How to Convert a Recipe to Sourdough

Jul 09, 2026

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Once you learn how to master baking sourdough bread, you may start wondering if you can take your favorite yeasted recipes and turn them into naturally leavened sourdough recipes. The good news is, you can! With a few simple adjustments, you can convert many of your favorite breads, baked goods, and even treasured family recipes to use your sourdough starter instead of commercial yeast.

Sourdough starter in a jar with a linen cloth and a wood cutting board.

Save & Summarize

Can I convert any recipe to sourdough?
What is the difference between using active starter and sourdough discard?
How to convert a yeast recipe to sourdough
How to Add Sourdough Discard to Non-Yeast Recipes
Tip for success
Common Mistakes When Converting Recipes to Sourdough
Troubleshooting Converted Sourdough Recipes
Frequently asked questions
More sourdough Basics

Can I convert any recipe to sourdough?

Most recipe that are baked or cooked and contains flour and a liquid can be converted to sourdough. You can use active sourdough starter in place of yeast or sourdough discard to add flavor. The only type of recipes that can’t be converted are those that are not cooked (it is not safe to eat raw sourdough starter) or if they do not contain flour and a liquid that you can substitute starter for.

What is the difference between using active starter and sourdough discard?

Active sourdough starter is a live fermented culture of water and flour that naturally leavens breads without the need for commercial yeast. Sourdough discard refers to the excess starter that remains after it doubles in size and begins to fall back down. This term can be deceiving though as “discard” doesn’t mean it’s unusable or wasted. A better way to think of it is as leftovers. Discard can no longer leaven recipes, but it can be used to add flavor and moisture.

Active sourdough starter is used when you want the recipe to rise naturally, like sourdough bread, sourdough rolls, sourdough bagels, and sourdough cinnamon rolls, and would replace the need for yeast.

Sourdough discard is used in recipes that already have a leaving agent such as baking powder, baking soda, eggs, or yeast, and can be added to recipes like sourdough blueberry muffins, sourdough pancakes, sourdough chocolate chip cookies, and sourdough banana bread.

How to convert a yeast recipe to sourdough

Converting a yeast recipe to sourdough is actually pretty simple once you understand the basic formula. Since sourdough starter contains both flour and water, you’ll need to adjust the flour and liquid in the original recipe.

Step 1: Convert the recipe to grams

If your recipe is written in cups, start by converting the flour and liquid measurements to grams. This will make the sourdough conversion much more accurate since sourdough starter is measured by weight.

Once you know the weight of the flour and liquid in the original recipe, you can adjust the amounts based on how much sourdough starter you are adding.

Step 2: Replace the yeast with active sourdough starter

As a general rule of thumb, 1 packet of yeast, or about 5–7 grams, can be replaced with 100 grams of active sourdough starter.

Make sure your starter is active, bubbly, and at peak rise before adding it to the dough.

Step 3: Subtract flour and liquid from the recipe

Most sourdough starters are 100% hydration, which means they are made with equal parts flour and water by weight.

So, if you add 100 grams of sourdough starter, you are essentially adding:

50 grams of flour
50 grams of water

Because of this, you’ll want to subtract 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of liquid from the original recipe.

For example, if your recipe calls for:

500 grams of flour
300 grams of water or milk

And you add 100 grams of sourdough starter, your new measurements would be:

450 grams of flour
250 grams of water or milk
100 grams of active sourdough starter

Step 4: Adjust the dough as needed

Once the dough comes together, pay attention to the texture. If it feels too sticky or loose, add a little more flour as needed. If it feels too dry, add a small splash of liquid.

Every recipe is a little different, so you may need to make adjustments the first time you convert it, as it’s not a perfect formula.

Step 5: Plan for a longer rise time

Sourdough takes much longer to rise than commercial yeast, so it is important to plan ahead. The amount of starter you use and the temperature of your dough will both affect how quickly it rises. Enriched doughs, such as sourdough hamburger buns, that are made with fats like butter, eggs and milk will also take longer to rise than a traditional sourdough bread recipe made with just water, flour, and salt. Adding a larger amount of active starter or placing the dough in a warmer spot can help speed things up.

For example, in my sourdough cinnamon rolls, I use 200 grams of active sourdough starter with 650 grams of flour, which is about 30% starter compared to the total flour amount. At 68–70°F, the dough usually takes about 8–10 hours to rise. If I place the dough in a warmer spot around 80°F, the rise time is closer to 4–5 hours.

