SOURDOUGH APPLE FRITTERS – NO SUGAR & DELICIOUS!
Sourdough bakers are always looking for ways to utilize the “discard” from their starter when they feed and refresh it. Since I keep my starter on the counter and feed it every day, I am quickly running through recipes other than bread that can incorporate the discard.
I was really hungry for something sweet for breakfast, but didn’t want to make a traditional, sugar-enhanced recipe. So I made these absolutely delicious apple fritters, utilizing the discard from this morning’s feeding of my wild caught sourdough starter “Audrey,” and some sweet-tart organic Granny Smith apples I had on hand. The result is heaven — a crisp outer layer with chewy inside and bursts of sweet-tart apple. Yum! The recipe I made was enough for two people, but you can easily double or triple for more. And if by some miracle you have some left over, they reheat easily in a toaster oven.
Sourdough Apple Fritters
Ingredients:
1-1/2 Cups Granny Smith or other tart apple, peeled, cored and diced small
1/2 Cup Sourdough Starter discard (be sure to stir it up well before extracting your discard)
Organic Coconut Oil – enough to make an inch in the bottom of your fryer or pan (1-2 cups) [We are lucky to have access to an excellent brand which is Virgin Cold Pressed and even smells lightly of coconut adding another element to the flavor of these fritters. I encourage folks to do their own research on coconut oil and health. There are differences of opinion, but I personally have concluded it is a healthy choice.]
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon Fine Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Baking Soda
A note about the hydration of your starter: This recipe works well with starter that is 75% or even 50% hydration, which will support the apples well in the batter. If your starter is 100% hydration then you may want to sprinkle some flour into the batter until it is thick enough to support the apples.
- Combine the apples and starter by drizzling the starter over the apples while gently stirring to coat them.
- Sprinkle dry ingredients over the batter and mix to combine.
- Set your fryer or pan with coconut oil to a medium high heat while the batter “sets up”
- Check readiness of the oil by dropping a drop of batter onto the center and outer edge of the oil. If it creates tiny sizzle bubbles it is ready.
- Spoon batter into the oil making sure there is about a half inch between spoonfuls. Leave the center for last as it is usually the hottest.
- Fry until golden on the bottom then flip to fry other side. The timing will depend on the heat, but no more than 4 minutes on each side.
- When both sides have fried to a crisp light golden brown, remove and drain on paper towels letting them cool to edible warm stage.
Now, it is traditional to sprinkle confectioner’s sugar on sweet fritters, but I prefer these plain and do not think they suffer for it because they are so tangy and tasty. But if you must, I would recommend instead sprinkling some organic granulated Stevia – just go lightly as it is very sweet. Serve warm. Enjoy!