What Is Starter and How Can I Use It?

Wondering what to do with starter? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it — with 21 recipes to put it to work.

Recipes using starter

There are 21 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Breakfast Sourdough Maple Pancakes

Sourdough maple pancakes: tangy, fluffy pancakes built on active sourdough starter and sweetened with real maple syrup. The classic discard recipe that turns yesterday's starter into Sunday breakfast.

Vegan Enchilada Corn Tortillas

Melt In Your Mouth Vegan Corn Tortillas! Yellow Corn Tortillas Were Used In This Dish!! Quick And Easy To Make!5

Sourdough White Bread

Sourdough white bread baked in the bread machine using an active starter, bread flour, milk powder, applesauce, and a small boost of commercial yeast. Tangy sourdough flavor without hand-shaping or long proofing.

Herman Pancakes

Make these quick and easy pancakes for breakfast or brunch, serve with fresh fruits or a refreshing salad.

Yeast Patties

Heritage recipe for homemade dried yeast patties made from sourdough starter, rye flour, cornmeal, and ginger. An old-world self-sufficiency skill for bakers who want to make their own leavening from scratch.

Bacon Pancakes

Sourdough bacon pancakes made with starter, crumbled fried bacon, and a last-minute baking soda lift. Tangy, smoky, and fluffy griddle cakes for a weekend breakfast.

New Years Bread

New Year's bread made with sourdough starter, butter, eggs, cinnamon, and orange zest in the bread machine. A festive, enriched celebration loaf with citrus and warm spice.

Saloon Pancakes Sourdough

Sourdough pancakes made with active starter and beer for extra tang and lift. These Old West saloon-style flapjacks cook up golden with crispy edges and a tender, tangy center.

Sourdough Onion Rye Abm

Sourdough onion rye for the bread machine combines sourdough starter with whole wheat and rye flours, diced onion, honey or molasses, and caraway or star anise. A dense, tangy deli-style loaf that anchors a corned beef sandwich.

Sourdough Onion Rye Abm

Sourdough onion rye for the bread machine combines sourdough starter with whole wheat and rye flours, diced onion, honey or molasses, and caraway or star anise. A dense, tangy deli-style loaf that anchors a corned beef sandwich.

Olive Bread Part 1

Olive bread with Kalamata and oil-cured olives, bread flour, wheat germ and dried thyme, built on a grape sourdough starter. Artisan-style two-day rustic loaf with deep flavor.

Sourdough Potato-Rye Bread

Two-day sourdough potato rye bread with molasses, cornmeal, mace, and poppy seeds. A dense, earthy loaf with an overnight starter and old-world European baking technique.

Caraway Crunches

Sourdough starter crescent rolls topped with egg wash and caraway seeds, baked golden and crunchy. A savory bite-sized bread that's ideal for parties and appetizer spreads.

Sour Rye with Carraway Seeds (Vegan)

Vegan sour rye bread with caraway seeds, sourdough starter, rye flour, and gluten flour for a chewy, tangy loaf. Works by hand or in a bread machine. Freezes well.

Classic Water-Based Sourdough Starter & Bread

Traditional water-based sourdough starter fermented 3-4 days, then baked into classic tangy loaves. Simple ingredients create authentic sourdough flavor.

Friendship Banana Bread

Friendship banana bread made with Amish friendship starter for extra tang and moisture, plus walnuts and a choice of orange zest or vanilla. A sourdough-style banana loaf.

Dough Starter in Bread

Sourdough-style bread loaf using 2 cups of dough starter combined with active dry yeast for extra lift and complex flavor. A straightforward starter bread with a tender crumb and golden crust.

Amish Friendship Spicy Topped Cake

Amish friendship bread cake with a cinnamon-oat-nut streusel layered through the middle and on top. Uses friendship starter for a tangy, moist crumb under a crunchy topping.

Whole Wheat Sourdough

Bread machine whole wheat sourdough with real starter, wheat germ, and a whisper of ginger. Tangy, crusty, and effortless with that old-world flavor baked fresh at home.

Friendship Fruitcake

Friendship fruitcake made with a fermented fruit starter over 30 days, then baked into a rich Bundt cake loaded with peaches, pineapple, cherries, and nuts.

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls (Sunset Cookbook of Breads)

Overnight sourdough cinnamon rolls with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. An overnight starter builds tangy flavor, then you roll, fill, and bake to dark golden with buttery edges.

All 21 recipes