Easy Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

Turn your sourdough discard into something delicious that is easy and quick to make: Sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins! Not only are they good, but they are a great way to reduce waste and treat yourself to something, well, chocolaty.

If you are anything like me, you’ve found yourself staring at a jar of sourdough discard, wondering what to do with it. I despise throwing away any type of food, and that includes sourdough discard. So get your oven going and let’s turn that discard into something awesome.

Why Sourdough Discard?

Using sourdough discard in baking, especially in recipes like our Easy Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Muffins, is a wonderful idea for several reasons:

1. Reduce Waste: Sourdough baking often leads to excess discard. I am guilty of feeding my sourdough starter, getting it nice and bubbly, and then letting it sit on the counter. It is already collapsing when I am ready to use it. So I end up using it in recipes to help minimize food waste.

2. Tangy Depth: Sourdough discard adds a subtle tanginess that can deepen the flavor profile of baked goods, offering a complex taste that you can’t get from regular doughs or batters.

3. Flavor Balance: In sweet recipes like sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins, the slight sourness of the discard perfectly balances the sweetness, making the treats more satisfying.

4. Tender Crumb: The acidity in the sourdough discard can tenderize the gluten in the flour, resulting in muffins that are tender and have a delightful crumb.

5. Moisture: Sourdough discard adds moisture to the batter, ensuring the muffins stay moist and soft longer than their non-sourdough counterparts. It serves as a natural preservative (who doesn’t like something natural?!).

6. Digestion: Fermentation breaks down gluten and other components, potentially making sourdough discard-infused baked goods easier for some people to digest.

7. Nutritional Boost: The fermentation process also increases the availability of some nutrients, making your delicious treats a tad healthier.

8. Economical: Instead of throwing away excess sourdough discard, utilizing it in recipes like sourdough discard muffins is an excellent way to get the most out of your ingredients and save money in the process.

Tools Needed for Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Creating sourdough chocolate chip muffins doesn’t require a lot of fancy equipment. Here’s a basic list of tools you’ll need:

• Large mixing bowls
• Scale or measuring cups and spoons
• Rubber spatula
• Muffin tin
• Paper liners
• Ice cream or cookie scoop
• Oven thermometer (optional)
• Cooling rack
• Kitchen timer
• Toothpicks

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour

Structure: Flour is the foundation of muffins, providing the primary structure. The gluten in flour gives the muffins their body and chewiness.

Sugar

Sweetness and Moisture: Sugar sweetens the muffins and retains moisture, ensuring they stay tender and fresh.

Baking Powder

Leavening Agent: Baking powder helps the muffins rise. It’s a combination of an acid and a base, which reacts with liquids to produce carbon dioxide bubbles, making the batter light and fluffy.

Baking Soda

Leavening and Browning: Like baking powder, baking soda is also a leavening agent that requires an acid to activate. It helps with browning and, if not balanced with an acid, can leave a soapy taste. Not using baking soda for sourdough muffins can result in a sad, flat muffin. 🙁

Salt

Flavor Enhancer: Salt enhances all the flavors in the muffins and can also strengthen the gluten network, providing better texture.

Chocolate Chips

Flavor and Texture: Chocolate chips add sweet, chocolatey bursts in every bite and a delightful contrast to the soft crumb of the muffins. Plus, it is chocolate chip muffins. Don’t leave them out!

Whole Milk

Moisture and Richness: Milk adds moisture and richness to the batter, contributing to the development of gluten for a tender crumb.

Egg

Binding and Leavening: The egg binds the ingredients together and helps to trap air within the batter when beaten, contributing to a lighter texture.

Sour Cream

Tenderness and Tang: Sour cream adds fat for creaminess, acidity to tenderize the batter, and moisture for a soft texture. It also imparts a slight tang that complements the sourdough discard.

Oil

Moisture and Softness: Oil is a fat that adds moisture and ensures the muffins stay soft. It also helps create a tender crumb. You can use melted butter instead. However, your sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins will become denser after they cool down.