The best way to know how long you need to let your dough rise is by watching the dough, not the clock.

Sourdough starter in a jar next to a measuring cup of flour and a danish dough whisk.

How to Add Sourdough Discard to Non-Yeast Recipes

Adding sourdough discard to non-yeast recipes is similar to converting a yeast recipe, but with one important difference: you keep the original leavening agent in the recipe.

This means if the recipe calls for baking powder or baking soda, you will leave those in. The sourdough discard is added for flavor, texture, and possibly fermentation benefits, but it is not replacing the baking powder or baking soda the same way active starter replaces yeast.

Step 1: Convert the recipe to grams

If the recipe is written in cups, start by converting the flour and liquid measurements to grams. This makes it much easier to accurately adjust the recipe when adding sourdough discard.

Step 2: Decide how much sourdough discard to add

Choose how much sourdough discard you want to add to the recipe. For most muffins, quick breads, pancakes, waffles, cookies, cakes, or biscuits, 60-120 grams of discard is a good starting point.

Step 3: Subtract flour and liquid from the recipe

Most sourdough discard is 100% hydration, which means it is made with equal parts flour and water by weight.

So, if you add 100 grams of sourdough discard, you are adding:

50 grams of flour
50 grams of water

Because of this, you will usually subtract 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of liquid from the original recipe.

This is easy in recipes that already have a liquid, such as milk, water, or buttermilk. For example, if you add 100 grams of discard to a muffin recipe, you can subtract 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of milk.

However, some recipes, like cookies, may not have an obvious liquid to remove. This is where you can get creative. One option is to brown the butter first, which removes some of the water from the butter. For every 1/2 cup, or 113 grams, of butter, browning usually removes about 1 tablespoon, or 15 grams, of water. This is what I do in my sourdough peanut butter cookies.

You can also remove an egg white, which takes out about 30 grams of moisture while leaving behind the rich egg yolk. In some recipes, you may even be able to add a smaller amount of sourdough discard, closer to 60 grams, without needing to remove much, if any, liquid from the original recipe.

The goal is to keep the dough or batter close to the original texture, so use these adjustments as a starting point and make changes as needed.

Step 4: Keep the leavening agent

For non-yeast recipes, do not remove the baking powder or baking soda. These ingredients are still needed to help the recipe rise properly.

The sourdough discard adds flavor and can improve the texture, but it does not replace the leavening agent in quick breads, muffins, cakes, cookies, pancakes, waffles, or biscuits.

Step 5: Optional overnight ferment

For additional sourdough benefits, you can add an overnight ferment to many non-yeast recipes.

To do this, mix the flour, liquid, and sourdough discard together, then cover and let it rest overnight. The next day, add the remaining ingredients, including the baking powder or baking soda, and bake the recipe as normal.

Tip for success

Use a kitchen scale when measuring ingredients and use grams. This will help you convert the recipe more accurately.
Change one thing at a time and write down your adjustments. If you love the way it turned out you’ll want to remember exactly what you did!
Expect testing and tweaking. Your recipe may not come out exactly right the first time but keep playing around with measurements. It’s so rewarding when it comes together!

Common Mistakes When Converting Recipes to Sourdough

Adding starter without subtracting flour and liquid – this will throw off the texture of the baked good and could make it too dense.
Expecting sourdough to rise as fast as yeast – sourdough takes much longer to rise than yeast, which is why you need to be comfortable with signs that your dough is ready.
Overproofing the dough – just as it can be easy to not give the dough enough time to rise, you also need to be careful to not let the dough ferment too long and overproof.

Troubleshooting Converted Sourdough Recipes

My dough is too sticky: Add a little more flour or reduce liquid next time.
My dough is not rising: Your starter may not be active enough, or the dough may be too cold.
My recipe tastes too sour: Use a freshly peaked starter and shorten the fermentation.

Frequently asked questions

Which recipes are easiest to convert to sourdough?

Recipes that are recipes to convert are recipes such as: pancakes, waffles, muffins, quick breads, crackers, pizza dough, sandwich bread, and rolls.

Will sourdough make my recipe taste sour?

It can add a light tang, but the flavor depends on how much starter you use, how long it ferments, and how acidic your starter is.

Why didn’t my converted sourdough recipe rise?

The starter may not have been active enough, the dough may have been too cold, or it may simply need more time.

What liquid is best to replace the starter or discard with?

It is best to start with replacing either water or milk in the recipe, and then if there are not liquids like that, such as a cookie recipe, you can try replacing some of the oil, butter or eggs.