Sourdough Oatmeal and Jam Bars

Sourdough discard is used with oats, white whole wheat flour, and your favorite jam to make these easy sourdough oatmeal and jam bars.

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This winter I have been doing so much sourdough baking. We have had an extra cold and snowy winter this season, so it's been a good time to practice and create more sourdough baking recipes. 

Since I was feeding my starter a lot after it had been in the refrigerator for many months, I ended up creating a lot of discard that I wanted to use.  

Now I'm sharing this recipe that I have made several times this winter and it's been enjoyed a lot by the whole family. 

These sourdough oatmeal and jam bars can be made with any jam you like. Since I can a lot of jam throughout the year, I tend to have a lot of it around to use up. This is a perfect recipe for that. 

I have made these with apple pie jam, peach jam, and lime blueberry jam so far. All of them were delicious. I'll be doing strawberry next. 

These bars have a bit of cinnamon in the crust/crumble mixture, but you can change-up that spice to other flavors to match your jam. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and mixes like pumpkin spice will all work and can be chosen based on your jam flavor. 

These bars come together very easily and the crust and crumble mixture are the same, just split. You press a bit more than half of the mixture down into the pan to make the crust and then use the rest to make a crumble on top of the jam layer.

Also, I have made these using white whole wheat flour and using all-purpose flour. I like the white whole wheat flour best, but both are good. I like the nuttier flavor of the whole wheat and the additional whole grains in this recipe. 

Speaking of nuts, you can add some chopped nuts to your crumble as well if you'd like. About 1/3 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts will work and add a bit more crunch and texture.

After you press down the crust layer, add a layer of your jam of choice. Try to not put the jam right up to the edge to help prevent burning. 

Then you top with the crumble mixture. Bake, cool fully, slice, and enjoy. You want to let them cool fully before slicing so that the crust is hardened up and the jam layer is set. 

These sourdough oatmeal and jam bars are great to add to your breakfast and they go perfectly with coffee or hot tea for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. They are also perfect to bring over to someone's home for a visit. 

I like to serve a chunk of these bars for my kids' breakfast along with scrambled eggs and some fresh fruit or turkey sausage. They also enjoy them as an after school snack. 

So if you are looking for an easy recipe to use some sourdough discard (or just some cold/unfed sourdough starter), give these sourdough oatmeal and jam bars a try. 

If you are a canner like me, these bars are also a great way to use up some of your pantry jam. Last year I canned strawberry rhubarb, lime blueberry, strawberry lemon, peach, carrot cake, and apple pie jams and all of them will be delicious as a bar filling. 

Yield: 9-12 bars

Author: Amy B (Savory Moments)

Sourdough Oatmeal and Jam Bars

Sourdough discard is used with oats, white whole wheat flour, and your favorite jam to make these easy sourdough oatmeal and jam bars.

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour*
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon**
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/3 cup sourdough discard
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• about 3/4 cup jam of your choice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8" x 8" baking dish with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sourdough discard, maple syrup, and vanilla.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Use your hands to get it really well mixed and it will begin to stick together.
5. Press slightly more than half of the mixture into the prepared baking dish in an even layer (add more if needed so that it is about 1/2" thick and covering the whole bottom).
6. Spread the jam leaving about 1/2" clear around the edges. You may use more or less than 3/4 cup - I've used chunkier jams that need more and smoother ones that need less. You want a good layer covering the crust.
7. Use your hands to clump the mixture together and sprinkle the remaining crust/crumble mixture on top.
8. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the crumble and crust edges are turning golden.
9. Let cool for about 10 minutes and then lift the bars onto a cooling rack using the parchment to fully cool.
10. Cut and serve. Store in an airtight container for a few days.

Notes

*I have made this recipe with white whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Both will work. I like the white whole wheat for more whole grains and the nuttier flavor.

**You can use cinnamon, or other spices in this recipe. I have made these with ginger paired with blueberry jam. I have made them with a mix of cinnamon and nutmeg with apple jam. Pumpkin spice, apple spice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc. are all spices that will work if you want to change it up. Pick your spice according to your jam. You can also choose to leave the spice out.

I hope you give these sourdough oatmeal and jam bars a try! Let me know in the comments below.

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Check out these other bar recipes: 

Blueberry Oatmeal Crisp Bars

Rhubarb Bars 

Sour Cream Cranberry Bars

Sour Cream & Raisin Oatmeal Squares 

You can also find more sourdough recipes.