Sourdough Discard Waffles

Every sourdough baker has a jar of discard in the fridge, radiating quiet guilt. This is what it's for. The acidity that makes discard "waste" is exactly what makes these waffles tangy and lets the bicarb work — so older, funkier discard is actually better here.

Ingredients

• 250g sourdough discard (straight from the fridge is fine)
• 2 eggs
• 60g melted butter, plus more for the iron
• 120g milk
• 100g plain flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

1. Whisk the discard, eggs, melted butter and milk until smooth.
2. Add the flour, sugar and salt and whisk until just combined. A few small lumps are fine — overmixing makes tough waffles.
3. Heat the waffle iron properly. A waffle poured into a half-hot iron is a pancake with commitment issues.
4. Stir in the bicarb last. The batter will fizz and loosen against the acidic discard — that's the lift. Move quickly from here.
5. Butter the iron, pour, and cook until deep golden and the steam slows down — usually a minute past the point you first wanted to open the lid.
6. Straight onto a wire rack, never a plate, so the bottoms stay crisp.

Butter and honey, or go savoury — a fried egg on top and the crispy edges do the rest.

No waffle iron? The same batter makes excellent thin pancakes. You lose the corners, but the tang survives.