Can I start a sourdough starter with smaller amounts to avoid discarding?
Yes, you can absolutely scale down. There is nothing special about the amounts, you can start with as little as 10 grams of flour and 10 grams of water so there is barely anything to discard. The early discard is only tossed for the first few days because of unwanted microbes, and once the starter is established you can just keep any excess in a jar for pancakes or crackers.
Answered by Hendrik, The Bread Code
From the book
2 Discarding starter when preparing a new batch can be frustrating. With experience, bread-making becomes more efficient, and excess discard is rarely produced. It is possible to prepare just the right amount of starter needed for bread dough. In fact, a fully depleted starter can even be revived using a small portion of bread dough. Any leftover discard, rich in spores, can also serve as a backup to create a new sourdough starter. Simply mix the discard with a little flour and water, and it will spring back to life. That is a great option if the starter was accidentally depleted. A practical approach is to store all discard in a single jar in the fridge, adding new discard on top as needed and using it whenever required.
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