Sourdough Discard Waffles

Fluffy, crisp, and delicious, these sourdough discard waffles are Belgian-style waffles made with whipped egg whites, buttermilk, and real butter.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

How This Recipe Works

This is a classic Western European-style fluffy waffle, with beaten egg whites for a lighter texture, melted butter, and a fair amount of sugar for a crisp exterior. Discard adds a hint of sourdough taste and makes for a more tender waffle. It's a very nice way to use leftover starter.

Sourdough discard waffles differ from our sourdough waffles in a few important ways. These are made with chemical leavening agents - baking soda and baking powder - to provide lift to the batter right away without waiting for an overnight rise. They're ready to bake right away and have a more crisp texture without any of the chew that a true sourdough brings.

If you'd like an overnight version, try our slow-fermented sourdough waffles with no added leavening agent. They're closer to bread in texture and have a much stronger sourdough flavour.

Ingredients You'll Need and Why

You'll need waffle staples like flour, eggs, and butter, plus sourdough discard. These are our notes from recipe testing, and you can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Flour: all-purpose flour is best for this recipe. You can replace up to 50% of the flour with whole wheat but note that the waffles won't be as light. We haven't tried making this with gluten-free starter and flour.
• Sourdough discard: the fresher the better here to avoid an overly sour flavour. You can use active starter if preferred, but weigh it for accuracy.
• Milk: for the best results use whole milk. 2% is fine in a pinch, and soy milk works too. Room temperature is best.
• Vinegar: this is to make a homemade buttermilk substitute. We haven't tested with store-bought buttermilk, which is quite a bit thicker. If you use true buttermilk note that you'll probably need a little more. Don't skip the vinegar - if you do, the waffles will taste like baking soda.
• Eggs: these should be large eggs, at room temperature. Submerge eggs in a bowl of warm water to quickly bring them up to room temperature.
• Butter: melted and cooled to room temperature or slightly warm. You can melt butter in the microwave in short bursts or on the stove. I melt about halfway on the stove then remove from the heat, so that the remaining butter can melt in the leftover heat and then the butter is already at the right temperature. Use a good non-dairy substitute if needed. Real butter makes the waffles more crisp. Try brown butter for a little boost but be sure to measure after browning.
• Sugar: use a fine plain white sugar. Cane sugar or other types of large crystal sugar cause pitting in the waffles and can burn more easily. Reducing sugar will make the waffles taste bland and will negatively affect the texture.
• Leavening: baking powder and baking soda. The soda will react with the buttermilk and improve rise.
• Vanilla: a little vanilla extract makes the waffles taste sweeter and overall better. If you don't have vanilla, add a little vanilla or nutmeg to the dry ingredients.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

How to Make Discard Waffles

You can change the order of things here if that suits your working pattern a bit better (whip the egg whites first and set aside, for example) but keep the order of ingredients added the same.

Step 1: start by mixing the milk and vinegar and set it aside to curdle. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together to break the yolks. Mixing the two before adding the other wet ingredients helps the sugar to incorporate more easily into the batter.

Step 2: whisk in the vanilla, butter, and sourdough discard. It's best to use discard that's at room temperature so that it mixes in more easily, but you can use it right from the fridge if you forgot to take it out before starting.

Step 3: add the milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking slowly, to incorporate. If you add it all and then whisk it's more likely to splatter.

Step 4: whisk in the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. If any of the dry ingredients are visibly lumpy, sift them through a fine mesh sieve. This is especially worth doing with baking soda which does tend to have lumps.

Step 5: beat the egg whites into stiff peaks. Make sure the bowl and beaters are completely clean and dry, with no trace of oil on either. There should be no liquid egg left in the bowl.

Step 6: fold the egg whites into the batter, being careful not to knock all the air out. It should be smooth but significantly increased in volume and with no visible large pieces of egg white.

Step 7: scoop the batter into a preheated waffle iron. The amount you use will really depend on your iron and they vary a lot - you'll know better than we can how your particular waffle iron works. Pictured is a fairly large iron on the Belgian waffle setting.

Step 8: bake until golden and lightly crisp. Keep in a warm oven until serving if needed.

Expert Tips for the Best Waffles

• Don't skip the egg whites: this is what makes the waffles so fluffy and delicious. You could whisk whole eggs into the batter and skip beating the egg whites separately, but you'll lose the texture and lightness that it brings.
• Fully preheat the iron: just like with pancakes, not waiting for the waffle iron to fully preheat will make for waffles that might stick or won't have a crisp exterior. Most modern waffle irons will have a light or a sound that tells you when they're ready to use.
• Keep the full amount of sugar: reducing the sugar will lead to waffles that are missing that crisp outer layer. You can reduce if needed but know that the waffles won't be the same as described.

More Sourdough Discard Recipes

If you make this Sourdough Discard Waffles recipe or any other sourdough recipes on the Baked Collective, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more baking, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.