Fluffy sourdough blueberry muffins are bursting with blueberry flavor, tangy sourdough, and lightly sweetened with sugar. As an easy, make-ahead breakfast or snack, this recipe will be a family favorite and the muffins likely won’t stick around long.
Springtime on the homestead simply bursts with activity. Winter signals a time of slowing down, curling up by the fire, and enjoying lots of hearty meals (like this Shepherd’s pie).
Spring, on the other hand, is a time of excitement and activity.
Flowers start to emerge from the cold soil, anxious to show off their blooms, and garden planning is underway. Seeds are getting started, the garden beds are being prepared for a season of production, and there is no slowing down on the homestead.
When we start to head into the busy season, I like to make more simple meals, or recipes that can be made ahead for a later time.
On days we know will be teeming with work, or even on our family adventure days (check out the podcast to see what these days look like), I love to be able to make something that can be easily transported for a picnic or eaten as a snack to hold us over until dinner.
These sourdough discard blueberry muffins hit the spot. You can whip them up in minutes, or long ferment them for added health benefits.
They’re lightly sweetened with a subtle burst of blueberry, which shouts spring or summer.
Dream with me here. I’m picturing the juicy, ripe blueberries fresh from a local blueberry farm packed into these muffins or this sourdough blueberry cobbler. I cannot wait for summer.
Tips For Making Sourdough Blueberry Muffins:
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. If you use frozen, I guarantee your muffins will turn purple. It’s just cosmetic, though. They’ll be delicious! Be sure to keep the blueberries frozen, not thawed.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour into the blueberries to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
- You can use an active sourdough starter or even sourdough discard for this recipe. You can find more sourdough discard recipes here.
- For a more natural sweetener, I used coconut sugar. You can substitute coconut sugar for regular sugar, one for one.
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Tools you may need:
Stand mixer or large bowl. I recommend a stand mixer if you are planning to long-ferment this recipe.
Muffin liners
Ice cream scoop
Measuring cups and spoons
FAQ
What is the secret to moist muffins?
There are three things that help make muffins moist: using oil in the batter, not over-mixing, and lastly, not over-baking.
Over-baking will definitely give you a dry, not-so-yummy muffin, while over-mixing will cause the gluten strands to strengthen too much, giving you a tougher product. Oil, on the other hand, gives the muffin moisture.
Do you cut blueberries for muffins?
It is not necessary to cut blueberries for muffins. Just use them whole.
If you really want to chop them up, then by all means, do so.
Should you wash blueberries before baking?
Wash and dry the blueberries right before baking. Since blueberries have thin skin, they tend to spoil more quickly after washing. Just make sure your berries are dry before adding them to the batter.
Is it better to use fresh or frozen blueberries for muffins?
Either can be used, just make sure if you are using frozen to add them to the batter completely frozen. Do not let them thaw before adding.
How do you keep blueberries from sinking in muffins?
If you have issues with blueberries sinking in the muffin batter, add about a half a tablespoon of flour or so to a bowl with the blueberries and toss to coat.
If you have a hard time with unfermented grains, try using einkorn flour for this.
Can I make this recipe dairy free?
Yes. Just swap out the butter for melted coconut oil.
Blueberry Muffin Ingredients:
Flour – All-purpose, spelt or freshly milled wheat will work.
Salt – Salt brings out the flavors in baked goods – and all dishes. It makes sweets sweeter and if you leave it out, you will end up with a bland tasting recipe.
Leaveners – Baking powder and baking soda are used to give the muffins their rise.
Cinnamon – This a deliciously warm and subtle spice to the muffins
Butter – Could also substitute with avocado oil or melted coconut oil.
Sugar – This can be substituted with coconut sugar; most recipes will say a 1 to 1 substitution for coconut sugar to regular sugar. I do find the sweetness to be slightly different. Also, if you are using “regular” sugar, try to choose organic sugar since “regular” sugar is usually made with GMO sugar beets.
Eggs – room temperature.
Sourdough starter – Active sourdough starter or discard can be used for this recipe. This is because the rise comes from baking soda and baking powder rather than sourdough starter.
Blueberries – Fresh or frozen will work. If you are using frozen, make sure to use them fully frozen, don’t let them thaw or else they will release too many juices and you will have a purple muffins.
How To Make Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Grease muffin tin wells or line with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and sourdough starter.
