Sourdough Brownies
Deeply chocolaty, soft and chewy brownies made with some sourdough discard. While it’s one way to use up that discard in the fridge, it also provides a really unique and lovely soft texture to the brownies.
I had the idea to make sourdough brownies last fall when exploring recipes for sourdough chocolate chip cookies. I thought, what if we tried it in brownies? I considered it could be an awful idea, having our brownies taste like bread, but proceeded anyway. I reworked my thick cocoa brownies to incorporate some discard, leaving out egg whites to account for the added water in the discard.
And it was like, really really GOOD. A couple more tweaks and I had a fudgy brownie I’d reach for for the happy, without knowing there was discard in there. In fact, you can’t tell by the flavor at all because the cocoa really overpowers anything else: it’s a taste of pure chocolate. What the discard does is soften the texture so the brownies aren’t quite cakey but they are more tender than your (or my) everyday brownie.
So while this may seem like an odd idea for dessert, if you have discard and some leftover egg yolks or just a curiosity and love for brownies: I urge you to give these sourdough discard brownies a try.
Recipe Ingredients
Butter: unsalted butter. If using salted butter, halve the amount.
Sugar: fine granulated sugar. Reducing the sugar will change the texture of the brownies (not just the sweetness). If you want a softer brownie, you might opt for brown sugar though I think the sourdough does enough work here providing a soft texture.
Egg yolks & Egg: two yolks and one large egg. Reserve the two extra whites for another use. Ideally the eggs are at room temperature.
Salt: fine sea salt. If using table salt, halve the amount.
Vanilla: pure extract or vanilla bean paste. A teaspoon or two of vanilla extract.
Cocoa powder: dutch process cocoa (not natural) gives a rich chocolate flavor. I don’t advise using natural cocoa powder or black cocoa as these will alter the texture and flavor.
Flour: all purpose flour.
Sourdough discard: unfed starter.
Chocolate: Chocolate: optional, adding very finely chopped dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips would make the brownies more chocolaty, give them that shiny flaky topping and give them a denser texture.
How to make Sourdough Brownies
Preheat the oven to 325 and line a square baking pan with parchment paper: I do two overlapping layers so all four sides are covered. Spraying the pan with oil helps the parchment adhere to the pan.
In a medium bowl (heatproof), melt the butter: so that it’s mostly but not fully melted, as shown.
Add the sugar and whisk it into the butter:
Heat the two again (1 minute in the microwave should do it):
Then whisk it very well, until it starts to come together in a shiny, thick mixture:
Sift in the dutch processed cocoa powder (you can skip the sifting if your cocoa isn’t lumpy).
And whisk it in, at first it will be a thin liquid:
Then it will thicken and gather around and in the whisk:
Add the salt and vanilla and whisk.
Crack in the egg and add the egg yolks:
Whisk very very well (or use a hand mixer) until it’s a thick, shiny mix:
Stir in the flour, discard and chocolate (if using)
Pour into prepared pan and smooth over the top.
Bake until puffed in the center. If you want to check it with a toothpick or a cake tester, the tester should come out not gooey but with a thick goo and some done cake crumbs. You never want to go as far as a clean toothpick, this will lead to overcooked brownies.
Recipe Notes
- You’ll know these are done baking by keeping an eye on the center of the brownies: it’s not done until it puffs up in the middle (the edges and sides will puff up early on but the center is last) and then collapses a little bit. My oven is being funky so don’t rely on my timings, they are just a general guide, watch your bake to know.
- Store brownies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
- If you don’t use the chopped chocolate in the batter, the top will be very matte (and kind of boring). So, sometimes I glaze them, sometimes I frost them, and for this batch that I shot here, I drizzled on some melted dark chocolate. With the chocolate added to the batter they look like the photo below:
Sourdough Brownies Recipe
Sourdough Brownies
Ingredients
- 170g or ¾ cups butter, unsalted
- 300g or 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 80g or ¾ cups dutch process cocoa
- 2 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg from large eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 100g sourdough discard unfed starter
- 65g or ½ cup all purpose flour
- 120 g semi-sweet or dark chocolate very finely chopped, optional
Method
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Set the butter in a heatproof bowl and warm it in the microwave for about a minute, until it’s partially melted. Add the sugar to the bowl, whisk it in, then set it back in the microwave for another minute. The butter should be hot and fully melted and the sugar will have begun to dissolve, whisk it very well then add the cocoa. Whisk until the batter starts to clump together around the whisk.
