This sourdough blueberry bread is the perfect combination of sweet blueberries and sour lemon flavor. Topped with a butter and sugar crumble and made with sourdough discard, it’s an easy and quick recipe to whip up for brunch or as a mid afternoon sweet treat. 

Four slices of sourdough blueberry bread with lemon slices and a bowl of blueberries on the side

Fresh fruit season is upon us. With spring officially here, it won’t be long before we are picking strawberries, blueberries, and eventually peaches. Is your mouth watering yet? I know mine is! 

Although we are not harvesting anything here in the midwest yet, I am already experimenting with recipes that include all the fresh produce.

Although I love to bake during the cold months to keep the kitchen nice and warm and enjoy comforting freshly baked creations, there’s just nothing like cooking and baking with items straight from my garden or the local orchard.ย 

I thought I’d start with blueberries since blueberry season is already in full swing in some warmer climates. 

Unlike my Sourdough Blueberry Muffins recipe, which has hints of warm cinnamon, this quick bread is bright and citrusy with bursts of lemon mixed in with juicy blueberries. I added a crumble topping because, well, why not? 

Although I love making quick breads in loaf pans, this could also be turned into muffins for a weekend morning treat or after dinner dessert. Seeing how this has become a family favorite already, I have no doubt I’ll be making this in muffin form in the near future.  

No matter how you enjoy this recipe, it’s the perfect way to welcome in the spring and summer months. 

What is a Quick Bread?

A quick bread is any type of bread that does not rely on yeast to rise, whether that is commercial yeast or wild yeast like sourdough. Instead, baking powder or baking soda are typically used to give these loaves their oven spring. 

Quick breads do not need to be kneaded or proof, hence why they are called “quick.” This bread can easily be made in a couple of hours. 

Although the wild yeast from sourdough is not required for quick bread, using discard or even active sourdough starter gives the bread a more robust flavor that you expect from sourdough baking. 

A slice of sourdough blueberry bread with a lemon wedge on top and a silver fork slicing into it

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Great way to use up discard – โ€‹If you find yourself with a lot of extra discard on your hands, this is a perfect recipe to use it up.

Simple and quick recipe – Like most quick breads, this is really easy to make and doesn’t take long at all from start to finish. 

Perfect spring and summer treat – Between the blueberry goodness and bright lemon, you can’t deny this bread tastes like spring and summer. 

โ€‹This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

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Tips

  • I prefer to use fresh blueberries. If you use frozen blueberries, theres no need to thaw them first. Just remember frozen berries will make your batter purple.
  • Sprinkle a little flour into the blueberries to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf.
  • The time it takes for your loaf to bake will vary based on your oven. I recommend to start checking it at the 50 minute mark by seeing if a toothpick comes out clean. 
  • Active starter or discard will work for this recipe. Learn how to make your own sourdough starter here.

Tools You May Need

Large Bowl

Medium Bowl

Whisk

Wooden Spoon

Loaf Pan

Ingredients

Ingredients for sourdough blueberry bread including baking powder, blueberries, lemons, salt, avocado oil, melted butter, eggs, salt, and flour

For the bread:

Cane sugar

Lemon – You’ll need the juice and zest for this recipe. If possible, I recommend using organic lemons. 

Butter – I use unsalted so I control the amount of salt. Salted works fine, too, but you may want to add a little less additional salt. Melt your butter and allow to cool before mixing. 

Eggs

Avocado oil – You could also use olive oil or coconut oil. 

Vanilla extract – I use homemade vanilla. Learn how to make your own here. 

Milk

Sourdough discard

All purpose flour

Salt

Baking powder

Blueberries – I used fresh blueberries, but you can use frozen, too. Keep in mind, though, using frozen berries will likely turn your batter purple. Itโ€™s just cosmetic, though. Theyโ€™ll be delicious! 

For the crumble

Butter

Cane sugar

All purpose flour

Salt

A loaf of sourdough blueberry bread cut into slices and leaning on each other

How to Make Sourdough Blueberry Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and generously grease and line a loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper.

glass bowl filled with ingredients for sourdough blueberry bread ready to be mixed

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and butter for about one minute.

Add the eggs, avocado oil, vanilla, and milk. Beat again until just combined.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in the sourdough discard until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour into the wet ingredients and fold until everything is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

A small bowl of blueberries coated in all purpose flour

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the ยฝ tablespoon of flour until completely coated. Fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter.

blueberry sourdough bread batter in a large glass bowl

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Sourdough blueberry bread batter in a loaf pan with a crumble top ready for the oven

Make the crumble by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl. Spread the crumble mixture over the top of the batter evenly.

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Begin checking at the 50 minute mark.

Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling for another 40 minutes before slicing and serving.

How to Enjoy Sourdough Blueberry Bread

Sourdough blueberry bread makes a great sweet addition to any brunch spread. Include it with a Ham And Cheese Frittata or Sourdough Breakfast Strata

A slice can be served for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert. It goes great with a cold glass of milk or hot cup of coffee, too. 

Slices of blueberry sourdough bread on a white countertop scattered with blueberries and a white dish filled with blueberries and a fork on the side

FAQ

Is the crumble topping necessary?

Adding the crumble to the top of the loaf gives this bread a wonderful texture and added sweetness. It is also delicious without it, though! Another option would be to add a cream cheese glaze to the top for extra richness.

