Sourdough Discard French Bread

This Sourdough French Bread is soft and fluffy and so easy to whip up. It is made using sourdough discard and instant yeast for a quick homemade bread.

What is sourdough discard?

You can think of sourdough discard as leftover starter. After your starter peaks it begins to fall back down and is no ideal for leavening breads and other baked goods, but don’t let the name deceive you! Although it is called “discard” it can be used for many different discard recipes such as Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sourdough Pancakes, Biscuits and Crackers. You can learn more about Sourdough Discard in this post here. 

For this Sourdough French Bread Recipe, sourdough discard is used along with yeast to create a bread much quicker than the regular sourdough fermentation process. The sourdough discard is used for the sourdough tang, moisture, and flavor, and since it’s not ideal for leavening, yeast is added to make the dough rise quicker. This Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread recipe uses the same method! 

Tools to make Sourdough Discard French Bread

• Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer – You can use your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment to knead the bread, or you can do it by hand. You only need to knead it for about 5 minutes, so it is an easy recipe to do without any tools! 
• Kitchen scale – I always measuring ingredients for sourdough bread with a kitchen scale in grams to ensure accurate measurements.  
• Baking Sheet – The only thing needed to bake this bread recipe. 
• Reusable Baking Mats– I love reusable mats for all my baking needs, but you can also just use parchment paper. 
• Cooling Rack – To prevent the bottom from getting soggy, remove the bread from the baking sheet and add to a wire rack to cool. 

Ingredients to make Sourdough Discard French Bread

• Water – Use warm water to help the yeast activate and bread rise.
• Sourdough discard- For a quick rise, use discard that has been sitting on the counter and is room temperature. You can use cold discard from the fridge but it will slow down the rise time. 
• Sugar – White granulated sugar slightly sweetens the bread.
• Yeast- Instant yeast is used to leaven the bread. If you use SAF Instant Yeast or other rapid yeasts you can add it directly in with the ingredients, no need to let it sit to activate. Although it’s best to check the instructions on your yeast to see if it needs to be activated before adding it.
• Salt – Any type of salt works great such as sea salt or kosher salt. 
• Oil – Any neutral flavored oil will work. I always use olive oil.
• Bread flour – I like to use bread flour rather than all purpose flour because it has a higher protein content.

Instructions on how to make Sourdough Discard French Bread

Add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast to a mixing bowl and combine.

Heat water to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. If your discard is coming straight from the fridge heat the water to 130 degrees Fahrenheit since the discard will cool down the water. Add the discard and oil to the water and mix it up.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix the ingredients together in a stand mixer or by hand until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Once combined, knead all ingredients together until smooth on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes by hand or in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. 

Let rise for 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size. 

Punch down the dough and then dump onto an lightly floured surface. 

To shape, first cut the dough in half. Take one half of the dough and flatten into a rectangle. Then, take one third of the dough on the long side and fold into a trifold shape (like a letter). Take the other side and fold it on top of itself to create one long loaf. Pinch the seams on the ends together. Then, flip the dough over seam side down and using your hands roll the dough to create a tight surface and one long log shape. Then repeat the process with the other half of the dough creating two loaves. 

Place both loaves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, seam side down. Cover with a kitchen towel.

Let the dough rise for another 30 mins–1 hour in a warm spot until the loaves are puffy. 

When it is ready to bake, add an egg wash. The egg wash is optional but will give the loaf a golden brown shiny crust. Then take a bread lame or sharp knife and create diagonal slashes down the bread, about four or five cuts.

Bake in a preheated 400F degree oven for 17-23 mins, until the bread is lightly browned and cooked through. 

Remove the bread from the oven and move the loaves to a wire rack to cool.

Slice the bread and enjoy with butter or jam!

How to store the French Bread

The best way to keep this French Bread fresh is to store it in an airtight container or ziplock bag. It will keep on the counter for up to one week. You can eat it at room temperature or add to your toaster oven or regular oven at 350F until warmed through. 

This is also a great bread to freeze to save for later. To freeze the French bread you can leave it whole or slice it up. Since it is a longer loaf, it may be easier to cut in half first if placing in a bag. Then, wrap the bread in foil and place in it a freezer ziplock bag. Or if you would like to slice the bread and freeze, slice into pieces and then place parchment paper between each slice and set in a freeze bag. Then, take pieces out as needed. 

To thaw you can set it on the counter to defrost overnight, or you can grab individual slices and place in a 350F degree oven until warmed through or the microwave. 

Tips for success

• You want to ensure that the dough doubles in size before moving on to the next step. The key to getting your dough to rise is a warm temperature. If you are having trouble getting your dough to rise or your house is on the cooler side, you can use a warming mat (use coupon code country10) to speed up the process. 
• Be sure to use warm water when mixing the ingredients. The warmth helps activate the yeast, but be careful not to use hot water. If the water is too hot, it can actually kill the yeast! To test, you can stick your finger in the water and if it is a warm and comfortable temperature then you are good to go. 
• Using cold sourdough discard will slow down the rise time. If you would like the process to be quicker, let the discard sit at room temperature before assembling the dough.

How to make garlic bread

This Sourdough Discard French Bread makes the best garlic bread! It’s super easy to do too! Here are the ingredients for the garlic butter spread for one loaf:

• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup fresh parmesan

Combine the softened butter, garlic, salt, and fresh parsley together in a small bowl. Cut one loaf of the Sourdough Discard French Bread lengthwise and spread the butter mixture over evenly. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit on a sheet pan for 10 minutes. Then sprinkle on the cheese and bake for 2 minutes. Then broil for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned on top. Slice and serve immediately. Enjoy!!

If you love garlic bread you’ve got to try my Sourdough Garlic Knots.