Sourdough blueberry muffins make a healthy breakfast or a hearty, delicious snack. The grains are fermented with sourdough starter and naturally sweetened with honey to make a fluffy and moist muffin.
In the last 6 months, I’ve fallen in love with muffins. Why? They are really easy to make, they make a dozen, and then you have an easy and convenient breakfast or snack right on hand.
You can easily put them in the freezer for later, a technique I like to implement so that I don’t eat every single muffin in the first two days.
We are currently drowning in blueberries. We picked a whopping 68 pounds this year, most of which will be destined for the freezer. But while I still have plenty of fresh blueberries, I will be cooking up a ton of blueberry recipes.
You HAVE to try these blueberry oatmeal cookies or these sourdough scones. Amazing!
These sourdough blueberry muffins are soft, fluffy, and they aren’t too sweet. Making this the perfect blueberry muffin recipe, in my opinion.
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
Healthy: Fermented grains are easier to digest and have more bio-available nutrients. Plus, it is naturally sweetened with honey.
Fluffy: These sourdough muffins have a slightly different texture than your typical muffin, but still have that lovely fluffy texture that one desires.
Perfect snack: I don’t know about you, but I love a good grab-and-go snack. These work perfectly. Grab one or two to toss at the kids while running late to church. Oh just me?
Excellent Discard Recipe: These made the perfect sourdough discard blueberry muffins. Did you know that you can use active or discard to ferment recipes?
FAQ:
How do you get a sourdough starter?
You can easily create your own. See how to make a quick and easy starter here that I’ve had for years.
You can also buy one from a local bakery, order them online, or ask a friend.
Can you use frozen blueberries in muffins?
Yes! I’ve used both frozen and fresh, and either work well. Don’t thaw them, just place them in the batter and bake.
Frozen blueberries will most likely turn your muffins a pretty shade of purple. Coat them in a little bit of flour to help minimize the color bleeding into your batter.
Do you have to ferment the grains overnight?
No, you can just use sourdough discard, mix up the batter using the directions below (just skip the fermentation time), and bake.
The fermentation allows the healthy bacteria and yeasts in the sourdough starter to ferment some of the grains, making it easier for our bodies to digest, and rendering some of the nutrients more bio-available.
For our family to eat grains, we need to ferment for 24 hours. Otherwise, many of us suffer from digestion issues. So I like to make these into overnight sourdough blueberry muffins. Make one day, allow to ferment overnight, and bake the next morning.
How do I use sourdough discard?
Sourdough discard can be used in a variety of ways. When using discard in recipes, it is often paired with a leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder since the yeast in the sourdough starter is not what gives the dish its rise. Use it in muffins, cakes, cookies, scones, pancakes, cobbler, brownies, even discard bread.
How do I make my muffin mix rise higher?
Ensure that the baking soda is fresh. Old leavening agents won’t rise muffins very well.
Is oil or butter better for muffins?
This is dependent on preference. Butter adds a delicious buttery flavor to muffins where oil is can create a more moist and fluffy muffin. For most recipes, either will work. If you don’t have oil, substitute with melted butter and vise versa.
Can you make this recipe with fresh milled flour?
Yes. I’m new to milling fresh grain. I’ve found that when I’m making recipes with fresh flour, you may need to add a little more flour. This is because the flour is much fluffier than flour coming from the floor and is not ground as finely.
Tips For Making Sourdough Muffins
- After the grains have been soaked, the batter tends to be pretty firm. I recommended using a stand mixer to mix up the remaining ingredients.
- Blueberries tend to drop to the bottom, so to help prevent this, toss the blueberries in a teaspoon or two of flour. Those who can’t tolerate unfermented grains can use gluten free flour (this is what I do).
- I love using an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin tins. It’s the perfect amount and comes out easily.
- If you don’t have a problem digesting grains, then you don’t have to ferment them. Just mix up the ingredients and bake.
- You can use frozen blueberries, but your muffins will most likely turn purple.
