Welcome to the first edition. If you keep a starter, you already know the small guilt of feeding it: a cup of perfectly good discard headed for the trash or the drain. This whole newsletter exists to fix that, one Monday at a time. We start where almost everyone starts — pancakes — because discard was practically built for them. That gentle sourness is the difference between a fine pancake and one people ask about.

🥞 Overnight sourdough discard pancakes

These are the ones worth planning for. The overnight rest lets the discard relax the flour and deepen the flavor, so the pancakes come out tender with a real tang.

The night before, whisk together:

  • 1 cup (240g) sourdough discard, straight from the fridge
  • 1 cup (240g) milk or buttermilk
  • 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter overnight, 8 to 12 hours. It will loosen, bubble a little, and smell wonderful.

In the morning, add:

  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir gently — the soda hits the acidic batter and foams, which is exactly what you want, so don't overmix and don't wait. Cook on a medium griddle, about 2 minutes a side, until the edges look set and the bubbles on top stay open. This batter is a little thinner than a boxed mix; resist adding flour. A cheap digital kitchen scale makes the whole thing repeatable — weighing discard beats guessing at "a cup" every time.

Makes about a dozen. They reheat beautifully in a toaster, so make the full batch.

🧇 Same-morning version

Forgot to mix it last night? You still have pancakes. Whisk 1 cup (240g) discard with 1 egg, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. That's it — the discard is doing the heavy lifting, so you skip the extra flour entirely. The texture is a touch denser than the overnight batch but the flavor is still all there. Cook the same way, medium heat, two minutes a side.

⚡ Turn it into waffles

Take that same overnight batter and add 2 extra tablespoons of melted butter. The added fat is what crisps the outside in a hot iron while the inside stays custardy. If you make waffles often, a cast iron waffle situation or a solid electric iron earns its counter space fast.

📝 Baker's note: keeping discard you actually want to use

You don't have to bake the day you feed. Keep a dedicated discard jar in the fridge and add to it through the week — it'll happily collect 5 to 7 days' worth. It gets more sour as it sits, which only makes pancakes better. Give it a stir before measuring, and if a thin layer of dark liquid (that's "hooch") forms on top, just stir it back in. Toss it only if it ever smells sharp like nail polish or shows fuzzy mold.

That's the first one. Next Monday: discard crackers — the snackable, shatter-crisp use that makes people forget there's sourdough in them at all.

See you next Monday morning.