My Favorite Sourdough Recipes...That Aren't a Classic Loaf

If you want to learn to sourdough just to make that gorgeous rustic loaf, I am here to tell you that you've just scratched the surface

I’ve been baking for as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a chef and lived vicariously through all of the early 2000s TLC bakery specials and running shows. In my head…I was elite.

Fast forward and I’m not exactly elite but I am definitely a baker. The scale doesn’t matter (unless you want it to), the warm toasty baked goods do. I learned how to bake with sourdough in 2020 and while I didn’t nail the artisan loaf right away, I did love making it and eating it. Fast forward to 2025 and I haven’t bought commercial yeast in probably 2 or 3 years. I don’t think there is anything wrong with utilizing it if that’s what you love! But at this point in my baking life I’ve fallen so hard for the sourdough life, I’ll probably never get back up.

These days I’m baking way more than just the traditional artisan loaf, (but if you’re just finding me I do bake those often, I own a home cottage bakery pumping out 30-50 loaves of bread a week) I’m making EVERYTHING with sourdough. And if there is one thing I’m never doing, it is gatekeeping. So let’s talk through my favorite sourdough recipes, and you better believe I’m giving you the links and the original creators the credit.

Sourdough Bagels

This recipe from Clever Carrot is truly the MVP! Bagels are definitely a sourdough 200 kind of skill but the FLAVOR that sourdough bagels bring to the table is truly unmatched. This recipe is my favorite and brings perfection to the breakfast sandwich. Shaping can be a little tricky but I’ve found it is easiest to roll them into tight balls and rest for about 5-10 minutes. Then poke your index finger through the middle and start to spin the bagel around between two of your fingers until it stretches, go bigger than you think you want because they will shrink back down during the second rise! I’ve also been trailing an overnight cold proof and it makes them so incredibly fluffy. These are a house favorite and never last long!

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Once again, queen Clever Carrot bringing us the best sourdough cinnamon roll recipe I’ve found. Sourdough cinnamon rolls are tricky only because of the timing, as an enriched dough using sourdough as the rising agent you need to be prepared to WAIT. The rise time on this little baddies is long long long. I always prep the dough in the evening and let it sit out on my counter top overnight, typically 10 hours. Then for the second proof you just HAVE to leave them as long as you can. I typically am waiting close to 4 hours after shaping before baking to make sure they have really really gotten their full rise. If you are struggling with sourdough cinnamon rolls that feel thin or crunchy, it’s the proofing time you’re fighting and you’ve got to try to let them rise longer.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This one feels nostalgic to me in the best way, because Amber’s Kitchen is my ORIGINAL sourdough teacher, cue happy tears. I learned everything I needed to know about starting and caring for a sourdough starter from her, FOR FREE in 2020. Now she is still the creator of three of my most used recipes. The star of my bakery is indeed these sourdough chocolate chip cookies. Because you brown the butter in the initial steps it makes up for the additional water content brought in by the sourdough discard to prevent fluffy/cakey cookies and leaves you with perfectly chewy and tender cookies that crisp perfectly on the edges. I’m serious, I sell hundreds of these cookies a month and I hear weekly “this is the best cookie I’ve ever had”. Amber gives lots of tips in the write up but I’ll point out these few: definitely use the extra 1/4 of flour, make sure your discard is COMPLETELY inactive, and hold my hand when I say this….wait 48 hours. I know…I KNOW that is a miserably long time when you just want a quick cookie but I am telling you the change in the flavor after 48 or even 72 hours in the refrigerator is immaculate. I always make a huge batch of these and then scoop and freeze the dough. She has directions on her blog for baking from frozen and that’s how I’m able to make myself a nightly sourdough cookie without waiting 48 hours every time I want one. Just give it 48 hours please…..trusssst me. Go ahead and scoop out your reward cookie for making the dough and bake a single, but leave the rest of the dough in your fridge 48-72 hours. You could even bake one day for ahem…research…to taste the difference the extra fermentation makes.

Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies

These are my second favorite sourdough cookie, the balance of salty/sweet/crunchy is perfection in this recipe. Foragers of Happiness is the creator of this recipe and I’ve tried many things from her blog and never been disappointed. I use her shortbread recipe as the base for all kinds of flavor combinations and really love her scone recipes too. The cookies again need to have at least 24 but even better if they can get 48 hours to sit in the refrigerator. Sourdough just is not an instant gratification kind of cooking and for the flavor pay off that makes these special, you have to be willing to give them the time they need to work. Don’t rush greatness is all I’m saying.

Overnight Sourdough Waffles

This was the first discard recipe I tried and it’s been our most requested family breakfast for 5 years. I think at this point I’m making a double batch once a week and my kids eat them 3 mornings a week. They freeze well and the depth of flavor is just incredible. This sourdough waffle recipe is another contribution from my favorite sourdough teacher, Amber’s Kitchen. These are really nice because you mix the flour + starter + milk + sugar the night before and leave it out at room temperature for an overnight fermentation on your counter. Then in the morning you can quickly add the rest of your ingredients and homemade waffles start to show up on your counter while the rest of the house wakes up. You can add all the fun things you would normally and I just put toppings on as I add the batter to my waffle iron, or you could mix additions into your batter in the morning right before you start cooking them.

Ultimately I want you to remember this: sourdough has been consumed creatively for way longer than any of your favorite sourdough gurus have been sharing recipes online. There are SO many ways to successfully enjoy sourdough and so much of that will depend on your own personal goals. Don’t let anyone tell you that there is one “right” way to be creative in your kitchen or that you’re doing something wrong in your sourdough creation. You’re the head chef at your house, happy cooking!