This recipe to use up sourdough starter discard is easily my favorite discovery quarantine baking discovery so far. Of course it comes from King Arthur Flour, which is my go-to source for all things sourdough. If you don’t already have a starter going but would like to get into the game, I highly recommend you read everything by PJ Hamel, starting with this.
But, if you’ve already got your bubbly baby hanging out and ready for food a couple times per day (on the counter, if you’re using it frequently) or once/week (in the fridge, if you’re just maintaining), this is an amazing way to utilize the discard when you feed it. I’ve made these now two days in a row, and I might just keep my starter on the counter from now until so that I can make these every day!
They take 10 minutes, are crispy and buttery right out of the pan, and perfectly soft a few minutes later with some jam slathered on. If you’re more of a savory breakfast person, you could even melt a little cheese on top and throw on a fried egg. Either way, you won’t be disappointed, and clean up is a breeze.
Happy…pan frying!
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
INGREDIENTS & SUPPLIES
1 cup sourdough starter discard (227g)
1 teaspoon sugar for savory OR 1.5 teaspoon sugar for sweet
1/2 teaspoon salt for savory OR 1/4 teaspoon salt for sweet
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick butter for greasing
Griddle or frying pan
Hand whisk
Medium mixing bowl
1/4 cup scoop/measuring cup
English muffins rings OR round cookie cutters OR mason jar lids*
Flat spatula, and maybe tongs
*The original recipe for this calls for four 4” English muffin rings, 1” high, but who has those? I don’t. Instead I used round cookie cutters, also about 1” high. I used one that was about 4” across and found that with a 1/4 cup scoop of batter, it made a thinner crumpet that you’d want to put toppings on top of. When I used a 3” round with a 1/4 cup scoop, it made a thicker crumpet that was perfect for splitting in half. Of course, if you use a larger round you can use a bit more batter to achieve the same, perhaps a heaping 1/4 cup. Play around! If you do mason jar lids you might need to use less batter because the edges won’t be as high.
DIRECTIONS
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together your sourdough discard, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
Heat your griddle or frying pan on high for a few minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low.
Grease the inside of your rings with butter (you can press the stick of butter into the pan for a second to get it a little melty if it’s too cold), then place the rings into your pan and press the butter briefly onto the pan in the middle of the ring to melt a little.
Scoop your desired amount of batter (a little less or a little more than a 1/4c) into the mold, and cook for 4-6 minutes until the top has lots of bubbles and the edges look cooked through.
Remove the ring mold with tongs (or your fingers if you have a high heat tolerance and can do it very quickly - be careful, it’s hot!) The crumpets should fall right out, but if they don’t you can poke at the edges a little with your tongs or another utensil until they release. If they don’t release you may not have used enough butter around the edges, and you can flip them with the ring attached.
Flip the crumpets with your spatula, and cook on the other side for 2 minutes. If you had to flip with the ring still attached, press the crumpet down after flipping so that it is touching the pan and starts to loosen from the edges.
Eat hot straight from the pan, or top with whatever you want! Enjoy!