Fluffy Sourdough Discard Pull-Apart Garlic Bread

A delicious way to use up your sourdough discard – soft, garlicky, and perfect for sharing.

If you’ve been wondering what to do with that sourdough discard sitting in your fridge, this pull-apart garlic bread is the answer. It's soft, buttery, full of flavor, and the perfect excuse to bake something comforting. Plus, it’s a total crowd-pleaser – whether you're serving it with soup, pasta, or just tearing it apart straight out of the pan.

This recipe uses a bit of instant yeast alongside your sourdough discard to give it that quick lift, without compromising on flavor. It’s fluffy, easy to make, and loaded with garlicky goodness.

Ingredients

For the Dough:

• 120g sourdough discard (unfed, room temp)

• 240ml warm milk

• 2 tsp sugar or honey

• 1 Tbsp instant yeast

• 1 large egg

• 400g all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 50g butter, softened

For the Garlic Butter:

• 100g butter, melted

• 3–4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1-2 tbsp chopped parsley (fresh or dried)

• Flakey sea salt.

• Optional: 1 tbsp grated parmesan for extra flavor

Instructions

1. Activate the yeast:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm milk, sugar, and instant yeast. Let it sit for 5–10 minutes until it’s bubbly and foamy. This means your yeast is awake and ready to go.

2. Make the dough:

Add the sourdough discard, egg, flour, and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix until it starts to come together into a dough. Knead by hand for 8–10 minutes or with a mixer for 5–6 minutes. Once the dough is coming together, add the softened butter and keep kneading until it’s smooth and elastic. (It might be slightly sticky, and that’s totally okay!)

3. First rise:

Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until it’s doubled in size.

4. Shape:

Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 to 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a flat circle, then spread a little garlic butter onto each one. Fold the circles in half (like a taco) and arrange them upright, side by side, in a greased loaf tin. This creates a beautiful layered, pull-apart effect once baked.

5. Second rise:

Cover and let the dough rise again for 30–45 minutes, until the balls are nice and puffy.

6. Bake:

Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake the bread for 20–25 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and fluffy. If you want to take it over the top, brush the freshly baked bread with more garlic butter (do it – you won’t regret it).

Tips:

• This bread is best served warm, straight out of the oven.

• Leftovers (if there are any) can be gently reheated the next day.

• Want to make it extra special? Add a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella in between the dough balls before baking!