Why do you discard half the starter when feeding?
Removing part of the starter keeps the quantity from growing out of control, because if you fed the whole thing every time you would end up with kilos of it within days. It also gives the microbes a cleaner, fresher batch of flour to work with, which keeps a good balance of yeast and bacteria. That removed portion is not waste either, you can collect it in a jar in the fridge and use it for pancakes, crackers or flatbreads.
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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