Easy Sourdough Dumplings [quick discard + overnight methods] (2024)

Published: Apr 3, 2023 · Modified: Jan 30, 2024 by The Pantry Mama This post may contain affiliate links.

These easy sourdough dumplings are the ultimate comfort food! You can use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter - it's absolutely your choice.

This sourdough dumplings recipe makes 12 good sized dumplings, and you can double or even triple it if you need to. Drop them into your favorite soup or stew for a simple, hearty meal where everyone will leave the table with full and happy bellies.

Dumpling soup makes such a comforting meal during the cooler months of the year and is easy on the budget - which is something we are all thankful for these days!

If you love comfort food, you might also like to try these sourdough bread bowls, sourdough apple pie, sourdough popovers or sourdough chocolate brownies. And did I mention sourdough chicken pot pie?

Using Sourdough Discard

Sourdough discard is the unfed portion of your sourdough starter that is removed before each feed. It's important to discard your starter, so that it doesn't end up taking over your kitchen! You can find simple instructions for making a sourdough starter here.

You can use the discard you remove from your starter after day 7. Before this time, the discard should be tossed in the trash or compost. After 7 days, you can use the discard in these sourdough discard recipes.

For this recipe, you can use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter - it doesn't really matter too much. This recipe can be a great way to use up extra sourdough starter if you have some left over after baking a loaf of sourdough bread.

How To Make Sourdough Dumplings (and cook them quickly)

Making sourdough dumplings is so very easy! They take just minutes to pull together and can be a fun sourdough recipe to make with the kids too.

You can choose to make them and pop them straight into your favorite soup, or put the mixture in the fridge overnight (or up to 2 days). It's really up to you!

Here's how to make sourdough dumplings:

1. Make sure your butter is really cold and cut into small cubes or grated. You can pop it in the freezer to cool it faster if you need to.
   
2. Add flour and cold butter to a medium mixing bowl and rub the flour into the butter using your fingertips. The mixture should be crumbly, but still feel cold.
   
3. Add the baking powder, salt and herbs to the flour mixture and gently stir through with a spatula or spoon.
   
4. Now whisk the egg and sourdough starter together and then pour into the centre of the dry ingredients.
   
5. Gently bring the wet and dry ingredients together to form a dry dough (don't overwork it or your dumplings will be tough).
   
6. Using your fingers, form 12 small balls of dough (they don't have to be perfect and they might seem crumbly, that's perfectly ok). Use around a tablespoon of dumpling dough to form each ball.
   
7. Make sure your soup is gently simmering on a low boil (not boiling). Carefully drop the dumplings into the soup. They might sink at first - don't panic, they'll pop back up in a minute or two.
   
8. Pop the lid on the soup and leave to gently simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.
   
9. Serve your soup and dumplings!

Tips for The Best Sourdough Dumplings

Making sourdough soup dumplings are so easy, but there are still a few things you can do to make sure you have success every time you make them.

• Don't drop the dumplings into boiling soup. You just want it gently simmering so that the dumplings steam, not boil. If you're soup is boiling, you'll end up with soggy dumplings.
  
• Make sure the butter is cold when you rub the flour into it. This will give you the most tender dumplings.
  
• All purpose flour is best for these sourdough dumplings. The higher protein content in bread flour will make the dumplings too tough.
  
• Don't add any liquid to the dumpling dough - even if you feel it's too wet. You want the dumplings to be "dry" so that they absorb the soup (and all that flavor) while they're cooking.
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• To check the dumplings are done, simply cut one in half. The inside should be light and airy, with a texture similar to bread.

Long Fermented Sourdough Dumplings

If you'd prefer to ferment your sourdough dumplings overnight, you can make the dough and then put it in the fridge for up to 2 days.

When you're ready to form the dumplings, let the dough sit out for around an hour and then make the dumplings and add to simmering soup.

How To Serve Sourdough Dumplings

I love these easy sourdough dumplings - they're so quick to pull together (and I always have my jar of sourdough starter on the counter, so there's always starter ready to use at a moment's notice!). Here are some of the ways we like to serve these sourdough dumplings in our home:

• Sourdough Chicken and Dumplings - I make the most delicious chicken soup, packed full of chicken and veggies. I add these sourdough dumplings to the soup (fresh thyme leaves and chives work so well in the dumplings here).

• Beef & Red Wine Casserole - I love making beef and red wine casserole in the winter months. I often put it in the slow cooker in the morning and then add these dumplings 30 minutes before we serve it. They work really well!
  
• Sourdough Beef & Guinness Irish Stew - I love serving herby sourdough dumplings on top of a hearty sourdough beef and Guinness Irish stew thickened with sourdough starter for a family favorite dinner everyone loves!

• Italian Potato and Bean Soup - when I was younger, an older Italian lady in our community taught me to make this frugal soup from potatoes, green beans, green peas and bone broth. It's absolutely amazing with these dumplings (made with fresh parsley) and lashings of freshly grated parmesan cheese and black pepper.

• Minestrone Soup - this classic Italian soup tastes even better with fresh sourdough dumplings!

How To Store & Freeze

You can freeze these sourdough dumplings to use another day. Once you've formed the dumplings, place them on a tray lined with parchment paper. Freeze them like that and then when they are frozen, transfer them to a zip loc bag. You can then grab a few out when you need them. Just drop them into your soup frozen. So easy!

Once the dumplings are cooked in the soup, they need to be eaten within a few days. If you leave them in the hot soup, they will go hard, so it's best to take them out and store them separately, returning them to the leftover soup when you warm it up.

Frequently Asked Questions