Easy Homemade Sourdough Discard Pop Tarts Recipe
Finding simple, everyday ways to use up sourdough starter discard is one of my favorite homestead kitchen routines.These homemade sourdough discard pop tarts bake up into a crisp, flaky, all-butter pastry filled with thick fruit preserves and topped with an easy glaze. They taste far better than anything out of a foil wrapper, and making them from scratch means you skip all the preservatives, seed oils, and high fructose corn syrup found in the boxed version.
I like to cut cold salted butter into unbleached flour, work in the tangy discard, and let the dough chill in the fridge overnight. In the morning, all that's left to do is roll out the pastry, spoon in your favorite filling, crimp the edges with a fork, and bake. Serve them warm with a cup of coffee or a mug of Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix, or pack them up for a quick breakfast on the go.
Quick Look: Homemade Sourdough Discard Pop Tarts
⏱️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
🥧 Bake Time: 20-25 minutes at 350°F
❄️ Chill Time: At least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours for a longer ferment
🍓 Filling: Fruit preserves, brown sugar cinnamon, or your favorite sweet filling
🧈 Texture: Buttery, flaky pastry with golden, crisp edges
✨ Yield: 8 homemade pop tarts
👩🍳 Skill Level: Beginner-friendly, with a little rolling and shaping
💡 Pro Tip: Keep your butter cold, use thick fruit preserves, and seal the edges with egg wash and a fork to prevent leaks.
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Why Sourdough Discard Makes the Best Pastry
Sourdough discard adds a mild acidity that tenderizes the gluten in the flour, yielding a crust that is distinctly flaky rather than tough.
Letting the dough rest in the refrigerator allows the flour to fully hydrate while keeping the butter cold. When cold butter hits the hot oven, the moisture in the butter evaporates into steam, puffing up the layers into a flaky hand pie that holds its shape around warm fruit preserves.
Ingredients
Keeping the ingredients cold is the key to creating distinct, buttery pastry layers:
- Egg Wash: One egg yolk whisked with a splash of water works as glue to seal the edges and helps the tops bake up glossy and golden.
- Unbleached All-Purpose Flour: Provides the foundation for a tender pastry without getting tough.
- Salted Butter: Use cold or frozen butter. Grating or mincing cold butter into the dry ingredients ensures pockets of fat that puff up in the oven.
- Granulated Sugar & Salt: A touch of sugar lightly sweetens the pastry crust, while fine sea salt balances the butter.
- Sourdough Starter Discard: Unfed sourdough discard straight from the fridge adds moisture and a subtle sourdough tang.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: A small splash of acid relaxes the dough, making it easy to roll out while keeping the crumb tender.
- Ice-Cold Water & Vanilla: Hydrates the dough just enough to pull it together without melting the butter bits.
- Thick Fruit Preserves: Thicker than regular jelly or loose jam, preserves stay put inside the pastry pocket during baking.
Instructions
Follow these 4 simple steps to assemble and bake your sourdough pop tarts:
- Make & Chill the Pastry: In a large bowl, cut the cold, shredded butter into the flour, sugar, and salt until you have pea-sized crumbles. Stir in the sourdough discard, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, and ice-cold water until a shaggy dough forms. Turn onto a counter, press into two flat squares, wrap tightly, and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
- Roll & Cut: On a lightly floured surface, roll one dough square out to about 81 -inch thickness. Use a knife or pizza cutter (and a 3×4-inch index card or cardboard template as a guide) to cut out even rectangles. Re-roll scraps as needed.
- Fill & Seal: Lay half of the rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly brush the perimeter with egg wash. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of preserves into the center of each. Top with a second dough rectangle, press gently around the filling to remove air pockets, and crimp the borders firmly with a fork to seal.
- Brush & Bake: Prick the top of each tart a few times with a fork so steam can escape. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before drizzling with a simple powdered sugar glaze!
Eryn's Homestead Hint: Keep that butter cold! If your kitchen is warm and the dough feels soft or sticky while you are cutting and filling, slide the baking sheet into the fridge for 10 minutes before popping them into the oven. Cold dough hitting a hot oven creates the flakiest layers.
