Are you looking for new ways to use your sourdough discard? This is a fantastic recipe that is sure to please a crowd! Not only does this recipe include sourdough discard, but it also includes freshly milled flour. Grab an apron, your sourdough starter, your favorite pie filling and let’s bake some sourdough discard cherry pie bars!
Cherry Pie Bars
This recipe for cherry pie bars is so easy and fast to make! Do you have a last-minute potluck you need to bring something to and not much time? What about a work potluck during the work week? This is for you! Not a fan of cherries? Or perhaps you’re out? There are endless versions you can make with this recipe!
My mom made this recipe a lot when I was growing up. Later, she handed me the recipe and I began making it. Now my husband and kids love it, so the tradition has made its way to its third generation.
Using Sourdough Discard
These cherry pie bars didn’t start off as a sourdough discard recipe – I added that years later. The original recipe didn’t need any changing, but due to some dietary needs I ended up making a couple adjustments. These changes are not only a way I can sneak in a little bit more nutrition; the sourdough discard makes digesting this a lot easier for those with a gluten intolerance.
The discard idea came after years of baking with sourdough. I am always looking for ways to incorporate sourdough into our meals. Sourdough discard is rich in probiotics which helps with gut health and digestion.
Sourdough discard also adds a little tang to these bars which really helps balance out this incredibly sweet dessert. Furthermore, sourdough anything is a fabulous way to make something ahead, put it in the refrigerator for a few days, and pull it out when you are ready to bake it. Not only does it add convenience to a busy week, but it also helps those with a gluten intolerance who might want to indulge in a special treat.
Incorporating Freshly Milled Flour
Another ingredient I changed in the cherry pie bars was using freshly milled flour. While using an all-purpose flour is perfectly fine, freshly milled flour adds a little bit more nutrition to this special treat. It offers significantly higher nutritional benefits than already milled flour we purchase from the grocery store. Another benefit to milling your own flour is wheat berries can be stored for years – even decades – without compromising nutrition.
What is the Difference between Freshly Milled Flour and Commercially Milled Flour?
Milling our own flour preserves the nutrients found in whole grain or wheat berries. When the wheat berries are milled at a commercial facility, the germ and the bran are removed. While purchasing bagged flour is very convenient, the resulting product is significantly lower in nutrients.
Milling our own flour at home retains the vitamins and minerals such as zinc, magnesium, vitamin B, vitamin E and iron. This is a result of the germ and the bran being retained in the final milled product, giving a much more nutritious ingredient. Commercially milled flour has been milled weeks if not months ago with the germ and bran removed. Even whole wheat flour is not nearly as nutritious as freshly milled flour because once the wheat grains are cracked open, the nutrition begins to rapidly deplete. In an effort to replace the nutrients lost in the milling process, manufacturers will enrich the flour with vitamins and minerals. As with anything, getting our nutrition from natural sources makes it easier for our bodies to digest and absorb.
Freshly milled flour does not contain any preservatives or additives often used to increase shelf life. Potassium bromate is an ingredient often added to commercial flour which has been linked to cancer in animal studies. Milling your own flour is just another way to ensure you are using whole, natural, and healthy ingredients in your kitchen.
Between the fermentation process through using sourdough discard and the freshly milled flour, I can enjoy a little piece of this delicious dessert every now and again. I love having sweet treats for my family to enjoy. It is even better when I can sneak in healthier ingredients without compromising texture or taste!
Cherry Pie Bars
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add butter and sugar to a bowl. Cream together until smooth.
- Add vanilla and mix together
- Add one egg at a time to the butter and sugar mixture, followed by 1/4 of the flour mixture. Continue adding one egg at a time followed by some of the flour mixture.
- At this point you can either move forward with assembling and baking, or you can let it ferment for 5-6 hours
- Spread ¾ of the batter on a well-greased cookie sheet.
- Top with 1 can of cherry pie filling (dropped on top of the batter by the spoonful)
- Drop the rest of the batter by teaspoonful on top of the cherry pie filling.
- Bake 350℉ for 25-30 minutes.
- Heat ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup of milk over medium heat
- Once the butter is fully melted, remove the pan from heat and add ½ tsp. vanilla
- Next, add enough powdered sugar to make an icing (usually about 1½ – 2 cups, give or take)
- You will want the icing to be pourable, but not overly runny.
- Next, drizzle the icing over the pie bars. To give it a swirled effect, drag a knife vertically across the top of the bars, then horizontally, then diagonally.
Notes
- Apple pie filling with a cream cheese icing
- Blueberry pie filling (try adding some lemon rind to the batter for a lemon-blueberry flavor)
- Peach pie filling
- Strawberry Rhubarb filling
- Raspberry pie filling with a cream cheese icing
- Triple berry pie filling
- Strawberry pie filling
