Q: Do I really need to wait three days?

Not at all! You can also bake these straight away once the cookie dough is chilled through. You'll get more sourdough flavor and less sweetness, the longer you ferment in the fridge. Check out the post above to pick your perfect fermentation time.

Q: Why should I ferment cookie dough in the first place?

Using your discard in recipes reduces waste . But it also adds depth of flavor and tang . I keep my starter the no-discard way, but I love feeding it extra from time to time, just to have some discard stashed away to add to other bakes. Fermentation also helps with digestion by breaking down gluten and predigesting starches and sugars. If you want to read more about how to handle sourdough discard in your own kitchen, check out my What To Do With Sourdough Discard post.

Question 1

I don't mill at home, can I still make these cookies?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! Use store-bought whole grain spelt flour instead of freshly milled.
If you're in Europe, any regular whole wheat flour can be used as well.

Question 2

Can I mill a different grain?

Accepted Answer

I find that spelt and soft wheat can be used interchangeably in cookie recipes.
The distinction between hard and soft wheat is unique to North America, so if you've never come across hard wheat (other than on a bag of pasta), you're probably baking in Europe or anywhere else in the world, where soft wheat is the only wheat available anyway.

Question 3

What if my discard smells very sour?

Accepted Answer

If you don't think you'll enjoy your sour discard in a sweet cookie, either use fresh discard that's less than 48 hours old, use active starter, or try my Sourdough Discard Reset Method!

Question 4

Do I really need to wait three days?

Accepted Answer

Not at all! You can also bake these straight away once the cookie dough is chilled through. You'll get more sourdough flavor and less sweetness, the longer you ferment in the fridge. Check out the post above to pick your perfect fermentation time.

Question 5

Can I half the recipe?

Accepted Answer

Since the whole batch uses one whole egg, splitting the recipe is a little difficult. But I highly recommend freezing half a batch of dough when it has finished fermenting. Just roll it into balls, and freeze for later. You can bake the cookies directly from frozen! That way you can always make just as little or as many fresh cookies as you want.

Question 6

Why should I ferment cookie dough in the first place?

Accepted Answer

Using your discard in recipes reduces waste. But it also adds depth of flavor and tang. I keep my starter the no-discard way, but I love feeding it extra from time to time, just to have some discard stashed away to add to other bakes.
Fermentation also helps with digestion by breaking down gluten and predigesting starches and sugars. If you want to read more about how to handle sourdough discard in your own kitchen, check out my What To Do With Sourdough Discard post.

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