I recently revived a long-hibernated sourdough starter colony. The one thing that bugs me about keeping one is all the wasted starter as you cut it and feed it. This recipe is a fantastic use of that excess.

Time

2-3 hours total
25 minutes active

Difficulty

Easy

Yield

too many (?) brownies

Print

Equipment

• 9”x13” brownie/cake pan

• Bowl(s)

• Saucepan

---

Ingredients

• 125g sourdough starter (discard)
• 205g rye flour
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup, divided white sugar
• 425g dark chocolate (chips/chunks/chopped)
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp instant espresso
• a few pinches flaky salt (optional)

---

Directions

1. Combine the sourdough starter, rye flour, and eggs, plus 1/2 cup of the white sugar. Set aside for 1-2 hours.

2. When the starter mixture has nearly finished resting, preheat your oven to 325°F and grease your baking pan with butter, then continue.

3. Melt the butter and chocolate chips/chunks together on low heat (or in the microwave, zapping in short intervals and stirring between them). Once fully melted, stir in the vanilla extract.

4. Combine the starter mixture, chocolate mixture, and the remaining dry ingredients (the other 1/2 cup of white sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and instant espresso), to make a batter.

5. Spread the batter evenly in your greased pan, and sprinkle with flaky salt if using.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until you can gently push in and remove a paring knife cleanly.

---

Notes

• This recipe comes via 600 acres. I’ve left it largely unchanged, except for paring down the steps to keep it succinct and printable.