One Bowl Sourdough Discard Brownies

Make these brownies for dessert any night of the week or for a special occasion! They are made in one bowl and ready in under one hour. The chocoholic in your life will love these recipes, along with my sourdough chocolate cake!

When I first made this recipe I made the mistake of adding baking powder to the recipe. Brownies should be very fudgy with a shiny, crackly top, and when I added baking powder, they were a little too cakey.

I love baking all sourdough recipes! It's so satisfying and so delicious! Whether making a loaf of same day sourdough bread or brown butter sourdough chocolate chip cookies, sourdough baking is so good!

Why You'll Love These Sourdough Brownies

• It's a great use for your sourdough starter. To prevent waste, once I feed my sourdough starter, I keep the extra discard in a large mason jar in the refrigerator. That way I can use it to make sourdough discard bread and even sourdough Irish soda bread. There's not much you can't bake with sourdough discard!
• It's made in one bowl. No need to break out any crazy kitchen equipment, these fudgy brownies are made with just a few ingredients and mixed all in one bowl.
• Everyone loves brownies! These brownies will shortly become your absolute favorite recipe to make with your sourdough discard. They are chocolatey, easy to make, and perfectly fudgy.

What Is Sourdough Discard?

When working with sourdough starter, people often talk about sourdough discard, but what exactly is sourdough discard? It's the extra sourdough starter that you have left over after you feed your sourdough starter.

Sourdough bread is a bread made from natural yeast, flour, water, and salt. There is no commercial yeast, (those little yeast packets you can get in the store) only naturally occurring yeast from the environment. Sourdough bread requires a "starter" to rise the bread.

A starter is filled with good bacteria and wild yeast that gives the bread that traditional sour taste. You can make your own sourdough starter from scratch or you can get a sourdough starter from a friend.

You can make so many different recipes with sourdough discard, like sourdough discard cinnamon rolls! I've put together a fantastic list of sourdough discard recipes for you!

You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of discard to have on hand! Keep the excess starter in a mason jar right in your refrigerator. If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out this post all about how to keep your sourdough starter happy.

Ingredients to Gather

• Sourdough discard. You can use it right out of the refrigerator or some that you have kept on your counter after the last feeding of your sourdough starter.
• Butter. I love using salted butter in all of my baking. If you only have unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon of salt to the batter.
• Granulated Sugar. White sugar makes these fudgy brownies perfectly sweet!
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. Use a high quality cocoa powder for these brownies to get the most delicious chocolate flavor.
• Semi sweet chocolate chips. You can cut a semi-sweet chocolate bar into large chunks if that is what you have on hand.
• All Purpose Flour. Only a little bit to help keep the batter together.

See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Add more chocolate! For an even more chocolatey flavor, add ½ cup of dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or more semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter.
• Add nuts! Chopped walnuts or chopped pecans can be added to the batter for some texture and nuttiness to the brownies.
• Add coffee! Coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate. Instead of vanilla extract, add cooled coffee or some instant espresso to the batter.
• Add a swirl! You can add dollops of Nutella or peanut butter to the top of the brownie batter right before baking.

Tips and Tricks

• Make sure the brownies have cooled to room temperature before you cut them. They are super fudgy and will break apart if they are still too hot when you try to cut them.
• Parchment paper makes taking the brownies out of the pan super easy. Crinkle the parchment paper first and then press it into the pan.
• If there is hooch (the brown liquid that can settle on the sourdough discard container in the refrigerator) on your sourdough discard, pour the hooch out before using the sourdough discard. Hooch is one of the many terms in my sourdough glossary that will help you on your sourdough journey.
• Make sure to mix the batter well before placing it in the baking dish. The sourdough discard should be incorporated fully in the batter so there are not clumps of sourdough discard in the baked brownies.
• Serve these brownies with homemade ice cream, whipped cream, or on their own!

Storage Tips

This batter can be long fermented to give the brownies more of a tang. To do so, mix the batter completely and then cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator overnight and in the morning, line the baking pan with parchment paper and bake for up to 45 minutes.

Keep cut these easy sourdough brownies in an airtight container on the counter. You can place them in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

They are also great to freeze! Freeze the brownies for up to 3 months. Let them defrost on the counter before enjoying them.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Delicious Sourdough Recipes