Vanilla Extract

Flavor enhancer: Vanilla adds a complex, aromatic flavor that can enhance the other flavors in the muffins, such as the tang of the sourdough discard and the richness of the chocolate chips.

Sourdough Starter Discard

Flavor, Tenderness, and Utilization of Waste: The sourdough discard adds a unique tangy flavor, adds tenderness to the texture, and is a great use of something that would otherwise be thrown away. Don’t waste food!

Each ingredient plays a crucial role in ensuring your chocolate chip sourdough muffins are delicious, fluffy, and satisfying. They work together to balance taste and texture, creating a tasty and practical treat.

Pro Tip!

Let the eggs, milk, sour cream, and sourdough starter discard (if refrigerated) sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. If you didn’t plan ahead like I normally do, you can add all the wet ingredients to a pot and let it warm up on low heat until warm. Do not let the mixture get hot!

Letting the ingredients sit at room temperature before baking is a key step that improves the outcome of your baked goods.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepping Up

1. Preheat Your Oven: Start by preheating your oven to 425°F (218°C), so it’s ready to go once your batter is mixed.

1. Line the Muffin Tin: Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease the cups to prevent sticking.

Mixing Dry Ingredients

1. Combine Dry Mix: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together:

– 2 cups all-purpose flour

– ¾ cup granulated sugar

– 1 heaping tablespoon baking powder

– 1 heaping teaspoon baking soda

– ¾ teaspoon salt

Make sure they’re well combined to distribute the leavening agents evenly.

Mixing Wet Ingredients

1. Blend Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, mix the following:

– ½ cup sourdough discard

– 1/3 cup milk

– 2 large eggs

– ¼ cup avocado oil

– ¼ cup sour cream

– 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Whisk them together until you have a smooth consistency.

Combining It All

1. Mix Dry with Wet: Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together. Be careful not to overmix—stop when there are no large flour streaks and the batter is just combined.

Adding the Chocolate Chips

1. Fold in Chocolate Chips: Add 1 cup of chocolate chips and fold them into the batter, distributing them evenly. I like semi-sweet chocolate chips for sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins, but you can use white chocolate chips or any of your liking.

Filling the Muffin Tin

1. Scoop the Muffin Batter: Fill each muffin cup about a little over ¾ full with the batter using an ice cream scoop or spoon.

Baking Time

1. Bake the Muffins: Add the muffin tin into the oven and bake at 425°F(218°C) for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375°F(190°C) and bake for about 5-10 more minutes. This will ensure nice bakery-style muffin tops and even baking on the inside. They’re done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.

Cooling

1. Cooling Off: After baking, let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not let the muffins sit in the tin for too long. They will absorb moisture from the condensation and become soggy.

Serving

1. Serve and Enjoy: Once cooled, serve your sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins with a glass of milk or your favorite coffee or tea. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Customization Ideas

Make it sourdough chocolate muffins: swap some of the flour for cocoa powder and make double chocolate.

Spice it up: add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients for a warm and spicy kick.

Coffee Infusion: Replace some of the milk with strong brewed coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor with a subtle coffee backdrop.

Baking Tips and Tricks

Avoid Overmixing: Gently fold your ingredients until just combined. Overmixing can lead to tough muffins.

Even Distribution: To prevent chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom, toss them with a little flour before folding them into the batter.

Check Oven Temperature: Ovens can run hot or cold. Use an oven thermometer to ensure accurate baking temperatures.

Baking Position: Bake your muffins in the center of the oven to promote even heat distribution.

Test for Doneness: Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out with a few moist crumbs attached, not completely clean. This avoids overbaking.

Cooling Process: Let the sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. This prevents them from becoming soggy.

Storage Solution: Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain freshness. For longer storage, wrap them individually and freeze.

Time to Close

At this point, we’ve turned that sourdough starter into delicious sourdough discard chocolate chip muffins that are moist, tender, and with incredible bakery-style muffin tops. I love turning simple ingredients into something awesome and comforting. So go ahead, preheat your oven, and start baking something delightful!