Sourdough brownies have a rich chocolate flavor, fudgy texture, and a signature sourdough kick. Whip them up in an afternoon or long ferment them overnight.
This sourdough brownie recipe is one of my favorite ways to utilize sourdough starter discard. (See some of my other sourdough discard recipes in this post.)
When chocolate cravings hit, it is usually sourdough chocolate cake, fresh milled chocolate chip cookies, sourdough chocolate rolls, or these brownies that find their way to my oven.
If you are used to grabbing a box mix for brownies, you have to give this a try. These easy sourdough brownies are so simple and do not require an extra trip to the grocery store. Everything in the recipe is likely in your fridge or pantry already.
Serve with a cold glass of milk, a dollop of whipped cream, or a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream for the perfect treat.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious – Gooey centers with a crackly top, these are classic brownies with a burst of sourdough flavor.
Long Fermented (optional) – Long ferment this recipe it to help break down the phytic acid, reduce the gluten content, and make the nutrients more bioavailable.
Great way to use discard – If you have a brand new starter, this is a great recipe to use up the discard.
Ingredients
Butter – Use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the recipe. You can also use a neutral oil, like avocado oil.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips – This gives it a nice balance without making the brownies too sweet.
Vanilla – I use homemade vanilla extract.
Flour – Whole wheat flour, spelt, or all purpose flour will work. You can also check out my brownie recipe using freshly milled flour.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Sourdough Brownies
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 9″ × 9″ pan by lining it with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan over low/medium heat, melt butter. Take off heat and add chocolate chips and vanilla.
Step 2: Stir until all melted together.
Step 3: In a medium or large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
Step 4: Pour melted chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients. Add in eggs and sourdough discard. Stir well until there are no clumps.
Step 5: Pour the sourdough brownie batter into prepared pan.
Step 6: Bake for 40 minutes in the prepared 9″ x 9″ pan or until a toothpick comes out clean and the middle is set. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving. This will help it set up and also develop the flavors.
Tips
- My sourdough starter is at 100% hydration, meaning I feed it with equal parts flour and water.
- Make sure your eggs are room temperature. If you forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, you can bring them up to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of hot water for 5 to10 minutes.
- Allow the brownies to cool totally before cutting. Once they are completely cooled, the flavor will have developed, and the brownies will hold together.
- Long ferment the dough overnight to add more delicious tang from the fermentation of the grains. Combine the flour, sourdough starter, sugar, and half a cup of melted butter the night before. Cover and leave overnight or up to 24 hours. The next day, add the rest of the ingredients.
Recipe FAQ’s
Basically sourdough adds flavor. If you have excess sourdough starter, this is an easy recipe to try! If you long ferment the recipe overnight, you will gain the benefit of easier digestion thanks to the breakdown of phytic acid.
If these are made without long fermenting, then they are basically the same as regular brownies. If long fermented, sourdough helps to make the gluten in the brownies easier to digest.
Fudgy brownies have more fat in them than flour, while cake like brownies have more flour than fat.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 or 3 days at room temperature or in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. These also freeze well! Freeze for up to three months once completely cooled.
More Sourdough Dessert Recipes
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sourdough Monster Cookies
- Sourdough Monkey Bread
- Sourdough Discard Double Chocolate Bread
- Sourdough Discard Blondies
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Fudgy Sourdough Discard Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 113 grams
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 170 grams
- 1 tablespoon vanilla, 13 grams
- ¾ cup flour, 105 grams
- 1 ¼ cup sugar, 250 grams
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 50 grams
- ½ teaspoon salt, 2.5 grams
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sourdough discard, 125 grams
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 9" × 9" pan by lining with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan over low/medium heat, melt butter. Take off heat and add chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until all melted together.
- In a medium or large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Pour chocolate butter mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Add in eggs and sourdough discard.
- Stir well until there are no clumps.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake 40 minutes in prepared 9″ x 9″ pan or until a toothpick comes out clean and the middle is set.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving. This will help it set up and also develop the flavors.
Notes
- Make sure your eggs are room temperature. If you forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, you can bring them up to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes.
- Allow the brownies to cool totally before cutting. Once they are completely cooled, the flavor will have developed, and the brownies will hold together.
- Long ferment the dough overnight to add more delicious tang from the fermentation of the grains. Combine the flour, sourdough starter discard, sugar, and a half a cup of melted butter the night before. Cover and leave overnight or up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, add the rest of the ingredients to the batter.
- If long fermenting, use a double boiler to melt the chocolate before adding to the fermented batter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Lisa, any tips on how to add peanut butter for a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Lover ? Peanut Butter chips,? or I think they make Reeses like M&M,s??
I would add peanut butter chips!
I doubled the brownie recipe and they had such a bitter taste. I followed the recipe to a “T”. I used an 9×13 glass pan baking them approximately 10 minutes longer. The texture was good but wasn’t. I plan on making them one more time but this time a single batch. I plan on decreasing the cocoa powder and hopefully this will decrease the bitter taste. I really appreciate all of your recipes especially for my sourdough discard.
I have noticed sometimes on this website when you hit the 2x button, it doesn’t double all the ingredients (specifically if you’re using the grams I’ve seen it not show a doubled number of grams)
I baked in an 8×8 pan and cooked 5 minutes longer. The batter was thick, but easy enough to stir. I added 1/4 chopped nuts. The brownie is super rich, moist and chewy. It will definitely go well with vanilla ice cream! If I make them again I might reduce the cocoa powder. Overall, it’s a very good recipe.
The best brownies i ever had. I can’t believe i made them!
Amazingly delicious recipe. These are the best I have made and I have made a boat load of brownies in my 60 years! Great way to use discard!
These brownies were great! A little crumbly but moist. I used active sourdough starter which led to a tangy, rich chocolate brownie. I’ll probably only use a discard next time as my kids didn’t care so much for the tanginess which is what this recipe actually calls for anyway.
Mine turned out dry and crumbly. I followed the recipe. Can someone please help me troubleshoot or give me ideas for next time? They tasted delicious! Just fell apart and stuck to the roof of our mouths.
Do you think they were over baked or under baked? Sometimes that can cause this issue. Also, not having enough oil. Did you check your oil measurements?
This is a delicious version of brownies. I just want to point out a couple of things that I discovered while making it the first time that may help others who are making it. First, the chocolate chips did not melt completely into the melted butter – and I did this immediately after removing the butter from the heat. I had to place it over a double boiler for the chocolate chips to melt. Second, there is no “Pouring” into the pan – it was slightly thinner than cookie dough, so I had to spread it into pan. I also cooked it slightly longer – gas oven and everyone’s oven is different.
There is no oil in the recipe. ???
Butter is used in place of oil.
I had the same issue as Lee. They were very dry. The recipe doesn’t mention oil in the ingredients, only a stick of butter.
I am sorry. Butter is the fat used in the recipe, in place of oil.
Can I put them in the 9×9 and cover on the counter to long ferment?
I would put them in the fridge to long ferment.
Can you use einkorn flour in this recipe? If so how much would you use?
Yes, I used Jovial Einkorn AP flour, same amount listed, baked for 45 mins in 8×8 pan and it came out great.
If I were to double this recipe how long should I cook it? And what size pan would you recommend?