Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars
Use up sourdough discard and make Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars at the same time! These crispy sourdough shortbread bars are filled with a homemade blueberry filling!
If you’re looking for more dessert bars, be sure to check out some of my favorites like Chocolate Strawberry Crumb Bars, Organic Sugar Cookie Bars With Frosting, Chocolate Caramel S’More Bars, or Cherry Pie Bars.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars
- Ready In: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Makes: 16 bars
- Main Ingredients: salted butter, powdered sugar, blueberries, all purpose flour
- Flavor Profile: tangy sourdough shortbread with juicy blueberries in every bite
- Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: blueberry jam bars with sourdough discard
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Uses Sourdough Discard: I love recipes that use up sourdough discard, and these blueberry bars do it so well! This not only reduces waste but it also infuses a sourdough flavor into these sweet blueberry bars.
- Naturally Eggless: Sourdough discard actually makes a great egg replacer. These Blueberry Crumb Bars are naturally eggless as I use sourdough discard. Check out Easy Egg Replacers for Baking for more ways to bake without eggs.
- Flexible: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for these Blueberry Crumb Bars. You can even use store bought blueberry jam for ease or Homemade Blueberry Preserves (No Pectin) too! And, you could even make these another flavor by swapping the jam for Small Batch Organic Apricot Jam Without Pectin, Organic Strawberry Jam With Fresh or Frozen Berries, or Persimmon Apple Cider Jam.
These blueberry bars are another collab with my friend Hannah at Make It Dough! Every month we collaborate together on a recipe using sourdough or sourdough discard. Hannah really wanted to do something with blueberries this month because they are in season. So, I suggested crumb bars because I’m obsessed with them and they are a wonderful egg free dessert if you’re having an issue with eggs right now!
These Blueberry Crumb Bars have a crispy sourdough shortbread crust that uses up sourdough discard to reduce waste! And you can use fresh blueberries, frozen blueberries, or even blueberry jam if you’re feeling lazy. They’re topped with the signature bits of shortbread on top and dusted with powdered sugar for a light and fruity treat you’ll love!
Some of our past collabs that are still favorites of mine include Baked Chai Donuts with Sourdough Discard, Sourdough Strawberry Pop Tarts, Small Batch Chocolate Cake With Sourdough Discard, and Rustic Sourdough Peach Galette.
Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar: Using organic powdered sugar gives these blueberry bars a light and sweet sourdough shortbread crust. Also, they are dusted with it for a beautiful finish.
- Lemon: Organic lemon zest is used inside the sourdough shortbread dough for added flavor and the juice is used in the blueberry filling. But, if you are using store bought blueberry jam, you can omit the lemon zest to make it easier, they’ll still be delicious!
- Sourdough Discard: You can use your sourdough discard straight from the fridge. Making these blueberry bars is a delicious way to reduce waste!
- All Purpose Flour: This provides stability in these Blueberry Crumb Bars because of the higher protein content compared to something like cake flour. So, the sourdough shortbread crust can successfully hold all the delicious blueberry filling without breaking because we’re using organic all purpose flour.
- Cornstarch: This helps bind the filling together and solidify the sugars with the blueberries, so it doesn’t become soggy in the oven. I always use organic cornstarch as corn is a crop that can be grown very poorly with GMOs, pesticides, and more.
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for these blueberry bars. And, if you’re feeling lazy, you can also use store bought blueberry jam or preserves instead of making the filling.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker’s Tips
- Make sure your butter is soft before beginning the recipe.
- You can use unsalted butter if you prefer, just add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
- You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in the filling, both work.
- You can also use store bought blueberry jam if you’re feeling lazy. Also, any jam flavor will also work, try out strawberry, blackberry, cherry or apricot for different flavors! If you use jam, just mix in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into the jam. (If using store bought jam, you'll need about 9 ounces).
How to Make Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars
- Cut two pieces of parchment paper, about 8 by 15 inches, to create a sling for an 8-inch baking pan. Or you can use precut parchment paper like I’m using here. Set aside. To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest.
- Cream together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the sourdough discard.
- Mix until well combined.
- Last, add in the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
- Mix until a cohesive dough is formed.
