These sourdough chocolate muffins, loaded with chocolate chips, are a tasty way to use your extra sourdough starter.
These sourdough chocolate muffins are deeply chocolate-y. The batter is loaded with cocoa along with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Double chocolate.
If you maintain a sourdough starter, you probably feel as sad as I do when you have to discard some of your starter when it's time to feed and refresh it. However, if you don't discard some of your existing starter, you might end up with a sourdough starter so big that it will take over your house, unless you bake several loaves per day.
Fortunately, you can actually use some of your sourdough discard to substitute for some of the flour and water in a recipe. In the case of these muffins, the starter adds some tangy flavor, and the acidic nature of the starter gives the baking soda an extra boost.
Some of my favorite ways to use sourdough discard include easy and simple crackers, crackers with Gruyère and thyme, banana chocolate chip muffins, cranberry muffins, tangerine muffins, chocolate chip cookies, onion rings (the best!), blini, and even a sourdough discard bread.
Ingredients:
Pantry Ingredients: All purpose flour, baking soda, cocoa powder (either Dutch process or natural), salt, neutral oil, sugar, vanilla, and chocolate chips.
From the Refrigerator: Milk, eggs, and sour cream. For the eggs, the recipe calls for medium eggs. If you only have large or extra eggs, just whip them together and then measure out about 80 to 85 grams.
Sourdough Starter: You can use either fed or unfed starter that is 100 percent hydration (50 percent flour and 50 percent water, by weight). If you don't have a starter, just mix 47 grams of flour with 47 grams of water and a tiny pinch of instant yeast. Let the mixture rest for about 24 to 36 hours before using.
To Make These Muffins:
First, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
In another large bowl, whisk together the starter, oil, sugar, eggs, sourcream, vanilla, and milk.
After that, pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and then scoop the batter into a paper lined miffin tin.
Finally, bake the muffins for about 20 minutes and then let cool in the pan.
Tips for Success:
Be sure to start the oven at 425 degrees F and then, after 5 minutes of baking, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F.
These muffins can be cooled completely in the muffin tin.
I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients. They are not that expensive and, once you get used to using one, you'll never go back. For example, when a recipe calls for two large eggs, you can calculate that as 100 grams. If you only have extra large eggs, you can whisk them, weigh them, and then remove the extra grams before adding the eggs to the batter.
My favorite tool for scooping the muffin batter into the pan is a #16 cookie scoop, which is the equivalent to 1/4 cup. A slightly heaping 1/4 cup or cookie scoopful is the amount you need to add to each muffin cavity.
You can store these muffins in an airtight container for up to three days. Serve leftovers at room temperature or re-warmed in the microwave for a few seconds. My husband loves them spread with a little marmalade for breakfast. I love them spritzed with some whipped cream and drizzled with a bit of caramel sauce for dessert.
These muffins are so moist and loaded with chocolate flavor.
For the cocoa powder, I used a blend of natural and Dutch process cocoas. A dark blend would work too.
For the chocolate chips, I used semi-sweet. Feel free to substitute a blend of chips, including mint, white chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, or milk or bittersweet chocolate. Be sure to sprinkle a few extra over the top of the batter before baking.
It's another muffin Monday! Be sure to check out everyone's new muffin recipes:
- Mint Chocolate Chip Chocolate Muffins from Passion Kneaded
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins from Food Lust People Love
- Sourdough Chocolate Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Sourdough Pecan Pie Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
- Squash and Cranberry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Turmeric Blueberry Granola Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.
Sourdough Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 180 grams (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
- 34 grams (1/3 cup plus one teaspoon) cocoa powder
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 94 grams (1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons) sourdough starter, fed or unfed)
- 90 grams (1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons) vegetable oil
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 139 grams (1/2 cup plus one teaspoon) sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 45 grams (1/5 cup) milk
- 236 grams (1 1/3 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a 12-cavity muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the starter, oil, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and milk.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold everything together until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop a heaping 1/4 cup of the batter into each paper lined cavity of a 12-cavity muffin tin. Sprinkle about 3 to 5 extra chocolate chips over the top of each.
- Bake the muffins at 425 degrees F on the center rack for five minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool in the muffin pan.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
334Fat (grams)
19 gSat. Fat (grams)
7 gCarbs (grams)
38 gFiber (grams)
3 gNet carbs
35 gSugar (grams)
20 gProtein (grams)
5 gCholesterol (grams)
36 mg
Recipe adapted from Little Spoon Farm.
