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Who knew you could make easy sourdough brownies with sourdough starter? These sourdough chocolate brownies have a rich chocolate flavor and fudgy centers. Adding sourdough starter (or discard) to brownies gives them a lovely sour tang which pairs perfectly with the sweet chocolatey goodness.
Sourdough brownies taste like regular brownies – only way better! These brownies have a crackly top (essential for good brownies if you ask me!). It’s almost like meringue in texture. I love eating these slightly warm, topped with the best quality vanilla bean ice cream and sprinkled with tart raspberries – perfection!
Why You’ll Love These Brownies
- One Bowl Brownies – You need one bowl and a brownie tin – that’s it! Nothing fancy, no stand mixer, no complex techniques. Just a bowl, a whisk and spatula … but wow will you get a fancy result!
- Economical Ingredients – I created this recipe specifically to use more cocoa than chocolate. Chocolate gets expensive and we love brownies too much to only have them on special ocassions!
If you prefer your brownies blonde, try these sourdough blondies! You might also like these sourdough chocolate brownie bites!
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour – whatever all purpose flour you have on hand will work for this. You don’t need a lot because too much flour will make your sourdough brownies cakey.
- White Granulated Sugar – now don’t be frightened of the amount of sugar in this sourdough brownies recipe. I have tested this recipe countless times with less sugar and it just doesn’t work. Trust me on this!
- Salt – salt is essential to cut through the sweetness. I actually add 5g to my sourdough brownies because I love salt, but I’ve listed a little less in the recipe below as I know not everyone loves salt like I do!
- Baking Powder – go easy on the baking powder. Too much baking powder will mean your sourdough brownies will rise on the edges and then sink in the middle, so stick to the recipe on this one.
- Cocoa Powder & Chocolate Chips – Using both cocoa powder and chocolate chips gives them a rich and fudgy centre that just can’t be beaten! I’ve used regular cocoa powder from the grocery store and semi-sweet chocolate chips. You can use Dutch Processed cocoa powder if you prefer.
- Melted Butter – I’ve used salted butter but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Eggs – I’ve used 2 large eggs. If your eggs are small, use 3. Mine are from my backyard chickens so they tend to be on the large side. Make sure your eggs are room temperature and not cold as this will help them to combine with the other ingredients more easily.
- Vanilla Extract
- Sourdough Starter – you can use sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard, it’s up to you. I prefer using sourdough starter or sourdough discard at room temperature, not straight from the fridge. Using sourdough starter in this recipe really rounds out these chocolate brownies. I find traditional brownies can be overly rich, but using sourdough starter seems to round out this richness and adds a more complex flavor profile to this dessert. You could even make this chocolate sourdough starter and use it in these brownies or use this sourdough brownie batter to make sourdough brookies!
How To Make Sourdough Brownies?
I always make these sourdough brownies with one bowl, mixing dry ingredients together first and then adding the wet ingredients on top. I usually start mixing right in the middle, swirling the eggs and sourdough starter together before I stir outwards and combine them with the rest of the ingredients. Saves washing up.
Kate’s Pro Tip
If your sourdough starter is very thick
I recommend mixing the wet ingredients together first and then adding it to the dry ingredients. If the starter is too thick it won’t combine well and you might end up with chunks of cooked sourdough starter through the recipe. This isn’t what you want in these fudgy brownies.
This brownie batter is really thick. Don’t panic, it’s meant to be like this. It’s usually so thick that I have to spread it to the edges of my pan with a spatula.
Once the sourdough brownie mixture is spread into your prepared pan, bake for 35 minutes at 160ºC/320ºF. Check the sourdough brownies at 35 minutes by inserting a tooth pick – you want it to come out wet still but they should be crackly and baked on top.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Don’t overcook the brownies
They are better undercooked than over! If you like them super fudgy, reduce the cooking time by a few minutes and remove from the oven when they are still wobbly in the middle. If you insert a skewer in – it should come out covered in batter! If you prefer them more cakey then cook them until the skewer comes out mostly clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for around 30 minutes. Then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into squares.
In my opinion, these sourdough brownies always taste better the next day! They need time for the flavors to meld and I swear they get more fudgy after being left alone for a day.
Recipe Testing Notes
This recipe has been tested too many times for me to count! It’s a recipe I included in my book, Easy Sourdough On Any Schedule, so it’s not only been tested for the blog, it was then tested again, before it made it to the book. Not to mention it’s one of my family’s favorite desserts, so I make it at least a few times a month! A few things I’ve observed while testing and experimenting with this recipe:
- You definitely want to make sure you add an extra egg if your eggs are less than 50 grams each. Mine are on average 60-70 grams each.
