Sourdough waffles or pancakes, or what to do with your excess starter...
We had breakfast for dinner last night, and I thought it was time to pass on a small recommendation for this recipe from King Arthur. The waffles and pancakes it makes are light and crispy, very tasty. The recipe calls for an overnight ferment when you are planning for breakfast. When I'm planning dinner, I make the ferment in the morning. Works great for me.
Anyway, here comes a tip from me, and it might be sacrilege, but it's the real reason I'm writing:
When I feed my starter, I hate to throw away all that excess, as one is supposed to do. So usually I just keep it -- I store it in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator. Every time I feed my starter, basically weekly, I add the excess to the plastic container. I don't feed it, I don't treat it with any respect at all, I just glop it in that container. If it gets to be over four-six weeks old (by my estimate; I don't keep track!), I will just throw it out and start all over at the next feeding. But if it's not too old, I use it in this recipe. Note that the recipe calls for sourdough starter straight out of the fridge, unfed. And that certainly fits the description of what I use!
The recipe is on the King Arthur site:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-waffles-recipe [1]
Try it sometime. You'll like it.