10 Bread Recipes to Make With Your Sourdough Starter

It’s almost fall, which means it’s the perfect time to whip out your sourdough starter (perhaps the one you started working with during the quarantine sourdough craze) and make some delicious treats. If you’ve been feeding your starter regularly, you may be getting a bit bored with basic boules and loaves. And then there’s the discard to consider—some must die in order for the whole to survive. It’s an emotional project no doubt, so the results better be worth it.

We compiled our favorite recipes that incorporate both the starter and discard—between small-batch pancakes to a full tray of cinnamon rolls, nothing will go to waste. No starter? Follow these basic instructions and you can have one of your own in just five days. 

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1 Aloo Kulcha (Potato-Stuffed Indian Flatbread)

Here’s another recipe to reuse that discard—this time for dinner. Aloo kulcha is akin to naan that’s stuffed with a smooth, spiced potato filling. Like most sourdough recipes, you’ve got to plan a bit ahead, but the rising time for this recipe by Holy Cow! Vegan (two to three hours) pales in comparison to some overnight proofing requirements of other sourdough-based breads. Start around 4pm, and you could be sitting down to your new favorite meal around 7:30 or 8pm. 
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2 Vegan Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

If you’re one of those people who start thinking about weekend brunch on Friday, this recipe by The Sasha Diaries will serve you well. It requires an overnight rise, but if you do the prep work the night before, you can look forward to one of the best cinnamon rolls you’ve ever had Saturday morning. Thanks to the tang of the sourdough and the unique chai-spiced filling, these rolls aren’t overly sweet. They are, however, wonderfully warm, fluffy, and delicious. Even if you’re just baking for one, make the full batch and freeze the unfrosted leftovers. 
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3 Vegan Sourdough Soft Pretzels

Stressed out? The methodical motions of shaping pretzels can be meditative. Once you nail this recipe by Nuts for Greens, get creative with toppings such as flaked sea salt, cinnamon sugar, or everything bagel seasoning. Sure, baking a huge sourdough boule may look impressive, but nothing beats a warm soft pretzel (even if it’s slightly misshapen). 
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4 Vegan Sourdough Brownies

You bet you can bake more than just bread with your starter! We love this recipe by Top With Cinnamon because there is no proofing required—from start to finish, you can get super fudgy, crackly topped, sea salt-flaked brownies on the table in about 45 minutes. It’s up to you if you want to tell your friends and family what the secret ingredient is. They’ll never guess. 
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5 Vegan Sourdough Milk Bread

In contrast to super crusty, dark, and hearty sourdough, milk bread is a popular Japanese-style soft roll. While there is virtually a vegan version of everything, animal-free milk bread is one of those elusive products that are nearly impossible to find. Do what the vegans of the ‘90s did and make your own with this recipe by The Floral Vegan. Pro tip: these pillowy rolls are best eaten hot out of the oven and slathered with vegan butter and jam. 
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6 Easy Sourdough Pizza by Veecoco Eats

Mastering a stellar dough is the first step to becoming an at-home pizzaiolo. You may not have a wood-fired pizza oven, but you can still approximate a quality pizza with this solid crust recipe by Veecoco Eats. As all pizzaiolos know, pizza teaches patience. Your dough will need an overnight rise, so plan ahead! 
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7 Vegan Sourdough Banana Bread

Many of us mastered our banana bread recipes during quarantine, but this unique recipe by Stephie Cooks really deserves a shot. The sourdough component (you can even use the discard) sets this staple apart from your basic banana bread in terms of taste and texture. This is also ideal for those who have a starter but not a lot of patience or time on their hands. Just like any traditional quick bread, it comes together in about an hour. 
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8 Focaccia

Picture a cross-section of a thick, chewy, perfectly aerated piece of focaccia studded with cherry tomatoes. Are you drooling yet? Focaccia is one of our favorite uses for our sourdough starter—we even use it as a pizza crust. Get creative, like this recipe by Weeknight Vegan, with your toppings and top your bread with sliced tomatoes, different herbs, olives, or flaky sea salt. Focaccia is truly the best edible canvas. 
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9 No-Knead Sourdough Bread

Settle in for a good read, because this is a very comprehensive guide to baking the perfect sourdough boule by A Virtual Vegan. We love this particular blog, because it offers different directions for the “workday bake,” “take your time bake,” and “one day bake.” Essentially, she does the planning for you, no matter what your schedule looks like. Trust in A Virtual Vegan, and you’ll gain the confidence of a seasoned bread baker. 
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10 Vegan Sourdough Biscuits

Don’t throw away your discard! Make biscuits instead. There’s no proofing time needed in this recipe by Vegan Yack Attack! so really there’s no excuse not to make these buttery vessels for vegan fried chicken or mushroom gravy. Take plain biscuits to the next level by mixing vegan cheese into the batter, or go the sweet route by rolling the dough in cinnamon sugar just before baking. No matter how you choose to enjoy your biscuit, there is one universal rule: it must include butter. 
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