Sourdough Spelt Brownies

I’m coming at ya with a little mid-week brownie inspiration. I make a lot of brownies, especially for special orders, but I realized recently that I only have one brownie recipe here on the site- what a travesty! So here’s a new one for you! I’ve been wanting to make both Izy Hossack’s Sourdough Brownies and Melissa Clark’s rendition of the Violet Bakery Rye Brownies for the last few months and decided to smoosh them both together and create these Sourdough Spelt Brownies. These are decidedly a grown-up brownie. The tang from the sourdough discard provides a sharp contrast to the deep, dark chocolate, and using a whole grain flour like spelt, really rounds out the flavor. These are nutty and complex, with fudgy centers and a crackly crust and they’re quickly climbing to the top of my “favorite brownies of all time” list.

In other news, I felt a slight breeze in the air this week which is a big deal for us Floridians. People all over the country have been eating soups and baking pumpkin loaves for a few weeks now, but I’m just now starting to consider trading in my iced coffee for something a little warmer. Fall is one thing I really miss about living outside of Florida. Both Nashville and Seattle gave us absolutely beautiful autumns, with orange-tinged trees and weather that just begged you to wear cute sweaters and as September wanes in October each year, I miss it tremendously. So I’m embracing our high of 83° and will make a lentil stew tonight and enjoy being able to spend a few minutes outside without sweat beading on my forehead. Happy first week of fall, y’all!

Sourdough Spelt Brownies

Yield: 1 9x13” pan

Ingredients

1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter

300 g chopped dark chocolate

80 g sourdough discard

1 1/4 cup (150 g) spelt flour

1/2 cup (50 g) cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup (150 g) brown sugar

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Flaky salt, for finishing

Procedure 

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F and line a 9x13” baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside. 

2. Combine chocolate and butter in a large glass bowl and set it over a double boiler. Cook, stirring frequently, until completely melted and smooth. 

3. When the chocolate and butter are melted, remove the bowl from heat and whisk in brown sugar and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Let cool slightly. 

4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together spelt flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. 

5. Separate two of the eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 

6. Add the two egg yolks along with the two whole eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until completely combined. The mixture should begin to homogenize and take on a glossy sheen. Whisk in vanilla and sourdough discard. 

7. Use a rubber spatula to gradually fold in the dry ingredients, mixing just until no more flour clumps remain. 

8. In the stand mixer (or hand mixer) begin whipping the egg whites. When they start to become frothy, slowly stream in the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. When all of the sugar has been added, increase the mixer speed and whip until a smooth meringue with soft peaks forms.

9. Gently fold meringue into the chocolate mixture, only mixing until the white streaks are gone and the mixture is all one color. Pour batter into your prepared pan and sprinkle the surface with flaky salt. 

10. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and then let cool completely in the pan before slicing. 

more recipes like this

espresso tahini brownies

go to recipe

sourdough chocolate chip cookies

go to recipe

toasted buckwheat and chocolate cookies

go to recipe

Project Baking: 8 recipes for when you're stuck at home

It seems like most of us will be spending our days at home for the foreseeable future thanks to COVID-19. Martin works in professional soccer and MLS has suspended their season for the next 30 days, so things feel a little up in the air around here. Thankfully, since I work from home, I will still continue to develop and share recipes with you as normal for the next few weeks. I’ve decided, though, that all of this social distancing and self-quarantine is perfect for what I like to call ‘project baking’. These are recipes that you may not turn to for a weeknight dessert; they are little more labor-intensive and need a little more time (which is something we all have). So if you’re home, I encourage you to grab your kiddos or family or quarantine buddy, and hop in the kitchen. Knead some dough, decorate some cakes, and make something beautiful during this time.

Classic Sourdough- Where better to start than a good ‘ole loaf of bread. Sourdough is one of my favorite things to make, and it’s made it’s way into my regular rotation. Here you’ll find a step by step guide to starting your very own sourdough journey—everything from creating a culture to the final loaf. I also have a video of the entire baking and shaping process saved to my Instagram highlights to make things a little easier for you.

Baklava- Sure there is a bit of layering involved in baklava-making, but it is worth it. If you’re looking for a nutty, buttery dessert to share with your loved ones, this is the one for you. Plus, there is nothing more delicious than pouring honey sauce on hot baklava and watching it bubble. As Lizzie McGuire says, “This is what dreams are made of.”

Chocolate Tahini Brioche Babka- This might be my favorite recipe on the blog. It’s definitely in the top ten. Swirls of tahini and dark chocolate are tucked into fluffy brioche and the whole thing sort of melts in your month. Also, shaping babkas are fun and they’re very photogenic.

Bombolonis with Limoncello Cream- Bombolonis are Italian-style yeasted doughnuts. They are fried until they are golden brown, tossed in sugar while warm, and filled with a slightly citrus limoncello cream. Eat them for breakfast, brunch, dessert, lunch, really whenever. Also, if you tackle the Chocolate Tahini Brioche Babka (above), you can use the remaining half of the brioche dough for these doughnuts. See, you can multi-task project baking!

