Sourdough Rhubarb Cobbler is the Quickest Way to Enjoy the Bright Flavors of Spring!
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Rhubarb is a great love of mine, probably increased by the fact that it only sticks around for a brief but glorious moment, and one of my favorite ways to enjoy the fruit of the season is baked into a sourdough rhubarb cobbler. The added depth and flavor of the crisp, sourdough crust is the perfect companion for the tart and bright rhubarb, and the pale pink color comes out beautifully!
Sourdough rhubarb cobbler is the quickest and easiest desert to throw together. It’s perfect for last minute company or an after-dinner treat. Eating seasonally is wonderful when it means eating copious amounts of this short-lived treat before it’s gone again till next year. So, of course, you should eat as much as you can and in every form! Start with this cobbler!
Don’t Have a Sourdough Starter? That’s OK!
This delicious blackberry cobbler recipe can also be made without any sourdough starter discard. All you need to do is substitute the two cups of starter that the recipe calls for with 1 cup flour and 1 cup whole milk. That’s it! Follow the same assembly directions and bake time.
Why You’ll Love Sourdough Rhubarb Cobbler
It’s So Easy to Assemble
To begin assembling this easy recipe, you will melt butter in your baking dish by sticking it in the preheated oven for a few minutes. Then begin to add the layers on top, first the fruit filling followed by the cobbler dough. The melted butter helps form a crisp and buttery golden brown crust that goes perfectly with the delicious, tart blackberries!
Enjoy all the Goodness of Sourdough
What makes this sourdough cobbler truly special is that it’s made with 100% sourdough discard, so all of the flour is fermented and gentler on the belly. Many sourdough discard recipes are designed only to use up excess unfed sourdough starter. In these recipes, you’ll add regular flour and bake without allowing time for the fresh flour to ferment. The advantage of using only sourdough starter without adding additional flour, is that you get the full benefit of consuming fermented grains. The cobbler dough will be more tender and flavorful, and your gut will be happier!
This easy rhubarb cobbler recipe is also a great way to use up extra discard that you might have building up. I recommend using discard that has been setting no more than 24 hours at room temperature, or no more than one week in the refrigerator. Otherwise, the cobbler dough can become overly strong tasting and sour. As long as your starter is relatively fresh, the sweetness from the other ingredients will likely mask the flavor of the sourdough.
It Can be Ready in an Hour!
Once again, like all good recipes this one is quick and can be thrown together when last minute dinner guests are expected. The hands-on time required to get this cobbler assembled and in the oven can be as little as five minutes. Another forty-five minutes in the oven and you can be enjoying warm sourdough cobbler with vanilla ice cream and as many friends and loved ones as you can fit around the table!
What Type of Flour Should I Feed my Sourdough Starter?
I would recommend using a sourdough starter discard that has most recently been fed with all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour, although your starter will always be a bit of a mixed bag and that’s ok. When making fruit cobbler, I like to avoid using flours with high gluten content, such as bread flour, which can make the crust tough.
Side note: Been eyeing those beautiful Danish whisks but didn’t know whether or not to bring another tool into your kitchen? Here’s your permission! I use mine ALL the time, and they are GREAT for making cobbler batters! (Which you should be doing regularly, of course!) HERE’S one with a longer handle, which I love.
Sourdough Starter: Leavening Agent vs Fermentation Tool
When we talk about sourdough starter, it’s important to understand its two main roles in baking:
- Leavening Agent: In traditional sourdough bread, the starter replaces commercial yeast, creating rise through natural fermentation.
- Fermentation Tool: In recipes like sourdough rhubarb cobbler, the starter is used primarily for its tangy flavor and health benefits rather than rising power.
Sourdough rhubarb cobbler relies on baking powder and baking soda (our dry ingredients) for its lift, not the starter. So don’t worry if your starter isn’t super bubbly! Its job is to break down the flour and release a depth of flavor you’re going to love!
Next time you’re wondering if your fed sourdough starter is needed or if you can use sourdough starter discard, just think: leavening or flavor?!
Gather Your Ingredients
The ingredients needed for this sourdough rhubarb cobbler recipe are so simple and minimal.
Butter
Embrace it, love it, don’t replace it! Real butter is so important in this recipe and is responsible for much of the flavor in the delicious sourdough crust.
Rhubarb
Fresh rhubarb should be chopped into 1/2 inch pieces. Also, this sourdough cobbler recipe works great with so many fresh berries or other fresh fruit! Sub in raspberries, fresh blueberries, peaches, plums, etc. Adapt your cobbler to the season or to what you have on hand. An easy peach cobbler with fresh peaches is delicious, especially with a scoop of ice cream.
Check out our favorite SOURDOUGH BLACKBERRY COBBLER recipe for as summer version!
Sugar
You’ll want to use regular ol’ white sugar here. Replacing with brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup can alter the amount of liquid and affect the texture of the crust.
Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice
This helps brighten up the flavor of the berries.
Sourdough Starter
The sourdough starter that you use in this recipe does not have to be freshly fed. Because this recipe relies on baking powder for it’s rise, the starter doesn’t have to be active and bubbly. We’re using it solely to ferment our flour and add to the flavor of the crust. However, don’t use starter that has been sitting at room temperature longer than 24 hours or in the fridge longer than a week. The flavor can become too acidic and ruin your cobbler.
Baking powder
Gives lift to our sourdough cobbler dough making it fluffy and light!
Salt
Balances the sweet and enhances all of the amazing flavors.
Putting it all Together
Assembling the cobbler is so easy! I always start by mixing my rhubarb with the sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest and set them aside until the fruit begins to release some of its juices. Mix the starter together in a large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and pour this right into the baking dish, on top of the melted butter. It will begin to spread out a bit and you can give it a little nudge out towards the edges, but it doesn’t need to cover the bottom of the baking dish. It will continue to spread as it bakes. Next, just dump the rhubarb filling on top of the batter. Spread the fruit out slightly with the back of a spoon then pop the dish in the oven. Done! Once baked and golden brown, serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
We hope you love this beautiful cobbler and make it on repeat this spring! Let us know how it goes, and feel free to leave a rating! We’d love to see pictures of your rhubarb bounties and how you put them to use! Happy Baking!
Easy Sourdough Rhubarb Cobbler
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter melted on the pan
- 2 cups sourdough starter active or discard
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
For the Fruit Filling
- 4 cups rhubarb chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- lemon juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the stick of butter in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Pop the baking dish in the oven as it preheats, just long enough for the butter to completely melt then pull the dish back out of the oven.
- Mix the Batter: In a medium bowl, combine the sourdough starter, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir just until combined. The mixture should resemble a pancake batter.
- Prep the Rhubarb: Wash and dry your rhubarb stalks and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add in your sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Give them a gentle mix and let them set for a few minutes until the rhubarb starts to release its juices and the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Assemble the Cobbler: Pour the batter over the melted butter in the bottom of the baking dish. Do not stir. Pour the rhubarb filling evenly over the top of the batter. Again, don’t stir! This layering is what helps form that classic cobblestone street appearance of cobblers.
- Bake!: Pop the baking dish in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cobbler crust is puffed and golden brown and the rhubarb filling is bubbling around the edges.
- Cool and Serve: Let the homemade rhubarb cobbler cool for about 10-15 minutes. This helps the cobbler filling set. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream!
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