The perfect balance is some fresh flour to ensure a good rise and some discard flour to add tenderness. It’s all about the balance between the “fresh” flour you sprinkle into the mixing bowl from your flour canister, which will produce good, strong gluten and the flour already in your discard starter, whose gluten has been acidified and weakened. The cake rose and then fell, the compromised gluten in its flour unable to support its structure. I tried replacing all of the flour in this Gingerbread Bundt Cake with the flour in my discard starter. The short answer is, enough to enhance the cake’s flavor and texture but not so much that the cake tastes sour, rises poorly, or that the acidity of the starter affects the leavening (baking powder or baking soda) you use. How much discard starter should I use in my cake recipe? But don’t worry this transition is slight and you won’t have to take it into account when substituting starter for some of the flour and liquid in your cake recipe. That means that little by little, your starter will tip toward more liquid, less flour. If yours is considerably more liquid or quite a bit stiffer, you’ll first have to ascertain its percentages of flour and water before you try substituting it for some of the flour and liquid in your cake recipe.Īlso, between feedings your starter generates alcohol as part of its ongoing fermentation. Many if not most sourdough bakers maintain a 100% hydration starter. OK, the fine print: The starter I’m talking about here is a 100% hydration starter, fed with equal parts flour and water by weight. E.g., if you add 120g discard starter to your recipe, reduce the recipe’s flour and water by 60g each. To add discard starter to your cake recipe, reduce the weights of flour and liquid in the recipe by the same weights of flour and liquid in the starter you’re adding. King Arthur's Original Cake Pan Cake How to use sourdough discard in your favorite cake recipesįirst, absorb this simple fact, because it’s going to be the basis of everything you need to know going forward: But what we’re going to learn now is how to add discard starter to your own favorite cake recipes. We do offer a few ready-to-go sourdough cake recipes on our website ( carrot cake, chocolate cake, and cinnamon crumb cake). Happy, fed starter and a fresh-baked cake? Win-win! Been awhile since you fed it? Grab your favorite cake recipe, feed your starter, and blend that potential discard right into the cake batter. Bake a cake instead!Ĭonvinced? Here’s a thought: Use cake as a reminder to tend to your starter. If you’re like me and try to avoid food waste at all costs, you feel really uneasy having to discard some of your starter as part of its feed. Want one more reason? The irksomeness of throwing away starter. Sourdough discard’s acidity extends the shelf life of baked goods, keeping your cakes (and muffins and quick breads) softer longer. Also, discard starter usually includes some alcohol from fermentation, and alcohol is a flavor enhancer. (Think stirring Burgundy wine into a simmering stew or splashing vodka into your pasta sauce same deal.) Adding a judicious amount of discard starter to your favorite cake brings it to life, brightening its flavors without adding any sour taste. Sourdough discard enhances the flavor of the ingredients around it. The result? Cake with a more delicate crumb. It inhibits gluten development, both because the gluten in the starter itself has already been weakened during fermentation, and the starter increases the overall acidity of the cake batter - which also serves to tenderize its gluten. Sourdough discard helps make cake tender rather than chewy. But there are very good reasons to add discard starter to cake batter: Why use sourdough discard in cake?Ĭertainly not to make your cake taste sour! And since we’re using unfed (discard) starter, not to help your cake rise. That used to be what I thought, back before I learned that sourdough starter can be used in baked goods you’d never think to consider, like apple pie. Flavor-packed sourdough waffles, you bet.īut tender, melt-in-your-mouth sourdough cake? Oxymoronish for sure. The words kinda land with a thud, don’t they? I mean, crusty, lusty sourdough bread, of course. You HATE throwing away excess sourdough starter when you feed it. If you're just beginning your journey, our Sourdough Baking Guide lays out the basics you need for success - whether you decide to become serious or go casual! Love sourdough, but looking for a bit more flexibility and ease when you bake with a starter? In The Casual Sourdough Baker, PJ shows you just how wonderfully stress-free sourdough baking can be, from simple but richly flavored loaves to countless easy ways to use your discard.
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