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Monday muffins are a rhythm in our home. Typically, on Sunday night, I throw together a quick muffin batter, and then Monday morning I bake them while everyone is getting ready for their day. Muffins are a fun way to start our first day of the work week and they give us a few leftover snacks for the rest of the week. Lately, we’ve cycled through blueberry, lemon poppyseed, and chocolate chip oat muffins. This week I wanted to feel indulgent so I went full-on chocolate. I planned to add pecans but could only find walnuts in the freezer. So be it! These sourdough chocolate pecan/walnut muffins are a great way to start your week. There’s plenty of chocolate, a nice crunch from the nuts, and a good kick of protein and moisture from yogurt. I even threw in some buckwheat flour to enhance the flavor and protein.
Sourdough Baking
Making muffins at the beginning of the week puts my sourdough cadence into motion. I’ll pull the starter from the fridge and feed it on Sunday. Then, if I plan to bake later in the week I calculate what levains I will need and ensure I have enough starter. I usually cycle through baking a few loaves of bread and making pizza dough every two weeks. I’ll bake the bread, slice it, and freeze it and it lasts for a few weeks. Same with the pizza dough. I make it at the end of the week, use two dough balls on Sunday, and freeze two for the following Sunday. These cadences help keep my sourdough baking manageable. I have other sourdough recipes on the blog, and I will continue to add more over time.
If you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can substitute equal amounts of flour and liquid for the sourdough amount.
Pecans or Walnuts–You Choose
Pecans and walnuts are fairly interchangeable when baking so I was glad to find walnuts in the freezer when I went looking for pecans. Pecans are buttery, sweet, rich, and mellow with a creamy texture. Pecans exhibit a naturally sweet flavor that enhances desserts and balances savory dishes. Walnuts are earthy, slightly bitter, and mildly nutty. They have a more robust, complex flavor that pairs well with sweet and savory foods.
Pecans usually pair best with chocolate. Their sweet, buttery flavor complements the richness of chocolate, enhancing the overall taste without adding bitterness. This combination works beautifully in desserts like brownies, chocolate bark, and cookies. Walnuts can also pair well with chocolate, especially if you enjoy a more complex, slightly bitter flavor. However, they might not blend as seamlessly with chocolate’s sweetness as pecans do. I don’t mind the bitterness that walnuts impose, it adds a bit of interest.
And if you don’t like nuts, leave them out! You can substitute cacao nibs if you want some crunch.
Chocolate Pecan/Walnut Muffin Flavor Enhancers
Beyond the crunch from the nuts, I added a few other items to my batter to amp up these muffins. I used olive oil to keep the muffins moist and also added yogurt. I discovered a container of coffee yogurt in my refrigerator so it was a bonus flavor booster. Coffee makes the chocolate notes in cacao pop. If you don’t have coffee yogurt, add a splash of coffee or espresso or leave it out altogether.
Another item I feel accentuates chocolate is buckwheat. Buckwheat has a naturally nutty, earthy flavor that complements deep, rich notes in chocolate and an edge of bitterness that adds depth. When combined, these flavors create a balanced taste that enhances the complexity of chocolate. Buckwheat also has an affinity for other sweet ingredients like honey, maple syrup, and caramel, which are often combined with chocolate. This makes buckwheat an ideal partner, as it helps bridge flavors and bring out the natural sweetness of chocolate. Again, if this is an ingredient you don’t have on hand you can leave it out of your muffins.
Sourdough Chocolate Pecan/Walnut Muffins Recipe
Feel free to use discard or active starter on these muffins. These sourdough chocolate pecan/walnut muffins are great for breakfast, snacks, or a late-night treat. They are easy to make and easy to eat!
Sourdough Chocolate Pecan Muffins (with Buckwheat Flour, Olive Oil and Yogurt)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 160 g all-purpose flour (1 ¼ cups) can use a combination of AP and soft-wheat
- 30 g buckwheat flour (¼ cup) optional
- 50 g cacao powder (½ cup)
- 5 g baking powder (1 tsp)
- 2 g baking soda (½ tsp)
- 3 g salt (½ tsp)
- 65 g chopped pecans plus extra for topping; substitute walnuts if wanted
Wet Ingredients:
- 240 g sourdough discard (1 cup)
- 100 g turbinado sugar (½ cup) use cane sugar if you like
- 1 large egg
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil (⅓ cup)
- 120 ml milk or a non-dairy alternative; approximately ½ cup
- 120 g yogurt plain or Greek; approximately ½ cup; (coffee or vanilla yogurt good)
- 5 ml vanilla (1 tsp)
Add-ins:
- 90 g chocolate chips dark or semi-sweet; approximately ½ cup
Instructions
Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
Mix Dry Ingredients:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until well combined.
Mix Wet Ingredients:
- In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth and well incorporated.
Combine Mixtures:
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix until combined. Be careful not to over-mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Long Ferment (optional):
- Bench rest the batter for about 2 hours and then store in the refrigerator overnight to reap the benefits of fermentation.
Fill Muffin Cups:
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full. Sprinkle extra nuts and turbinado sugar on top if desired.
Bake:
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).
Cool:
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Storage: Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for longer storage.
- Convection: Use 325°F for convection ovens and bake for about 14 minutes.