Child sprinkling oatmeal topping onto the jam layer of sourdough discard jam bars.

As a mother of four, I am always on the hunt for a healthy and simple recipe. And one that utilized my sourdough discard. Breakfast can often be the most challenging for me because our mornings always feel so busy. Everyone wakes up ravenous and I can’t seem to get breakfast going fast enough. When I am cooking our eggs, the kids will inhale a jam bar or two.

These sourdough discard jam bars have been the perfect breakfast staple in our home lately. And I love that I don’t need to go shopping for new ingredients. The ingredients in the recipe, are always available in our home.

This is a great way to use up your discard and your kids will love it.

Baking Tools for Sourdough Discard Jam Bars

This recipe is great to make with kids. No stand mixers necessary. I like to use a measuring cup, mixing bowl, a fork, a baking pan or sheet and parchment paper.

The measurements I put in this recipe are super flexible, so don’t stress if you don’t have the exact amounts. I love to measure with my heart.

Sourdough Discard

Your sourdough discard can be warm or cold, so use what you have. If your discard is super thick, you can add small increments of water to thin it our.

Oil for your Sourdough Discard

I have been using coconut oil because I have a jar of it that I need to use up, but you can also use whatever you have. Lard, butter, and tallow are also great alternatives. I personally, would cut other oils down between 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup. Trial what fits your family better.

Coconut oil has a natural sweetness, so you may need to increase the amount of sweetener if you change the oil.

a child mixing the sourdough discard, oatmeal and flour dough. Crumbly texture.

Sweeteners to pair with your Sourdough Discard

Pure maple syrup and raw honey are pretty standard at our house. But if you are using something else (like sugar) you can probably decrease the volume of sweetener slightly. I try to keep this as healthy as possible but also tasty. Adjust the sweetness for your family.

Oatmeal

I like to use rolled outs. Other oats may require to be soaked in warm/ hot water for a few minutes prior to mixing ingredients.

Crumbly, sourdough discard dough, on parchment paper while child presses it down flat.

Flour

I like to use all purpose, whole wheat or red fife flour. If you have a stronger flavored flour (red fife), I would add extra jam.

Salt

Any salt you have on hand will work great. I like to use pink Himalayan salt. I also measuring my salt with my heart. Less is more!

Sourdough discard dough pressed flat onto baking pan while child drops dollops of jam on dough.

Jam with the Sourdough Discard

The jam is my favorite part of this recipe. This is where you can really utilize what you have available.

Sourdough discard pairs with just about anything, so this is a great way to finish off those partially empty jars in your fridge. Do not hesitate to mix different flavors if it means you can clear out your fridge.

Don’t feel like you need to only use a homemade jam. Any jam, jelly or preserve. Homemade or store bought will work great!

The jams I have used are saskatoon berry, saskatoon rhubarb, strawberry, raspberry, huckleberry, blueberry, cherry jelly, spiced Christmas (plum and cranberry) jam, and raspberry lemon.

a child's had spreading jam over a sourdough discard and oatmeal crust

Be Flexible

Use this recipe as a guide. Nothing on it needs to be set in stone. Use what you have and don’t discourage yourself from trying this recipe.

If you don’t have jam, maybe considered trying out make a small pot of jam on your stovetop with some fruit in your freezer. You would be super surprised how is it is.

https://www.alisoneroman.com/recipes/stovetop-jam

A picture of sourdough discard jam bars before the go into oven.

Healthy and Simple Sourdough Discard Jam Bars

A simple and healthy sourdough discard jam bar.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 24 bars

Equipment

1 mixing bowl
1 baking pan
1 Parchment Paper

Ingredients

1/2 cup sourdough discard
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup sweetener pure maple syrup, honey, brown sugar
2 cup rolled oats old fashioned, instant, steel cut
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups jam of your choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉.
Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and mix together.
Melt coconut oil.
Add wet ingredients to dry.
Mix together until full incorporated. Should be crumbly in texture.
Place parchment paper into baking pan.
Add 3/4 of our crumbly dough to pan.
Press crumbly dough down flat on parchment paper. Should cover the whole bottom on your pan. Creating a crust.
Select jam of choice and spread onto our pressed crust.
Once jam is fully spread our, sprinkle on the rest of the crumbly dough onto of the jam.
Place baking pan into oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Bottom will look slightly toasted.
Let cool. Then cut and enjoy!

Keyword breakfast, coconut oil, discard, easy, healthy, jam, kid snacks, simple, sourdough, sourdough discard