Sourdough Discard, Overripe Bananas and Zucchinis

What do sourdough discard, overripe bananas, and zucchinis have in common? Well nothing, unless you bring them together to make muffins or nut bread and this time of year, this seems like a natural to all those zucchinis popping up in the garden.

Along with the zucchini problem, I have a perennial problem of overripe bananas and what to do with them. And then this time of year my starter is always ready to climb out of it jar from all the constant feeding to keep up with the summer heat.

Happily, I recently learned this trick from Amanda Paa, who accumulates her discard and stores it in the fridge until she wants to bake. At her blog site, Heartbeet Kitchen, she writes,

“With sourdough baking, removing and discarding some of your starter before you feed it each time can feel wasteful. But you don’t have to throw it out! The great thing about discard starter is that  can be used in baking even after sitting in your refrigerator for over two weeks. Think of leftover starter as food, and essentially a levain, or what we would use to give life and rise to a recipe. That’s why I save mine in a separate jar and let it accumulate, then make something delicious from it when the jar is nearly full, as is, straight from the refrigerator.”

Banana, Zucchini, Nut Sourdough Bread Recipe

This same recipe works great as muffins, (see photo above) using the same heat, but baking them for just 25 minutes. Then let them cool in the hot oven, which will brown them up well and get them to 200°F (93°C).

For more help on sourdough, zucchini muffins see Heartbeet Kitchen,  where Amanda offers a recipe for Zucchini Walnut Sourdough Discard Muffins sweetened with bananas on her blog. I especially like that her recipe uses less fat than others I have tried including the one listed above.