How should you store sourdough blueberry bread?

Store the bread in an air-tight container and enjoy within 3 to 5 days for ultimate freshness. You can also freeze for up to 3 months.ย 

Can I make a double batch and freeze?

Absolutely! Enjoy the first loaf fresh and freeze the second loaf for later. Wrap it in plastic wrap before putting it in a freezer zip-lock bag. You can also slice the loaf before freezing. I recommend flash freezing the slices on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes. Then take it out and put the slices in a freezer safe bag. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.ย 

Can these be made as muffins?

Yes! You’ll just need to adjust the baking time. I typically bake my blueberry muffins in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, then drop the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes.

More Sourdough Quick Bread Recipes

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What’s in this course?

  • Make your own robust starter
  • Bake your first loaves of sourdough bread
  • Understand sourdough better
  • Expand your sourdough bread repertoire
  • Download my Complete Recipe Book

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone

Easy Sourdough Blueberry Bread

4.98 from 41 votes
This sourdough blueberry bread is the perfect combination of sweet blueberries and sour lemon flavor. Topped with a butter and sugar crumble and made with sourdough discard, it's an easy and quick recipe to whip up for brunch or as a mid afternoon sweet treat.ย 
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 10 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total: 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
A loaf of sourdough blueberry bread cut into slices and leaning on each other
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Equipment

  • 1 Large Bowl
  • 1 Medium Bowl
  • 1 Wooden Spoon
  • 1 Whisk
  • 1 Loaf Pan

Ingredients 

Bread

  • 1 cup cane sugar
  • 1 large lemon, zested + juiced
  • ยฝ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 3 eggs
  • ยผ cup avocado oil, or other liquid oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ยผ cup milk
  • ยฝ cup sourdough discard
  • 1 ยฝ cups all-purpose flour + ยฝ tablespoon for the blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 ยฝ cups blueberries

Crumble

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons cane sugar
  • ยฝ cup all-purpose flour
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and generously grease and line a loaf pan.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and butter for about one minute. Add the eggs, avocado oil, vanilla, and milk. Beat again until just combined.
  • Using a wooden spoon, stir in the sourdough discard until combined.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour into the wet ingredients and fold until everything is just incorporated. Do not over mix.
  • In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the ยฝ tablespoon of flour until completely coated. Fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
  • Make the crumble by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl. Spread the crumble mixture over the top of the loaf evenly.
  • Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Begin checking at the 50 minute mark.
  • Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling for another 40 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • I prefer to use fresh blueberries. If you use frozen blueberries, theres no need to thaw them first. Just remember frozen berries will make your batter purple.
  • Sprinkle a little flour into the blueberries to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
  • The time it takes for your loaf to bake will vary based on your oven. I recommend to start checking it at the 50 minute mark by seeing if a toothpick comes out clean.ย 
  • Active starter or discard will work for this recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 249mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 433IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.98 from 41 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




61 Comments

  1. Linda L. says:

    5 stars
    Delish! Keeping this recipe on rotation!

  2. Wendy Shine says:

    Trying to avoid whte sugar. Any suggestions. I love your recipes and use einkorn all the time. Will it work in this recipe cup for cup all purpose?

    1. Abigail says:

      I used raw cane sugar (sucanat) and it was wonderful!

  3. Manuela Santos says:

    5 stars
    Made the blueberry and lemon quick bread. Came out delicious. More of a cake in my opinion & Fantastic flavor.
    I was in the middle of doing your no need sourdough that I cut the recipe in half to make two mini loaves and I had some leftover active starter that I used for this quick bread. My whole family enjoyed it.

  4. Isabel W says:

    Excited to try! I’m interested in substituting the AP flour for Fresh milled. Have any recommendations on what type or how much? (I usually use spelt but also have soft white on hand currently).

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      I would start by substituting 1/2 of the flour for freshly milled and bake the bread. From there you will know if there’s anything you need to tweak for next time. Slowly work up to all freshly milled flour, making adjustments to recipes as needed. Freshly milled flour has different absorption rates.

  5. Valarie Boettcher says:

    Can I do a long fermentation with this recipe?

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      Yes, after you ferment on the counter, you can put your dough in the fridge for a few days.

  6. Maren says:

    I am so excited to make this! Would it work well with long fermentation, if so, what ingredients would you leave out of the long ferment and how long would you let it sit for? Many thanks!

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      I would leave the blueberries out until you want to bake the dough. You could let it long ferment in the fridge for 24 hours.

  7. Emilia says:

    Can i add more sourdough starter to the recipe? if so how would i go about doing that?

    1. Lisa Bass says:

      I would not recommend that because it can throw off your ratios of flour, water, and starter.

  8. Linda W says:

    5 stars
    I’ve been noodling around with sourdough recipes since I retired. Found this one and made 3 loaves for Easter gifts..LOVE this and everyone I gave it too wants more!

  9. Joy says:

    5 stars
    Wonderful recipe!!! So delicious! Will definitely make again!

  10. Becky says:

    5 stars
    This bread was delicious! I love lemon and this bread has a perfect lemon flavor. It was so moist and the blueberries added the perfect fresh flavor. This will be put into my printed cookbook and added to my cooking rotation. I highly recommend!