Chamomile Cake with Blood Orange Curd and Swiss Meringue Buttercream- Quarantine is the perfect time to dust up on your cake decorating skills. This chamomile cake feels like spring and it’s filled with a bright, citrusy blood orange curd. You can easily substitute whatever citrus you have on hand to make this cake your own.

Russian Honey Cake- I first discovered Russian Honey Cake in pastry school. We made it as a project for one of my cake classes and I’ve since added it to my own kitchen repertoire. The cookie layers are similar to graham crackers and they’re sandwiched with a dulce de leche cream that softens the cookies just enough to be able to cut through them. It’s sweet and show-stopping at the same time.

Classic Croissants- Everyone should make croissants at least once in their lives. If nothing else, you will gain a new appreciation for your local bakery that makes those perfect croissants that flake into a million pieces the second you bite into them. These are classic, but feel free to fill them with chocolate or spinach or ham and cheese—really anything your heart desires!

Multigrain Bagels with Quinoa and Arugula Cream Cheese- These bagels are filled with quinoa for a little extra protein and they freeze beautifully— a win-win in my book. Pair them with a bright, herby cream cheese and you’ve got a beautiful brunch pairing.

Sourdough Chocolate Tart

Developing four new chocolate recipes for this little month of chocolate we’ve been having here on the blog has gotten me thinking a lot about the perfect chocolate dessert, and to be honest, I think that chocolate desserts are some of the hardest when it comes to creativity and innovation. If you’ve been around the blog for any amount of time, you’ve discovered that I tend to lean heavily on plants, like flowers, herbs, and fruit to create new and exciting flavor combinations, but sometimes, it feels like there are only so many things that go with chocolate. You’ve got caramel, coffee, little red fruits (strawberries, raspberries, cherries), nuts and nut butters, and mint (which is not my favorite flavor combo). On top of the fairly narrow list of greatest hits in flavor, people usually feel very strongly about their chocolate desserts. The type of person who goes to a fancy restaurant and orders a chocolate dessert usually has certain expectations. They want something rich and decadent and that somewhat screams THIS IS A CHOCOLATE DESSERT. And I don’t blame them one bit, but for recipe developers like myself, unique but classic desserts are one of those areas where we have to work a little harder. Does the world really need another molten cake recipe? And how can I make a chocolate souffle any better than it already is? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

The idea for this recipe has been floating in my mind since last summer. I wanted to create an ultra-simple dessert where texture and that alluring chocolate flavor were right in the forefront, but that used a few extras to provide some funk and depth. The crust for this tart is made like a graham cracker crust, but using sourdough bread crumbs. Stale sourdough is toasted and then broken up into coarse pieces, combined with nutty browned butter and pressed into the bottom of a tart pan to create a tangy canvas, that’s both crispy and soft—like a really great piece of toast. The chocolate cremeux filling is silky and creamy, slightly thicker than a chocolate pudding and softer than a ganache. Honestly, its just perfect. And the whole thing is finished with crunches of flaky salt. Viola.

If you were feeling like you wanted to take this tart to the next level, you could drizzle each slice with vanilla olive oil. Simply scrape the paste from 1-2 vanilla beans into a pint of good olive oil. Add in the empty vanilla bean pods, shake well and keep at room temperature. It’s great on everything from fruit to ice cream. For a riff on a chocolate cream pie, pile some freshly whipped cream on top of your finished tart and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Sourdough Chocolate Tart 

Yield: 1 9 1/2” tart 

Ingredients: 

for the sourdough crust 

1 1/2 cups sourdough breadcrumbs (for about a 1/4 sourdough boule)

2 T granulated sugar

4 T (57 g) unsalted butter 

for the chocolate cremeux: 

1/3 cup (80 g) granulated sugar 

1 cup (250 g) whole milk 

1 cup (250 g) heavy cream

3 egg yolks 

1 tsp kosher salt

6 oz dark chocolate, chopped (I used a combination of 100% and 54%)

Procedure: 

to make the sourdough crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 

2. Tear sourdough bread into large chunks and toast for 4-6 minutes. Let cool completely and then add to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until you have coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and the salt and pulse again to combine, about 30 seconds. 

3. Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat for about 5-7 minutes, until butter is nutty and fragrant and begins to turn amber in color. Transfer butter into a heat-proof dish and let cool completely. 

4. With the food processor running, stream in browned butter and mix until combined. 

5. Pour breadcrumbs into a 9 1/2” tart pan and press firmly into a single, even layer in the bottom of the pan. 

6. Bake tart crust for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely. 

to make the chocolate cremeux: 

1. Place chopped chocolate in a large glass bowl and set aside. 

2. In a medium saucepan set of medium heat, combine milk and cream. In another mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt. 

3. Heat milk and cream until small bubbles begin to appear around the edges of the pot. When hot, slowly stream hot milk/cream into the sugar and egg mixture, whisking continually. When all of the cream is added to the eggs, transfer the entire mixture back to the saucepan and return to medium heat. 

4. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon. 

5. Immediately pour cream sauce over chopped chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. 

6. Starting in the center of the bowl, begin to whisk vigorously until chocolate and cream are completely emulsified and smooth and then whisk for one minute more. 

7. Pour crémeux into prepared tart crust and carefully transfer to the refrigerator. Chill until set, or overnight. 

8. Sprinkle with flaky salt before serving.