- Add the egg and egg yolks, vanilla and salt and then switch to a hand mixer and beat until smooth - about two minutes (you can keep using the whisk here if you don’t have a hand mixer, it will just take longer and some arm muscle to get it well mixed).
- Add the discard and flour and beat to just combine. Fold in the chocolate, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is matte and puffed in the center, then collapses - about 40 minutes.
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Thanks for making a recipe suited to “ all the things I already have in my kitchen” recipe and making it super simple like just using a microwave, for people having late night cravings. Haven’t tried it yet as it’s in oven but I’m sure it’s great, literally took 5 mins to throw together
I was skeptical that these could actually be that good but holy smokes they were incredible. I browned my butter, added pecans, and sprinkled the top with sea salt.
these were perfect to bring along to a NYE party – whisked together in a few minutes and mighty delicious – the chocolate gains another level of depth thanks to the sour dough tang and the crumb is so juicy!
I enjoy using the recipe
yumm
My favorite food is brownies, so I am a good critic, and these were AMAZING. My husband doesn’t love brownies and he was addicted to these lol! I am currently dairy free so replaced butter for a little les oil (asked ChatGPT how much light olive oil to use in substitute of the butter:)). Thanks for another great recipe!!!
Quite possibly my new favorite brownie recipe! So deeply chocolatey, with a bit of tang from the sourdough starter, and oh so fudgy. 10/10 Sam!!
I’m looking forward to giving this recipe a try. My hubby is diabetic so I’ll use sweetener in them instead of regular sugar. I also make my own chocolate chips with sweetener instead of regular sugar and I’ll let you know how they turn out. Recipe looks amazing! Thank you!
OMG these are absolutely delicious and now are my go to brownie recipe!
I’m unable to bake any other brownie recipe. This recipe is the OG of brownies. Follow the recipe exactly and they were spectacular. I have to make sure I always have sourdough discard available. Lol thank you for creating this recipe!
If you have any doubts about making these brownies-don’t hesitate!!! These are a definite winner!!!! EVERYONE who’s tried these have loved them!! Enjoy!!!
Oh I’m so happy to hear it!! =D
Thank you for sharing this for keeps recipe.
One of the best brownie recipes, I ever tried .
Cheers! Learna
oh my goodness! these were so yummy. I didn’t add the extra chocolate chips to it for my first try, next time it’s a must!
I use organic cane sugar. Will that work instead of the fine granulated sugar? I’m going to rate this before baking as I know this will be absolutely delicious.
since the sugar will be heated I think it’s ok – just make sure you’re heating it properly and whisking enough. Come back and rate it after you tried them, please 😀
It’s a keeper! Thank you for the recipe! They are absolutely delicious! Plus I can use my discard.
Your recipe list, semi sweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped, which is optional, but you don’t have it in your instructions as to when to add it to the mix. Please advise!
right at the end of mixing, fixed now!
I’m not a fudgy chocolate person but these brownies were divine ❤️ I’m ready to make more
The texture of these are amazing and unique! Delicate yet rich. I will definitely put this in my discard use lineup.
This is the best recipe I’ve tried! So soft and chocolaty everyone loves it at home
=) =) i’m so pleased to hear it Melissa
Absolutely delicious and fudgy.
Stupid question..I know..😖
If I were to double or triple this recipe.. I would just increase by 2 or 3x each ingredient right?
Yes though I would only double it and bake it in a 9×13 pan. If you need to make triple, I’d bake it separately in an 8 or 9 inch square pan.
Could this be doubled and made in a 9×13?
I can’t see why not, you’ll just have to adjust the baking time.
Could I make these with fed starter as well? I was hoping to make right after I mix up dough for my bread 🙂
I think that would work too!
These are my new favorite brownies on this blog! (And I’ve made most of them) They come together quickly and easily and I love the texture!
I literally began my sourdough journey for this recipe alone. And I don’t regret it! When I saw that divine texture of your sourdough brownie, I knew I had to replicate it. And it came out PERFECT! Truly my favorite brownies to date. They were somehow chewy, delicate, and fudgy at the same time! Do you think it’s possible for me to cut the recipe in half? These brownies are a DREAM but my household is made of only two people and I can’t keep forcing my partner to eat half a pan of brownies with me T-T. I’m thinking of splitting everything down the middle. I’d whisk one egg, use my scale to measure half of it, and also use one egg yolk.
aw, I can’t believe you made a starter just for these! Hopefully you’ll find so much more you can do with it =) yes definitely you can cut it in half by using half an egg and one yolk, etc., and then just bake it in a loaf pan. Bake time will change, they should be done sooner so check them around 20 minutes.