Sourdough Chocolate Muffins

With double chocolate from cocoa powder and chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, chocolate lovers will love these easy Sourdough Chocolate Muffins made with sourdough discard.

The rich and tender double chocolate sourdough muffins get extra flavor with the help of tangy sourdough discard and sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk. Top them with flaky salt and make with optional espresso powder to balance out the chocolatey and luscious muffins.

Be sure to follow my detailed instructions and tips below for making them so you get domed bakery-style muffin tops! They’re a perfect sourdough Valentine’s Day chocolate breakfast treat!

---

👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Double chocolate using cocoa powder and chocolate chips or chunks.
• Optional espresso powder brings out the chocolate flavor.
• Domed bakery-style tops.
• Not too sweet.
• Surprisingly light and not too heavy for a chocolate muffin.
• No fancy equipment required.

---

🔍 Tips for Making the Best Sourdough Chocolate Muffins

• Rest the batter at least an hour and up to overnight in the refrigerator for bakery-style tops.
• Bake at a high temperature (400ºF or 204ºC) so they rise tall.
• Use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (not milk chocolate), or the muffins will be too sweet.
• Don’t overmix or they’ll be tough.
• Line your muffin pan with muffin tins/paper and grease them with oil to prevent sticking.

---

🛠 Tools Needed

You only need a few basic tools to make these sourdough discard chocolate muffins.

• Baking scale:
  • Flour and sourdough starter can weigh differently from person to person, so weighing your ingredients is the best option! Weighing your ingredients by weight will make your baking more consistent and accurate.
• Muffin Pan
  • I love this USA Muffin Pan because it’s naturally non-stick and heavy-duty!
• Spatula and Whisk
  • If you have an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, you can also use them to mix the muffin batter.

---

🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions.

• All-purpose flour
  • You can substitute some or all of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, gluten-free flour, buckwheat flour, or rye flour.
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
  • I use both baking powder and baking soda in this recipe so the muffins rise tall. The soda will react with the acidity of the sour cream, discard, and cocoa powder.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Dutch process is okay to use in this recipe as well since there’s both baking powder and soda in this recipe.
• Espresso powder (optional)
  • Coffee enhances chocolate flavor! It’s a little trick I use in my Chocolate Sourdough Bread , chocolate sourdough biscotti, and sourdough brownie recipes.
• Unsalted butter
  • I like using butter in most muffin recipes as the primary fat, but you can substitute with coconut oil or another neutral oil instead.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
  • Milk chocolate chips are a little too sweet for this recipe, so use high-quality semi-sweet chocolate, bittersweet, or dark chocolate chips.
  • You can also use chopped chocolate.
• Light brown sugar
  • Brown sugar has molasses, which adds a little more richness and flavor to the muffins..
• Eggs:
  • Adds structure to help bind the ingredients together and helps the muffins rise tall.
• Sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk
  • Use whichever you have around, but I always go for full-fat sour cream and yogurt for baking for the most flavor and richness.
• Vanilla extract
• Sourdough Discard
  • If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips.
• Flaky salt, for topping (optional)
  • Crunchy flaky salt is the final touch that balances out the richness of the muffins.

---

🍫 How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Muffins

Follow this detailed recipe guide as you make the best sourdough discard chocolate muffins.

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

1. Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and optional espresso powder together.

Set aside.

2. Whisk the Wet Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the two eggs, light brown sugar, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Be sure to break apart any clumps of sugar.

Whisk in the sourdough discard until incorporated.

Then, melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave or on a stovetop and pour in last to the wet ingredients.

3. Mix the Sourdough Chocolate Muffin Batter

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until no flour specks remain.

Don’t overmix to avoid gluten development, which may make your muffins tougher.

Fold in the chocolate chunks last.

4. Chill the Batter

For the best results, chill the batter at least one hour and up to overnight.

Chilling the batter will help the flour and cocoa powder hydrate, improve the flavor, and help the muffins rise tall in the oven.

5. Bake

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).

Prepare a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners and spray with non-stick oil or grease to prevent sticking.

Remove the cold sourdough chocolate muffin batter from the refrigerator and equally divide the batter among the muffin cups. I like to use a large ice cream or cookie scoop for this, but you can also use a spoon or spatula.

Top with a few more chocolate chips or chocolate chunks on top.

Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Sprinkle optional flaky salt on top.

Finally, cool the chocolate muffins on a wire rack. You can serve these warm or at room temperature.

---

How to Store and Serve

You can store these sourdough chocolate muffins at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or freeze them.

If you want melted gooey chocolate in the middle of your muffins, you can serve these still slightly warm or reheat them for 10 seconds at a time in the microwave to melt.

To keep them from drying out at room temperature, keep the muffins in an airtight container for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator a couple of more days.

Muffins dry out over time, so for longer term storage, you can wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight and reheat in the oven or a toaster oven.

To serve, consider warming the muffins slightly to enhance their rich, chocolatey flavor. Pair them with a hot beverage like coffee or tea. You can also slice in half and fry them in a skillet with butter, which is super delicious!

---

❓ FAQs:

---

Other Sourdough Breakfast Recipes You May Enjoy:

---