- Don’t be too liberal with the baking powder. Definitely 3 grams only, no more!
- This recipe works in a 9″ x 9″ pan, as well as an 8″ x 8″ pan. I think I prefer it in a smaller pan as the brownies are thicker and thus a little fudgier, but honestly, they taste great in either.
- When updating this recipe, I did play around with brown sugar, but I didn’t like the texture it created so I’ve stuck with granulated sugar.
Flavor Variations
There are so many ways you can make this sourdough brownies recipe suit your own brownie tastes! Here are some ideas to for your next brownie bake!
- Mix through some white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts instead of the semi sweet chocolate chips. Drizzle with homemade caramel sauce once cooled.
- Add a tablespoon of cinnamon and teaspoon of ginger to the dry ingredients. Crush up sourdough biscoff cookies and push them into the batter before baking. Or for something truly decadent, try these spiced sourdough brownies.
- Add a shot of espresso to the batter and top with pecans before baking.
- Push a punnet of fresh raspberries or blueberries into the batter before you bake the brownies.
- Dust with powdered sugar once the sourdough brownies have cooled completely.
- If you love peanut butter, why not try these sourdough peanut butter brownies.
- Combine these sourdough brownies with sourdough chocolate chip cookies and create the ultimate sourdough brookies!
How To Store & Freeze
On The Counter – Sourdough brownies will last for around 7 days in an airtight container. I’ve had better luck keeping them in a tin lined with parchment paper than plastic.
In The Freezer – You can freeze them. Wrap in parchment paper and then in tin foil and freeze. It’s better to freeze them as a whole “cake” rather than cut before freezing. To defrost, allow them to sit on the counter until thawed through. Warm slightly before serving (microwave is fine).
Sourdough Brownies
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Square Brownie Pan 9" x 9"
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 150 g All Purpose Flour
- 380 g Granulated Sugar
- 65 g Cocoa Powder
- 3 g Salt
- 3 g Baking Powder
- 100 g Chocolate Chips, (I've used semi sweet)
Wet Ingredients
- 120 g Butter, (melted)
- 2 Eggs, (large eggs are best, if using small eggs add 3)
- 5 g Vanilla Extract
- 120 g Sourdough Starter, (can be unfed or active and bubbly)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF. Grab a 9" x 9" brownie pan – it's up to you whether you grease the pan with butter or line it with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, add the all purpose flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Whisk the dry ingredients together until well combined.
- Place the chocolate chips in the bowl and mix until they are all coated in the flour mixture.
- On top of the dry ingredients, add the melted butter, 2 eggs, vanilla extract and sourdough starter. Using a spatula, gently mix all of the wet and dry ingredients together, ensuring that the sourdough starter is well combined (see notes for more info on this).This is a thick brownie mixture – that’s ok, it’s meant to be like this.
- Place the sourdough brownie mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes at 160ºC/320ºF. Because this is a thick mixture, you might need to push the mixture out to the edges of the pan before placing it in the oven.
- Check the sourdough brownies at 35 minutes by inserting a tooth pick – you want it to come out wet still but they should be crackly and baked on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for around 30 minutes. Then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Is it supposed to have milk on ingredient list but not mentioned in the steps
Hi Annette – there’s no milk mentioned in the ingredient list 🙂
20 minutes of baking and mine is still very raw. That seems very low for brownies. Could it be a typo?
I think that’s chocolate: milk or dark.
I think I see what you mean…the milk mentioned meant milk chocolate….
I thought that too, lol. It’s just chocolate (milk or dark). No milk involved.
I read the ingredients list initially the same way you did. It is chocolate, milk or dark. I actually read it chocolate milk 😉. These look tasty.
CAN YOU USE DISCARD ??
yes – it has a full paragraph explaining this in the article 🙂
Would you be able to substitute the all purpose flour with almond flour. Thinking it would lower the gluten. I understand discard has flour, just a thought
One of the reasons I bake sourdough is my grandkids can tolerate it because of the fermentation process. If using active starter, is there a way to ferment the dough before baking to allow some of the breakdown to occur?
I tried this recipe, without the chocolate chips, and it turned out great. I had to bake it for an extra 10-15 minutes, buy I will definitely be saving this recipe.
Since there is no other leavening besides the starter, wouldn’t the brownies be different depending on whether the starter is active or discard from the fridge? I’d be using discard. Should I add a little baking soda?
I made this today with chocolate sourdough. It is “resting”in the refrigerator for a few hours. The chocolate sourdough was very dense when I first made it. Perhaps I didn’t have good enough sourdough. But last night I refreshed it with 100% hydrated sourdough and it rose more than twice its size and ran over the edge of the container! I am anxious to bake it and taste it. The dough looks terrific and my tasty testers declaimed it good.
