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–+ servings
pumpkin spice muffins with sourdough on a wooden surface.
5 from 1 vote

Moist & Tender Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins

Print Recipe
Put your extra sourdough starter to use and make a batch of these moist, tender sourdough pumpkin muffins! Made with real homemade pumpkin puree, warm spices, and sweet sugar, this is a delicious way to celebrate fall (and play around with sourdough at the same time).
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:20 minutes
Cooling Time:10 minutes
Total Time:40 minutes

Equipment

  • Muffin tin (enough for 2 dozen)
  • Muffin liners (paper or silicone)
  • medium bowl
  • fine-mesh strainer for sifting
  • Whisk
  • Stand mixer or large mixing bowl with hand mixer
  • Spatula
  • Large scoop (ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup)
  • Instant read thermometer (optional)

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour scooped and levelled
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Sugar Topping

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two muffin trays with silicone or paper liners.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, sift and whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).
    2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • In bowl of a stand mixer, add pumpkin puree, both types of sugar, spices, oil, and extract. Stir to combine.
    1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup cane sugar, 1/2 cup organic vegetable oil, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp sweet allspice, 1/8 tsp cloves, freshly grated nutmeg, 1 tsp cardamom extract
  • Then, add eggs, sourdough discard, and buttermilk. Stir until combined. Scrape down the sides.
    2 large eggs, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1 cup sourdough discard
  • Gradually add flour mixture to the wet ingredients with the mixer running on low. Scrape down the sides halfway through. Stop mixing when the batter just comes together.
  • Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way. Place the muffin trays in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes before baking. Optional: Sprinkle tops of muffins with demerara sugar.
    2 tbsp demerara sugar
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the muffin tops are firm to the touch and reach an internal temperature of 210 degrees F.
  • ​Cool in the muffin pan for 5-7 minutes, then set the muffins on a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Yield: This recipe makes 24 muffins.
To make this many, you will want to fill your muffin cups 2/3 of the way full. I found that I got the tallest, fluffiest muffins with silicone muffin cups.
When I made the batch again with paper liners, they weren't quite as tall. If you'd like really tall muffins (like those in the photos), you'll want to fill the cups closer to the top. You will end up with closer to 18 muffins in this situation.
    • I prefer to use relatively fresh discard for a really mellow, neutral flavor. If your discard is older (and thinner), consider adding an additional 1/2 tsp of baking powder.
    • Use large eggs for consistent results.
    • Instead of demerara sugar, you can add a crumble topping like these vanilla muffins or sprinkle some pumpkin seeds.
    • Feel free to make mini muffins using a mini muffin tray. You will need to adjust the baking time.
    • Simplify the spices by either using 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice and 1 tsp cinnamon.
    • Pumpkin muffins always taste lovely with chocolate chips! Feel free to fold in 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips before baking.
    • If you don't have two muffin trays, but you have silicone liners, use a baking sheet! I only have one muffin tray, so I added the second dozen muffins on the half-sheet tray and baked like normal.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2407IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Appetizer, Baking, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy sourdough bread, homemade pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin sourdough muffins, sourdough discard, sourdough pumpkin muffins
Servings: 24 muffins
Calories: 138kcal