Filling Options & Variations
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon: Stir 21 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon together with 1 tablespoon melted butter for a classic brown sugar filling.
- Homemade Preserves: Use thick strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, or cherry preserves. Avoid thin, runny jellies as they tend to leak out the sides.
- Simple Sugar Glaze: Whisk 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons of whole milk and 21 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Spoon over cooled pop tarts and let set before serving.
Equipment
- Rolling Pin & Bench Scraper: Keeps the dough moving smoothly across your work surface without sticking.
- Pastry Cutter or Box Grater: Makes breaking cold butter into the dry flour quick and easy.
- Pizza Cutter & Ruler: For cutting straight, uniform rectangles.
- Baking Sheet & Parchment Paper: Prevents sticking and catches any small drips of bubbling fruit.
Storage & Reheating
- Room Temperature Storage: Keep completely cooled, unglazed (or set-glazed) pop tarts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Freezer Instructions: Unbaked pop tarts freeze well! Assemble and crimp the tarts, freeze them flat on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 3 to 5 minutes to the total bake time.
- Reheating: Warm individual tarts in a toaster oven or standard oven at 325°F for 5 to 7 minutes to re-crisp the pastry.
Top Tip
Use a Fork to Vent the Tops! Don't forget to poke 3 or 4 sets of fork pricks into the top pastry sheet before baking. This gives steam an escape route and prevents the preserves from forcing their way out of the crimped edges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use active sourdough starter instead of discard?
Yes! Active starter works just as well. Because we chill the dough and bake it without a proofing stage, both active starter and cold discard will yield a flaky, tender pastry.
Why did my filling leak out into the pan?
Filling leaks happen when either the edges weren't sealed firmly with egg wash and a fork, or too much filling was added.Stick to 1 to 2 tablespoons of thick preserves and leave a clear 21 -inch border all around the edges.
Can I make these in a standard toaster?
If you skip the glaze, you can pop these into a standard bread toaster on low heat to warm them up! If you plan to glaze them, reheat them in a toaster oven or conventional oven so the sugar doesn't melt into your toaster slots.
Other Sourdough Discard Recipes:
Final Thoughts from the Homestead
Making a batch of homemade pop tarts is such a rewarding weekend kitchen project. The kids love choosing their own fillings, and pulling a tray of golden, flaky pastries out of the oven feels so much more nourishing than anything pulled from a cardboard box.
Sourdough Discard Pop Tarts Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
- 16 tablespoon butter 2 sticks frozen cold butter, shredded or chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon ice-cold water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk for egg wash
- 1 cup Filling of choice fruit preserves, brown sugar filling, etc.
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and cold butter using a pastry cutter or food processor until the mixture forms large crumbles. Sprinkle in the salt and sugar, and mix again. Gradually add the sourdough discard in three phases, mixing after each addition until the dough is slightly shaggy. Drizzle in the apple cider vinegar, then add the teaspoon of ice water and vanilla. Mix until the dough starts to come together, though it will still be chunky at this point.
- Knead the Dough: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it forms a cohesive dough. Be sure to press any large chunks of butter into the dough. Divide the dough into two squares, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours for a longer ferment.
- Roll Out and Shape: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface until it's about ¼ inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into small rectangles or long strips for your pop tarts. Brush the edges of each rectangle with egg wash.
- Fill and Seal: Place about 2 tablespoons of your chosen filling in the center of each rectangle. Fold the dough over and gently press out any air from the creased side. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal, ensuring none of that sweet filling escapes.
- Bake: Place the unbaked pop tarts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of each pop tart with more egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Optional Glaze: After baking, let the pop tarts cool slightly on a cooling rack. Drizzle with a simple sweet glaze made from powdered sugar and milk for an extra touch of sweetness!
These sourdough pop tarts have become such a favorite in our home. They’re buttery, flaky, and just the right balance of tart and sweet depending on the filling. I love that the dough is forgiving and easy to work with, and the long ferment in the fridge adds that classic tang I can’t get enough of. Once you try these, it’s hard to go back to store-bought!