Sourdough discard blueberry muffins
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If you’re a sourdough baker like me, you probably have some sourdough discard lying around, and these easy to bake sourdough discard based lemon and blueberry muffins with a brown sugar topping are one of the best discard recipes I have made so far
They are moist, full of blueberry flavour with the zing of lemon zest, and a crunchy brown sugar topping adds another texture level which is delicious
Baking with sourdough discard
If you’ve ever kept a sourdough starter, you’ll know that feeding it regularly means removing a portion each time. Rather than throwing it away, that sourdough discard can be transformed into something truly delicious like a batch of soft, fluffy blueberry muffins.
I’ve already shown you a few discard recipes such as crackers, chocolate muffins and chocolate chip cookies… but these blueberry muffins are blowing my mind.
Whenever you feed your starter to keep it healthy and active, the portion you remove from the jar is known as sourdough discard. Although it’s labelled “discard”, it’s still perfectly good starter, simply unfed. In these blueberry muffins, it contributes both flour and liquid to the batter, as well as a gentle tang that balances beautifully with the sweetness of the fruit.
By folding fresh or frozen blueberries into a simple muffin batter enriched with sourdough discard, you can create bakes that are moist, tender and full of flavour. It’s a wonderful way to reduce waste while producing something every bit as satisfying as a freshly baked loaf.
Making sourdough discard blueberry muffins
Sourdough discard can be incorporated into almost any bake, but it’s important to bear in mind the balance of flour and water it already contains when adapting a recipe. Because discard is simply unfed starter, it contributes both dry and liquid elements to the mixture, so small adjustments are often needed to maintain the right consistency in your batter.
One of the easiest and most satisfying ways to use it is in a simple, cake-style bake such as blueberry muffins. The method is wonderfully straightforward and doesn’t require complicated calculations. While many discard recipes suggest reducing some of the flour and liquid to compensate for the starter, these sourdough discard blueberry muffins work beautifully with only minimal adjustments and remain very similar to a classic muffin recipe.
The oil helps to keep the crumb soft and moist, whilst the additional liquid from the discard creates a tender, fluffy texture. Combined with bursts of juicy blueberries, the result is a batch of muffins that are light, flavourful and a brilliant way to make the most of your starter.
The muffin batter ingredients & swaps
Relatively similar to the chocolate muffins that I have already written, these muffins are incredibly easy to mix together by hand and don’t require much effort at all – making them even better.
- Oil – I usually choose a neutral oil like vegetable or sunflower oil for baking, as I don’t want it to affect the overall flavour. However, olive oil can be used if you prefer.
- Yoghurt – I used natural yoghurt, but you can use buttermilk or soured cream as well
- Eggs – I typically use two medium eggs, though large eggs will work just as well.
- Flavours – I almost always add vanilla extract, as I love the depth of flavour it brings.
- Starter – Although it’s made from flour and water, I treat the starter as part of the liquid ingredients.
- Sugar – I like using light brown soft sugar, but granulated sugar works well
- Flour – Plain flour is essential because it allows you to control the leavening agents yourself
- Raising agents – I add a small amount of baking powder to give the muffins a lighter texture, along with a little bicarbonate of soda for extra lift.
- Salt – This is optional, but I enjoy adding a pinch of sea salt as it enhances the overall flavour of the bake.
Lemon and blueberry?!
I adore anything lemon and blueberry, and these muffins are one of the best things I have ever made. They are soft, pillowy and delicious with the fruity flavours.
I used the zest of two lemons (make sure to use unwaxed in baking) and then some fresh blueberries. I like to use quite a few blueberries because I want it all to be packed full of flavour – but then I do like to top the muffins once in their cases, with a few extra blueberries and a sprinkle of brown sugar.
You can swap the lemon zest to lemon extract, or a different citrus such as orange, or you can swap the blueberries to another fruit such as raspberries or blackberries.
Sourdough Discard Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 100 ml vegetable/sunflower oil
- 2 medium eggs
- 125 g sourdough discard
- 75 ml natural yoghurt/buttermilk
- 250 g plain flour
- 200 g light brown soft sugar (plus extra for the top)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- pinch of sea salt
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 200 g blueberries (plus extra for the top)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190ºc/170ºc fan and prep 12 tulip muffin cases in a muffin tray
- Add the oil, eggs, sourdough discard and yoghurt to a bowl
- Whisk to combine until smooth
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate, and salt and mix
- Stir through the lemon zest and blueberries
- Split between the 12 cases evenly and add some extra blueberries and a sprinkle of sugar if you want for the topping
- Bake for 27-32 minutes and leave to cool for 15 minutes before enjoying
Notes
- I use unfed sourdough starter discard straight from the fridge, but you can use fed sourdough starter as well, or even a mix
- You can swap the oil to an olive oil but generally I use flavourless oils in baking
- These last 2-3 days once made
- These will freeze for 3 + months
- You can find my post about making a sourdough starter - here on my blog