And such a great way to use up extra starter when I have so much it’s about ready to overflow the container!
We love this!
Sprinkled the top with salt, Italian seasoning and some finely shredded Romano cheese. Delicious and easy!
The key is — once the bottom layer sets on the pan, use the spatula to spread out the remaining gooey discard on the top to expand the circle, which then thins out the flat bread. Like another comment said, it will turn out like a pancake– unless you spread it out manually.
Also, I tried both room temp, and refrigerated discard and obviously, the room temp spread much easier. Next time I’ll leave my discard on the counter for a bit before making these.
I’m really happy to have found this recipe and will be making these often!
Thank you Sophie! And thanks for sharing your experience and tips here.
Can you use a gluten free starter for this? I have a brown rice starter and this looks amazing!
I haven’t tried it but I would think it might work well. It might be a bit gummy because it’s rice, but it wouldn’t be much of a gamble to try, I think.
This looks and taste more like flatbread or naan than the recipe I’ve been using. I have to feed it, wait for 2 to 3 hours, put it in a baking pan, wait another three or four hours, then bake it for 20 minutes.
Thank you!
This is more pancake than flatbread.
Try what I did– after the bottom layer sets, use your spatula to expand the circle/spread out the gooey top. This thins out the bread and worked really well for me! And use room temp discard. Much easier to spread out. (I described much better in my own comment)
This looks like the easiest thing to make with sourdough discard. I’ve been making sourdough breads, pizza crusts, English muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc. for a year now. This looks like a good substitute for naan.
Hi Craig! We truly make it all the time. I do like making other recipes with discard but since we tend to have so much of it, this is the easiest way for us to stay on top of it. We like the combination of crisp outside and chewy middle! Enjoy.