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This easy old-fashioned berry cobbler is the perfect summer dessert recipe! It has a tender biscuit-like topping made with sourdough discard and sprinkled with coarse sugar over a tart and sweet mixed-berry filling. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream!
This is my sourdough discard version of the mixed berry cobbler with biscuit topping that my mom always made growing up. We most often make it for a 4th of July dessert!
Your friends and family will love if you bring it to share at a potluck, reunion, or BBQ. (Maybe these amazing soft sourdough hamburger buns too!)
And the best part? A sourdough old-fashioned berry cobbler is so much easier to make than a pie or even strawberry shortcake!
The cobbler dough is quick to put together, and there’s no rolling, cutting, or chilling required. This dessert is also practical to scoop out and serve.
You can easily cut the recipe in half and bake in a smaller pan, if you so desire!
Sourdough Discard Cobbler Dough (Biscuit Topping) Ingredients
The cobbler biscuit topping is delicious made with either all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour. If you mill your own flour, mill soft white wheat for this recipe.
Sourdough discard adds a little extra tang reminiscent of buttermilk. It’s a great way to use up some extra starter or discard, but I have notes in the recipe for a non-sourdough version as well!
Cream is used in the buttery cobbler dough for a more tender texture, but you can sub with milk if necessary.
Berry Filling Ingredients
After making the cobbler with both fresh and frozen mixed berries, I prefer to use fresh berries in the filling for the best syrupy texture. Any combo of berries will work.
I usually use strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries cut into bite-sized pieces. You can adjust the sugar depending on the natural sweetness of your fruit.
The lemon juice and zest brightens the flavors of the berries.
If you need to use frozen berries, you can add an extra tablespoon of flour to help thicken the juices. The cobbler will continue to thicken as it cools.
How to Make Sourdough Old-Fashioned Berry Cobbler (Step-By-Step Instructions)
Step 1 – Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Dish
To begin, you’ll preheat your oven to 425°F and grease a 9×13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
Step 2 – Make Mixed Berry Filling
To prepare the filling, gently stir together the berries with sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour.
Set the filling aside while you prepare the cobbler dough.
Step 3 – Prepare Sourdough Discard Cobbler Dough
For the dough, you’ll start by whisking together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Cut in cold butter cubes with a pastry cutter until the butter is in coarse, pea-sized crumbs.
You can do this by hand of you don’t have a pastry cutter. Just pinch the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers.
Then in a separate small bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, egg and cream. Add this mixture into the flour/butter mixture and stir until a dough begins to form.
Then use your hands to fold the dough over itself a couple of times in the bowl until everything is fully combined. Try not to overwork the dough.
Step 4 – Assemble the Sourdough Old-Fashioned Berry Cobbler
To assemble the cobbler, pour the berry filling into the prepared pan. Use a spoon or spatula to spread it evenly.
Pull off chunks of cobbler dough (about 2-3 tablespoons or so at a time) and use your fingers to flatten the pieces slightly.
Cover the top of the berry filling to make it “cobbled”. It’s okay if there is a little space between each piece of dough.
Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar for texture and decoration.
Step 5 – Bake
Finally, bake the cobbler for about 30 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the cobbler topping is golden.
Allow the cobbler to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, and then serve it up with scoops of vanilla ice cream!
How to Store Leftover Sourdough Berry Cobbler
I think the cobbler topping tastes best the first day. However, the cobbler does store just fine in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Sourdough Old-Fashioned Berry Cobbler
This easy old-fashioned berry cobbler is the perfect summer dessert recipe! It has a tender biscuit-like topping made with sourdough discard and sprinkled with coarse sugar over a tart and sweet mixed-berry filling. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream!
Ingredients
Berry Filling
- 3 lbs fresh mixed berries, washed, dried, and cut into bite-sized pieces (see notes)
- 175g granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 15g (2 Tablespoons) flour
Cobbler Dough
- 190g flour (unbleached all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour)
- 12g (1 Tablespoon) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 100g sourdough starter, ripe or discard (see notes for a non-sourdough version)
- 1 large egg (56g)
- 30g heavy cream (can sub with milk)
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F with a rack set in the center. Butter a 9x13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish and set aside.
- Make berry filling: In a large bowl, add berries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 15g flour. Stir gently to combine. Set aside.
- Make cobbler dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 190g flour, 12g sugar, kosher salt and baking powder. Add butter cubes and use a pastry cutter or your hands to cut (or pinch) in butter until it's in coarse, pea-sized crumbs. In a separate small bowl, whisk the sourdough starter, egg and heavy cream until smooth. Pour into to the flour/butter mixture and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Use your hands to fold the dough over itself until all the ingredients are fully combined, but do not over-work the dough.
- Assemble cobbler: Pour berry mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Pull off chunks of cobbler dough (about 2-3 Tablespoons or so each), flatten each piece a little with your fingers, then lay on top of the filling. Continue until the filling is covered with these "cobbled" pieces, with a little space between each piece of dough. Sprinkle the dough pieces with coarse sugar to finish.
- Bake: Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the cobbler topping is golden. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Berries: Fresh berries make for the best texture. I like using a combination of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, but use what you have. Frozen berries make for a more watery filling, but can be used, unthawed, if the flour in the filling is increased to 23g (3 Tablespoons). If berries are especially tart you can increase the sugar in the filling to 200g.
For a non-sourdough version: to eliminate the sourdough starter in the cobbler topping, increase flour to 240g and increase cream to 80g.
Can the recipe be cut in half? Yes, you can halve the recipe to bake a smaller cobbler in an 8x8-inch or similar baking dish.
How to store: The cobbler topping tastes best the first day, but leftover cobbler can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 320Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 261mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 6gSugar: 27gProtein: 5g
*Nutrition information is not always accurate.
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