- Press ¾ of the dough (you can just eyeball this!) into the bottom of the prepared pan, making sure to press it into the corners. Wrap the remaining dough in a piece of plastic wrap. Refrigerate the pan and the remaining portion of dough (used for the topping) for at least 30 minutes.
- To make the filling: While the dough chills, add the blueberries, cane sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice to a small saucepan and stir together. Cook over medium/high heat until the blueberries begin to break down.
- Once the mixture boils, turn the heat down to low/medium and cook until the filling has thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir often to prevent the filling from burning.
- Spread the warm blueberry filling evenly over the shortbread dough, making sure to get the filling into the corners.
- Break the remaining portion of shortbread dough over the filling, leaving a few spots where the blueberry filling still peaks through.
- Bake the bars for 40 to 45 minutes or until the shortbread topping looks lightly browned.
- Allow the bars to cool completely, then sift powdered sugar on top.
- Cut into 16 bars (4×4).
Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars FAQ’s
Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that is discarded during the feeding process. Instead of throwing it away, you can use it in other baked goods to infuse a tangy sourdough flavor! This not only reduces waste, but also allows you to make other delicious sourdough baked goods with ease!
You can still make these! Just mix together 28 grams all purpose flour and 28 grams water in a small dish. Use this in place of sourdough discard. While it won’t have the same flavor, it will still be delicious!
Yes, you can switch up the flavor and use any kind of fruit jam you like. These are also delicious with strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and more. You can use homemade or store bought jams.
Yes, this is a great recipe to make ahead of time. You can just leave them in the pan overnight, then cut the day of your party.
More Ways to Use Sourdough Discard
If you have a sourdough starter, you have excess sourdough discard all the time! Check out some of my favorite recipes that turn that waste into delicious bakes!
- Try Vegan Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies for a sourdough twist on classic cookies!
- Sourdough Irish Brown Bread With Guinness is a quick and easy bread recipe that allows you to make fresh bread same day. This is a great dinner bread.
- Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread is one of my favorite quick bread recipes for sandwiches and toast.
- Indulge in a classic pie but with a sourdough twist with my Sourdough Apple Pie.
- One of the most popular party recipes on my site is Sourdough Hot Dog Pretzel Buns.
More Blueberry Recipes
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Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Bars
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- 8×8-inch Baking Pan
- Parchment Paper
- 3-Quart Pot
- Spatula
Ingredients
Dough
- 226 grams salted butter (softened)
- 150 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 lemon (zest)
- 56 grams sourdough discard
- 300 grams all purpose flour
- 22 grams cornstarch
Filling
- 226 grams blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 100 grams cane sugar
- 8 grams cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Cut two pieces of parchment paper, about 8 by 15 inches, to create a sling for an 8-inch baking pan. Or you can use precut parchment paper like I’m using here. Set aside.
- To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the sourdough discard and mix until well combined.
- Last, add in the flour, cornstarch, and salt mix until a cohesive dough is formed.
- Press ¾ of the dough (you can just eyeball this!) into the bottom of the prepared pan, making sure to press it into the corners.
- Wrap the remaining dough in a piece of plastic wrap. Refrigerate the pan and the remaining portion of dough (used for the topping) for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- To make the filling: While the dough chills, add the blueberries, cane sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice to a small saucepan and stir together. Cook over medium/high heat until the blueberries begin to break down. Once the mixture boils, turn the heat down to low/medium and cook until the filling has thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir often to prevent the filling from burning.
- Spread the warm blueberry filling evenly over the shortbread dough, making sure to get the filling into the corners.
- Break the remaining portion of shortbread dough over the filling, leaving a few spots where the blueberry filling still peaks through.
- Bake the bars for 40 to 45 minutes or until the shortbread topping looks lightly browned.
- Allow the bars to cool completely, then sift powdered sugar on top. Cut into 16 bars (4×4).
- Store any leftover bars in a cool, dry place for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- Make sure your butter is soft before beginning the recipe.
- You can use unsalted butter if you prefer, just add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
- You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in the filling, both work.
- You can also use store bought blueberry jam if you’re feeling lazy. Also, any jam flavor will also work, try out strawberry, blackberry, cherry or apricot for different flavors! If you use jam, just mix in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into the jam. (If using store bought jam, you'll need about 9 ounces).
Nutrition
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Love that these use up sourdough discard to reduce waste!