Can you make the brownies and freeze them?
Yes they freeze really well. TPM x
What kind of chocolate do you use for melting? Do you melt down chocolate chips, chocolate candy bar, etc? TIA
Hi Kate,
I look forward to trying your recipe! Do you think it will work if I combine the ingredients (or at least the flour and starter) and refrigerate overnight? I want to let the sourdough starter do its magic.
Thanks.
Thank you for a TRULY 1 bowl recipe! If I can avoid pulling out my mixer I’m all for it! haha These are an easy & delicious way to use up discard!!
Can you use the Potato Flake Starter in the Brownies?
I’m sorry but I don’t use a potato flake starter so I’m not sure how it would taste.
Is there a way to ferment the brownie batter overnight for a family member who is gluten intolerant but can eat sourdough?
I spread half of my mixture in pan then sprinkled some white chocolate chips and walnuts, covered with remainder of mix and drizzled SF caramel sauce and coarse salt on top ❤️
Would this recipe work as long ferment say 12-17 hrs? Thanks 🙂
I cooked them for 30-35 minutes, per the recipe, and they were terrible. I went back and read through everything, and in the post, it says 20 minutes, and a couple minutes less if you want them fudge. Can you please help me figure out which time frame is correct? Thank you!
Hi,
Can I substitute the same amount of a different type of sugar (like Demerara or cassonade) or does it have to be white?
I’m sorry I haven’t tried it with a different type of sugar, only white sugar 🙂
Hi, am I able add less sugar or substitute it for a more natural sweetener?
I haven’t tried with a natural sweetener I’m sorry. I have tested it with less sugar and I find they don’t come out as fudgy 🙂
Can you do a long ferment to get the added gut health benefit of sourdough? If so what would be the steps for that?
Yes you can do a longer ferment. Simply mix the sourdough brownie mixture and place into the fridge for 24 hours and then bake as per instructions.
These were amazing!! I made a double batch of them bc I love a thick brownie rather than skinny. I did have to use white and brown sugar bc I ran out of white (thought I had more but didn’t, so i replaced 460 grams with brown sugar). I also had to add to the time so they cook all the way. So instead of the 35 minutes, I cooked for about an 1 hr and a bit more to make sure. I would also use 100 g of the chocolate chip tho only for my mom who found it too sweet and she doesn’t like them as much. Definitely love your site and so does my son!!
New to sourdough bread baking and wanted to try something different. These are delicious! I used a 9×13 pan so they weren’t so thick. Quick, easy and delicious! I won’t make brownies any other way.
I’d like to add sea salt on top, when would I add that?
That sounds delicious! Sprinkle on top of the batter after you add it to the baking pan. 🙂
This is now my go-to brownie recipe! I have a family of choco-haulics. Everyone thinks these brownies are insanely good…just the right level of fudgey. A small change that I made was subbing in 40g of avocado oil for the same amount of melted butted. I find that butter is for flavor and oil helps with the gooey factor. A light sprinkle of flaky maldon salt on top is also real nice. I am excited to try an overnight ferment the next time. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
These brownies are the BEST. My friends and family love the recipe but they don’t know it has my sour dough starter in it!!!!
Family loved the brownies!
I doubled the recipe and used a 9×13 glass dish. I added a half cup of kefir, since my sourdough was thicker. Baked for about 40 minutes….
I just made these with fresh milled soft white flour, absolutely amazing!
Can i substitute the butter for coconut oil?
It may give a little bit of a coconut flavor, but as long as you don’t mind, it should work. 🙂
I’ve made these 3× already this month for various get-togethers. They’re so easy to make and AMAZINGLY fudgy!
Have baked these twice now. The first time just straight front the recipe. The second time I added the zest of three oranges and some chopped walnuts. Both times very tasty. Many thanks for sharing your recipes.
These brownies are amazing. I really like that they are so easy.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So glad you love them. Thanks for your comment. 🙂
These are the best brownies I have ever had and I made a vegan version, substituting chia eggs & vegetable oil for the eggs & butter. They took longer to bake – closer to 1 hour – and next time I’ll let them cool completely in the pan as they broke apart when transferring to the cooling rack after 30 minutes. I was worried about the amount of sugar these take, but they don’t taste overly sweet and have a nice fudgie texture.
I’m planning to make these brownies. I have made some chocolate starter and would like to know if my starter is chocolate do I still add the dry cocoa powder?
Thanks Deborah
That’s so exciting, love my chocolate sourdough starter! Yes you will still need to add the cocoa powder, even with a chocolate sourdough starter 🙂