If you make sourdough at home, there’s a good chance you have some sourdough starter lying around that you’ll periodically need to get rid of. While you can definitely use it for baking some tasty treats, if you still have too much, consider composting it before throwing it out. Can you compost sourdough starter? Absolutely!
Composting is a great alternative to the trash, where it will end up in the landfill, taking years to break down. In a compost pile, the sourdough starter will break down pretty quickly. It’s basically starch, which is why your yeast loves it so much, and your composting microbes will also love it.
How to Compost Sourdough Starter?
While you can throw sourdough starter into the compost pile as it is if you add some water to it, that will thin it out. This will help it break down more quickly.
Make sure to mix it with some browns to help keep the pH balanced and to help offset its moisture.
Overall, composting sourdough starter is pretty easy and straightforward.
Composting Sourdough Starter with Worms
If you have a worm bin, you can compost the sourdough starter. It’s best to add small amounts over time to avoid overwhelming your bin and adding too much moisture to your bin.
Composting Sourdough Starter
Composting sourdough starter is a great option if you have too much. Of course, it’s a great ingredient for several great recipes so you may want to explore cooking it first.
The only minor concern is that sourdough starter has a lot of water in it. Generally, that’s no problem, but make sure to add enough browns with it and to monitor your compost for signs of too much moisture, like mold, pooling water, and wet compost. If you see any of these, you probably need more browns to soak up some of the moisture.
Can I Add Sourdough Starter to Compost
Once you have your sourdough starter up and running, you may periodically need to get rid of some of it. Yes, you can compost it. Make sure to offset it with some browns, or you may end up with wet compost. Otherwise, it’s just fine to compost.
Before you compost it, though, there are several great recipes that you can use the sourdough starter for that taste a lot better and still have the benefit of not adding more to our landfills.