fried sourdough discard funnel cakes
These fried sourdough discard funnel cakes are so much fun to make! They're crispy and golden brown but so light and fluffy on the inside with just a bit of tangy flavor from the sourdough starter.
Ingredients
- 100 grams sourdough starter discard (a rounded ⅓ cup)
- 80 grams all-purpose flour (⅔ cup, scooped loosely and leveled off)
- 70 grams milk (¼ cup + 2 tsp)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 25 grams sugar (2 TBSP)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (use ⅛ teaspoon of another brand)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla (extract or paste)
- powdered sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
- Combine sourdough discard, milk, egg, and vanilla with an immersion blender until no streaks or lumps of sourdough starter or egg remain.
- Add dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) to wet ingredients and blend well until combined. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
- Heat about 3" of neutral oil to 350°F in a wide, high-sided skillet with a candy thermometer attached.
- Arrange a cooling rack over paper towels in a sheet pan and set next to the stove.
- Insert a wire spider into the oil so that the rim of the spider breaks the surface of the oil.
- Plug the bottom of the funnel with your finger and fill the funnel with about ¼ cup batter. Drizzle batter into the center of the wire spider in circular squiggle patterns using the funnel. Fry for 1 minute, then flip with the wire spider and fry an additional 30 seconds, or until golden brown on both sides.
- Remove funnel cakes to cooling rack. Let rest 10-15 seconds, then dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.
RECIPE NOTES
- My sourdough starter is 100% hydration, meaning I feed it equal parts flour and water. If you feed your starter at a lower or higher hydration you might have to add more milk or flour to get to the right pourable consistency for the funnel cake batter.
- Fried sourdough discard funnel cakes are best eaten IMMEDIATELY. Don't burn yourself, obviously, but they're not meant to sit around waiting for you.
- How much batter you need for each fried sourdough discard funnel cake will depend a bit on the size of your wire spider. I found that a little less than ¼ cup of batter was perfect for me, but you may need to adjust!
- This is a relatively small batch funnel cake recipe. It will make about 5-6 funnel cakes, depending on the size of your funnel cakes and how much batter you use for each one.
- Wait about 30-60 seconds after the funnel cakes come out of the oil before dusting with powdered sugar. If they're still too wet the powdered sugar will melt right into the batter.
- Don't have sourdough starter or sourdough discard? Replace the sourdough starter with equal parts milk and flour (50g flour + 50g milk), or just go use a recipe for a traditional funnel cake! Maintaining a sourdough starter takes work — I don't recommend getting sourdough starter just so you can make these.
- If your batter is too thick, add a splash of milk and whisk well. If your batter is too thin, whisk in additional flour. Keep adjusting as needed until you get the right consistency!