Lastly, incorporate one egg at a time.
Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t over-mix the batter or you could end up with a tough muffin.
Gently fold the blueberries into batter. To prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins, you could dust 1 tsp of flour over the blueberries and stir before folding them into the batter.
Optional: Allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tins.
Bake 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. This helps capture the rise while also baking through.
Test muffins with a cake tester. Allow to cool.
How To Make Long Fermented Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
The night before, combine melted butter and sugar well.
Fold in sourdough starter (add extra 1/2 cup of sourdough starter for 1 cup total of starter), and flour. Mix well.
Cover and allow to ferment for 8-24 hours.
After fermentation, preheat the oven to 425.
To the fermented dough, add salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, and eggs. Mix together well. I recommend using a stand mixer, as the dough will be very thick and more challenging to stir.
Gently fold in blueberries.
Pour muffin batter into a lined or greased muffin tin.
Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, and then drop the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes.
Test with a toothpick. The muffins are ready when the toothpick comes out clean.
How To Store, Freeze, And Reheat:
Store in an air-tight container. Best if eaten within 3-5 days. Or store in the freezer (I like to use a freezer zip-lock bag) for up to 3 months.
I love to double this recipe and have one batch for now and freeze one batch for later. When you want a quick and easy breakfast, just pop these into a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until they are thawed completely and warm.
Find More Sweet Sourdough Recipes
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
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
WET INGREDIENTS
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Grease muffin tin wells or line with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, vanilla and sourdough starter.
- Incorporate one room temperature egg at a time.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Gently fold blueberries into batter.
- Optional: Allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin tins.
- Bake 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.
- Test muffins with a toothpick. Allow to cool.
Notes
- *To long ferment this recipe add 1 cup of sourdough starter instead of 1/2 cup. This gives the batter the extra moisture it needs to properly ferment the dough. Find the long-fermented directions in the post above.
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. If you use frozen, I guarantee your muffins will turn purple. It’s just cosmetic, though. They’ll be delicious! Be sure to keep the blueberries frozen, not thawed.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour (1-2 tsp) into the blueberries to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! Very easy to follow and turned out perfect!
So do you get any benefit from doing the 1 hour ferment? Or is it healthier to do the overnight? We are switching from all einkorn baked goods and sourdough to regular flour and sourdough. 🙂
It’s definitely better to ferment overnight because the bacteria have longer to be able to break down the gluten.
Great recipe! I made it for the first time this week. I long fermented the dough, omitted the cinnamon, and added the juice and zest of two lemons. They are divine!
These are so stinkin delicious! I use the long ferment method and often swap out the mix-ins. A favorite around here is freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries with white chocolate. After making these a few times my friend now daydreams of them. Thanks for once again delivering a delicious recipe….oh, also after the long ferment when I add the baking soda and powder I let it sit for about 15 minutes before baking. I’ve found this produces a more domed muffin top
Favoriting this recipe! I never comment on these things but this resulted in the best muffins I’ve ever made. I subbed out the cinnamon (personal preference) and added the zest and juice of half large lemon (maybe a whole one if small). After baking, I froze half and had them later – just as good.
That sounds delicious. And Thank you! I greatly appreciate it.
These are the best blueberry muffins I’ve had and many others have loved them as well! Great flavor and texture, and I typically don’t love blueberry muffins. I’ve had great results with frozen berries. Going to try raspberries soon.
Is this batter supposed to be as thick as cookie dough?
No, it should not be.
Mine turned out that way too! Did you still bake yours and did it turn out?
Mine did the same! I baked them, and they were more cookie consistency, definitely not muffin-like. I double checked the amounts of ingredients, and I followed the recipe exactly. What would cause this?
Me too! I thought it was weird, they are in the oven now so we shall see
The long ferment section omitted the eggs & vanilla. I wonder if that’s the problem? Is that an error?
For the long ferment, is that on the counter or fridge?
Fridge!
One of the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had! Went with the longer ferment, about 12h. Used very large frozen blueberries and they turned out fluffy with a very nice oven rise. Added 5 min to get golden brown tops.
This was excellent! I made two small changes due to my own dietary restrictions and they still came out wonderful.
I only did 1/2 cup of sugar and used coconut oil instead of butter. I also did do the optional 1-hour in the fridge.
These were amazing and worked as both standard muffins and mini muffins! 🙂