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Sourdough Blueberry Muffin Ingredients:
Sourdough starter – Active sourdough starter or sourdough discard will work. New to sourdough? You can check out my way to make a super simple starter here.
All-purpose flour – Nothing fancy here.
Butter – Could also substitute with oil for a dairy free version. I would suggest using avocado oil or melted coconut oil as these are healthier oils.
Honey – I like using honey as a unrefined sugar that is a touch healthier than regular sugar. You can also substitute with maple syrup.
Eggs – Preferably room temperature.
Baking soda – This gives the muffins that fluffy texture.
Salt – Bring out all the yummy flavors and heighten the sweetness.
Vanilla – Store-bought or learn how to make vanilla extract here.
Blueberries – Fresh or frozen. Typically in the summer I use fresh blueberries and during the winter I use frozen since that is what I have on hand.
Tools you may need:
Stand mixer (optional, but handy)
Measuring cups and spoons
How To Make Overnight Sourdough Blueberry Muffins: Long-Fermented
In a large bowl (I like to use my stand mixer bowl), mix together melted butter, honey, flour, and sourdough starter (active or discard will work).
The dough will be pretty thick and will continue to thicken as it ferments.
Depending on how saturated your starter is, you may need to add a touch of water. I feed my starter equal parts water to flour.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel, beeswax wraps, or plastic wrap and allow to ferment for 12 to 24 hours.
The next day, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line muffin tins with cupcake liners or grease well.
Take your fermented muffin batter and add vanilla extract, baking soda, eggs, and salt to the batter.
Start mixing all the ingredients together. You can do this with your hands, but I prefer to use my stand mixer. It makes it way easier.
Optional: While the batter is mixing, take your fresh blueberries and mix them with a teaspoon or two of flour (just until they are lightly coated, as this helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin).
Once the batter is mixed well and no large lumps remain, gently fold the blueberries in.
Spoon into muffin tins equally. I like to do this using an ice cream scoop.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops start turning golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Flip onto baking rack and allow to cool.
How To Make Quick Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tin or line with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, honey, flour, and active sourdough starter.
Wash and dry blueberries. Place in bowl and dust with flour (optional).
Add vanilla extract, baking soda, eggs, and salt to the batter and stir until it just comes together.
Scrape sides occasionally.
Once the batter is mostly smooth without any large clumps, gently fold in the blueberries.
Spoon into muffin tins equally. I really like to use a ice cream scoop to get perfect amount in each well.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops start turning golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Flip onto baking rack and allow to cool. A plate works well, too.
Storage:
Store in an air-tight container for up to a 5 days at room temperature or freeze for up to six months.
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
- Scones
- Banana Bread
- Sourdough Discard Crackers
- The Best Sourdough Biscuits
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sourdough Banana Muffins
Tried this recipe and loved it? I would love if you would come back and give it 5 stars. Please and thank you! Tag me on Instagram @ablossominglife
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin tin – https://amzn.to/2BPq9Pf
- Large bowl
- Stand mixer – https://amzn.to/2DnYvsM
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter active
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- 3/4 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen – add a little more if desired
- 1 tsp flour optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, honey, flour, and active sourdough starter.
- Cover and allow to ferment for 12 to 24 hours. (optional)
- The next day preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners or grease well.
- Add vanilla extract, baking soda, eggs, and salt to the batter.
- Start mixing all the ingredients together in a stand mixer or hand mixer. Scrape sides occasionally.
- Wash and dry blueberries. Place in bowl and dust with flour (optional).
- Once the batter is mostly smooth without any large clumps, gently fold in the blueberries.
- Spoon into muffin tins equally.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops start turning golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Flip onto baking rack and allow to cool. A plate works well, too.
Kelly says
Hi Amy, I want to try this recipe but is there a substitute for the honey? I like using natural sweeteners but that is a lot of honey! Looking forward to trying these!
Amy says
You could also try maple syrup. Hope that helps