Hi Dominique, I apologize for the delay in responding to your question, although it sounds like you have other ways of staying busy during the pandemic ;-). I generally don't recommend using the discard during the early days of starter creation because the starter is still weeding out unhelpful bacteria that may not taste or smell very good, but in this case it sounds like you basically heat-treated the starter, so it probably would have been fine. For future attempts, I would wait a few days into the process, until the starter begins to have a pleasant aroma—sour or yeasty is okay, but don't use starter that smells like acetone, stinky feet or vomit (I know, this goes without saying, but it's fairly common for starters to go through a stinky period early on). Since you're going to be baking with the discard, I imagine any bacteria present will be killed off, but you don't want to be adding unsavory elements to your baking.
April 27, 2020 at 9:46am
In reply to This is so helpful! Just… by Dominique (not verified)
Hi Dominique, I apologize for the delay in responding to your question, although it sounds like you have other ways of staying busy during the pandemic ;-). I generally don't recommend using the discard during the early days of starter creation because the starter is still weeding out unhelpful bacteria that may not taste or smell very good, but in this case it sounds like you basically heat-treated the starter, so it probably would have been fine. For future attempts, I would wait a few days into the process, until the starter begins to have a pleasant aroma—sour or yeasty is okay, but don't use starter that smells like acetone, stinky feet or vomit (I know, this goes without saying, but it's fairly common for starters to go through a stinky period early on). Since you're going to be baking with the discard, I imagine any bacteria present will be killed off, but you don't want to be adding unsavory elements to your baking.
Barb