That depends on the size of your starter and how often you bake! If you're baking with your starter on a daily basis, you don't need to discard any starter at all, because you'll use up the excess as soon as you make it. On days that you're not baking or preparing to bake, though, you'll want to discard enough of your starter to keep it at a steady weight. If you're using our Sourdough Baking Guide for your measurements, this means you'll want to keep 113 grams of starter and discard the rest. If you're using our measurements for maintaining a smaller sourdough starter, you'll keep just 60 grams. The reason for discarding is primarily to avoid a sourdough starter that keeps building and building until you run out of room in your crock, as well as to ensure that your yeast doesn't have too much competition for a limited amount of food. Of course, there's no reason you have to toss your discards in the compost. They make wonderful pizza dough, pancakes, pretzels, and more. Happy baking! Kat@KAF

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