Sourdough Cocoa Puffs

Made with sourdough discard, these homemade Sourdough Cocoa Puffs will become your new favorite breakfast treat or back-to-school snack!

This crunchy chocolate cereal uses cocoa powder for intense chocolate flavor. A little rice flour helps keep the bites crispy when served with milk. They’re the grown-up version of your favorite chocolate cereal.

My detailed instructions, photos, and tips walk you through step-by-step on how to make the best sourdough cocoa puffs.

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• A more complex, grown-up version of a favorite nostalgic kid’s cereal (like my Sourdough Discard Cheese Crackers (Cheez-Its) or Sourdough Vanilla Wafers).
• Uses real cocoa powder for chocolate flavor like these Fudgy Sourdough Brownies and Sourdough Chocolate Brioche.
• Crispy cereal that’s perfect for snacking and stay crunchy in a bowl of milk.
• Easy for kids to mix, roll into balls, and bake.
• Simple and quick way to use sourdough discard.

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🔍 Top Baking Tips

• For crisp homemade cocoa puffs, bake the puffs, then lower the temperature to 200ºF to bake off the moisture. This essentially dehydrates the balls so they stay crispy.
• Only add enough milk as necessary to bind the ingredients. The more liquid added, the longer they’ll need to bake to cook so they are crispy, not chewy.
• Rice flour helps keep the puffs crunchy and reduces chewiness.
• You can substitute the all-purpose flour with oat flour or another gluten-free flour to make 100% gluten-free sourdough cocoa puffs with a gluten-free sourdough starter.
• Chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling out so the flavors meld and the dough isn’t too soft when rolling out.

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🛠 Tools Needed

You only need a couple of basic tools to make homemade sourdough cocoa puffs! No stand mixer or food processor is needed as you can mix the dough in a mixig bowl and roll the puffs by hand.

• Baking scale
  • Flour and sourdough starter can vary in weight from person to person, so weighing your ingredients is the best option! Measuring your ingredients by weight will make your baking more consistent and accurate.
• Sheet Pan, lined with parchment paper

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions.

• All-purpose Flour
  • You can substitute all of the all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour or whole wheat flour.
• Rice flour
  • I tested the recipe without rice flour and while it works, the puffs are chewier and less crisp.
• Salt
• Baking Soda helps the cereal puff up slightly so they have a lighter texture and crunch.
• Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • The Dutch-process cocoa powder is darker, smoother, and gives a more classic chocolate cereal flavor.
  • If you use natural cocoa powder, the puffs may be more acidic and a lighter brown color.
  • For even more intense chocolate flavor and color, add a small amount of black cocoa like my Homemade Sourdough Oreos.
• Unsalted Butter
  • Two tablespoons of melted butter is all you need to add a bit of richness and help bind the ingredients together.
• Sourdough Discard
  • If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week by following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips and other sourdough discard recipes.
  • To make 100% gluten-free, use a gluten-free sourdough starter and gluten-free flour.
• Vanilla Extract
  • Using vanilla extract in chocolate recipes actually brings out more of the chocolate flavor!
• Granulated Sugar
  • For a hint of sweetness and structure, which helps keep the puffs round and crisp.
  • Liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup aren’t great in this recipe because they add additional water into the dough, which makes them harder to dry out and they will be slightly chewy.
• Whole Milk
  • Only add 1-2 TBS of milk (dairy or plant-based milk) to help bind the ingredients together. Remember, you want to only add enough moisture to the dough to bring it together. It will be denser and sandier than cookie dough.

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🥣 How to Make Sourdough Cocoa Puffs

Follow this detailed recipe guide with step-by-step images as you make this delicious sourdough cereal.

1. Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, mix the flours, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.

Sift the cocoa powder if there are clumps.

2. Mix the Dough

Pour in the sourdough discard, melted butter, and just enough milk to bring the dough together.

It’ll be sandy at first, but use your hands to bring it together and knead it into a smooth, cohesive dough. If it feels too dry and crumbly, add a splash of milk at a time.

3. Chill the Dough

Cover the bowl with a lid and chill the dough for 30 minutes and up to a couple of days in the refrigerator.

This will help the flavors meld and improve the texture for rolling out.

4. Shape the Sourdough Cocoa Puffs

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (191ºC) and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.

Unfortunately, this part is a little tedious and repetitive, but it’s super easy, so grab some helpers if you can!

Pinch off small pieces of the chocolate dough and roll them into small spheres between your palms. You may need to squeeze the dough together if it’s crumbly.

The balls should be about 3/8″ in diameter so they’ll puff up slightly to about ½” when baked (a little larger than pea sized). I usually get about 150-170 cereal balls. If you get less, they may be a little large and may need to dry longer in the oven.

5. Bake

Arrange the small cocoa puffs close together on the sheet pan (they don’t expand much).

Bake for 15 minutes until the cereal is firm and noticeably darker around the edges. Shake the pan at 10 minutes to encourage even baking.

For extra crunch, lower the oven temperature to 200ºF (93ºC) and bake for 20 minutes to gently dry them out.

Cool completely before serving. The texture will become crunchier as they cool.

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How to Store and Serve

• Store sourdough cocoa puffs in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
• Be sure to allow the cereal to cool completely before storage.
• To keep them crunchy, keep them somewhere cool and dry, away from humidity.
• If they soften at all, refresh them in a toaster oven or oven at 250ºF for 5-10 minutes.
• You can freeze unbaked puffs and bake directly from frozen or freeze baked cereal for up to two months.

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions