Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins

Made with discard, these sourdough pumpkin muffins feature pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar for fall in muffin form! Light, soft, and packed with flavour, these are a great way to use your starter or discard.

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How This Recipe Works

While all three of us here at the collective prefer a levain method, we do still love to use sourdough starter in baking other than bread, and these sourdough discard pumpkin muffins are a great example. They're not just a good way to use up discard. You can ferment the muffin batter overnight before baking, for true sourdough muffins that have a much greater depth of flavour and might also be easier on your stomach.

The muffins are everything you want in a pumpkin muffin: light, pumpkin-y, and filled with pumpkin spice. The pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and oil instead of butter make for a very tender, moist muffin. If you don't choose to do a long ferment then the muffins will taste just like normal pumpkin muffins and you'll barely notice the starter. It's up to you!

I developed and tested this recipe, adapted from Kelly's sourdough pumpkin bread. These were very popular with taste-testers, but opinions were mixed about the sugar topping - some testers preferred them without. If you have less of a sweet tooth, leave it off. If you want even more, try adding a streusel topping!

Ingredients You'll Need and Why

Pumpkin, sourdough starter, and brown sugar are non-negotiable for this recipe, but most of the other ingredients have some flexibility. As always, this is outlined below, and we don't recommend substitutions that we haven't tested. These are our notes from recipe testing. You can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Pumpkin: this should be canned or homemade pumpkin puree. Note that there can be some difference in the moisture between canned and homemade, but it shouldn't be enough of a difference to really impact the muffins. If you've roasted your own pumpkin and notice that it's really watery, drain some of that extra liquid off before adding to the batter.
• Brown sugar: part brown sugar in the recipe adds a lot to the autumnal flavour profile, bringing in some caramel notes. Use light or dark brown sugar.
• Sugar: this should be granulated white sugar. We have tried making the muffins with 100% brown sugar but they tasted a little too toasty, with almost bitter notes.
• Flour: use all-purpose white flour. Up to 50% whole wheat flour can be substituted with no other changes to the recipe. We haven't tried these with a gluten-free alternative.
• Milk: any dairy milk will be fine. Unsweetened non-dairy milk can be substituted for a dairy-free option. We've tested with oat and soy and both are good.
• Oil: use a light-tasting or neutral oil that's liquid at room temperature. We don't recommend coconut oil, which can make the muffins dense as they cool. Oil adds more moisture than butter, which is often used for the extra flavour, but that's not necessary here - think carrot cake, which is also usually made with oil.
• Starter: this can be sourdough discard or active sourdough starter, whichever you have on hand. Either way it's best to weigh rather than measure with cups due to their different volumes.
• Eggs: to help bind the muffins and for extra rise. The eggs should be at room temperature. If yours are cold, take them out of the fridge and submerge in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before starting the muffins.
• Pumpkin spice: this can be store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice. Both are good! If using store-bought, try to use a bottle or package that's been opened within the last 3 months, for the best taste. Spices lose their flavour quickly. We've outlined the individual spices needed in the recipe card.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

How to Make Sourdough Muffins

This is an easy one-bowl recipe, with no creaming or even an electric mixer needed. Just whisk and bake!

Step 1: mix the sugars and oil, then whisk in the eggs, then the remaining wet ingredients, including the starter. Once the starter is added you'll need to start being a bit more careful not to over-mix - that's why it's the last ingredient added in this step.

Step 2: sift in the dry ingredients. Sifting them in prevents any lumps, not only from the flour, but also of baking powder and soda. No one wants to bite down on a clump of baking soda! Sifting makes for a more even rise and better texture.

Related: Sourdough Morning Glory Muffins

Step 3: optionally refrigerate, up to 12 hours. Transfer the batter to a lined or greased 12-cup muffin tin. Top the muffins with sugar or streusel if you'd like.

Step 4: bake for 5 minutes at a high temperature before reducing the temperature and baking for another 15 minutes or so. This improves the rise of the muffins but it's best to set a timer so you don't forget to turn the oven down!

Expert Tips for the Best Muffins

• Chill overnight: if you'd like to try a long ferment, mix the batter as instructed and then chill in the fridge, tightly covered, for up to 12 hours before baking as usual. The batter will be a little stiff when cold.
• Cool before eating: this is especially true if you choose to a longer or overnight ferment (for any sourdough muffins). The texture changes due to the fermentation, becoming more bread-like, and just like sourdough bread, can be very gummy when still warm. Let the muffins cool fully and they'll taste great.
• Fill the cups: this recipe will make enough batter to fill 12 standard muffin cups right to the top before baking. The muffins will rise into a nice tall dome without spilling over the edges when baking.
• Don't skip the hot bake: the muffins won't get the same rise and dome if they're baked at a steady temperature the whole time. For the best texture, be sure to bake at the high temperature for the first 5 minutes. You'll see this method used for a lot of muffin recipes, and it does make a big difference when eggs are included in the batter.

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