Deliciously Fudgy Sourdough Brownies

Is there anything better than a fudgy, chocolate-y brownie that melts in your mouth and leaves behind a lingering feeling of sourtastic happiness? Yeah, I thought so. 

I don’t think this recipe needs any fancy introduction. 

Grab some chocolate and let’s get starte(r)d!

PREPPING THE LEVAIN

Feed your started about 6-9 hours before using it in the main batter

30 g of active, bubbly starter

130 g all-purpose white flour or T500 flour

100 g water

Mix all the ingredients so they form a thick mass, then cover with a lid and leave at room temperature until it becomes fluffy, bubbly, and doubles in size.

 THE MAIN BATTER

Ingredients:

400 g (dark) chocolate

250 g butter

100 g brown sugar

40 g cacao

2 pinches of salt

2 tea spoons of vanilla extract 

4 eggs

the bubbly, active levain from step 1

TIP: you can also sprinkle chopped roasted hazelnuts on top of your brownies to make them extra delicious. 

MAKING THE BATTER: 

Melt the butter and chocolate over a water bath. Then add in the sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until the sugar has dissolved and let the mixture cool down. 

Whisk the eggs and salt together in a separate container, then slowly add them to the fully cooled chocolate. 

Finally, add in the bubbly levain and the cacao.

Whisk everything together quickly to get a homogenous mass. It should be quite runny and silky smooth. 

Butter your tin and pour the brownie batter into it. Slam the tin against the counter a few times to get rid of any unwanted bubbles. 

OPTIONAL: sprinkle chopped hazelnuts (or any other topping of choice) on top.

BAKING:

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C or 356°F for approximately 25 minutes.

When you do the toothpick test there should still be some fudge left on the toothpick. 

After you take the brownies out of the oven, immediately flip them onto some parchment paper and leave them to cool off entirely, if you can manage it. 

TIP: these brownies taste best when they are at least 1 day old. If they can wait that long that is. 

Let me know what your favorite brownie topping is in the comments. Some of my favorites are hazelnuts, peanut butter, and salt. What’s yours?

Enjoy your day and let’s bake the world a better place.