This is a quick and easy recipe that makes for a really tasty weekend treat. These sweet (but not too sweet) sourdough blueberry muffins call for some of your daily sourdough starter discard to be mixed into the dough for added flavor. Because the recipe doesn’t rely on leavening power from the starter (just the wonderful flavor), you can use sourdough discard from that day’s refreshment, or you can use some from a jar you might have in the fridge holding discard over the course of the week (the “discard cache,” as I like to call it).
Let’s talk about muffins in general. I’m not a huge fan of overly sweet muffins. Growing up, my choice was always for the “healthy muffin” at the bakery, usually containing some mix of whole grains, dried fruit, and occasionally grated carrot. It felt like these muffins were a convenient way for the bakery to use up any leftover ingredients from other baked goods, then dubbed healthy on account of the whole grains in the mix. And I love them!
So keeping with my proclivity toward less sweet, these sourdough blueberry muffins with 30% whole grain spelt flour fit the bill. While they still lean sweet, they’re not cloyingly so, and I’d say even a little hearty, given the whole grain flour in the mix. If you don’t have whole-grain spelt flour, feel free to substitute it for any whole-grain flour in your pantry.
The flavor of these muffins is slightly tangy from the sourdough starter and sour cream, punctuated with a pop of natural sweetness each time you encounter a blueberry. I love the addition of whole-grain spelt which brings a wholesome, nutty flavor to these muffins. In terms of texture, these are incredibly tender with a distinctive crunch from the raw sugar topping.
Speaking of the sugar topping, don’t skip this! The sugar sprinkled on the top of the batter before baking forms a sweet, crunchy layer on the top and helps add a textural counterpoint to the soft muffin base below.
What If I Don’t Have Fresh Blueberries?
If you don’t have any fresh blueberries in your refrigerator, that’s ok! These sourdough blueberry muffins turn out exceptionally well using frozen blueberries from the freezer. If you go this route, be sure you skip defrosting and leave them frozen. Additionally, skip the step that calls for mashing some of the blueberries. Instead, fold the frozen blueberries into the batter after you toss them in flour, as indicated in the recipe.
Tossing the blueberries—frozen or fresh—ensures they grip the batter and help suspend them throughout, preventing most of them from sinking to the bottom when the muffins are baking in the oven.
A Note On Baker’s Percentages vs. Measuring By Volume
You might notice this recipe has ingredients measured by weight instead of volume. I develop these recipes like sourdough bread recipes: using baker’s percentages. This helps me adjust the ratio of fat to sugar to flour to liquid in a much easier and more precise way, but it’s also just a habit here in my kitchen: my favorite kitchen scale is always on the counter and ready to be used!
But perhaps more importantly, weighing ingredients is always a little more accurate. However, for ingredients included in small quantities, such as baking powder and baking soda, I measure by volume because they would require a kitchen scale with sub-gram precision, which not all bakers own.
Print
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super tender and delicious blueberry muffins made with discarded sourdough starter, part whole-grain flour, and a healthy measure of whole blueberries.
Ingredients
- 145g all-purpose flour
- 65g whole-grain spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (4g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2g)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (3g)
- 100g butter, melted and slightly cooled (just shy of one stick)
- 150g sugar
- 105g egg (2 large eggs)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
- 70g ripe sourdough starter
- 52g sour cream
- 270g blueberries
- zest of one lemon (optional)
- turbinado sugar for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F (200°C).
- In a small bowl, weigh out the called for blueberries. In another small bowl, transfer about 50g of the blueberries and mash with a fork.
- In a medium mixing bowl, measure out the called for flour. Remove about a tablespoon of this flour and add it to the bowl with whole blueberries, tossing the blueberries to evenly coat with the flour.
- Add the salt, baking soda, and baking powder to the flour and whisk to combine.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the melted and slightly cooled butter with the sugar. Stir to dissolve.
- Add eggs to the butter and sugar, one at a time, mixing after each until incorporated. Add vanilla.
- Measure out the sour cream into a measuring cup and combine it with the sourdough starter. Stir until smooth. Add this mixture to the butter/sugar and mix to combine.
- Add the zest of one lemon (optional), the mashed blueberries, and the sourdough starter mixture to the butter/sugar and mix to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar, mixing just until no dry bits of flour remain. Fold in the floured blueberries.
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners, and fill each well to the rim. Sprinkle coarse sugar over each well (optional).
- Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 10 minutes then reduce the oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 25-30 minutes longer until the tops are slightly golden.
- Remove muffins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Then remove them to a wire rack. Store loosely covered on the counter.
Notes
- Sour cream can be substituted with full-fat yogurt.
- Whole grain spelt can be substituted with whole wheat flour.
- You can use frozen blueberries in place of all, or some, of the fresh blueberries, but use them frozen straight from the freezer (don’t thaw). If using frozen, don’t mash a portion as called for in the recipe. Instead, toss them with some flour and fold them into the batter as directed.
What’s Next?
After making these sourdough blueberry muffins, if you’re looking for more sourdough starter discard recipes, you might like strawberry shortcake with drop biscuits (you could even use any leftover blueberries from this recipe!), or your new go-to sugar cookies.
100 Comments
I am curious when you add the mashed blueberries? I see specific instructions for the flour coated ones but not the mashed ones with the lemon zest. I just added it at the end but would love to know the proper time. Thanks! Oops – found where it goes!!!
I’ve added them at the same time, or at the very end of mixing to prevent more smashing!
Lovely recipe! I used 100% 85 high extraction spelt and made a pan loaf. We had haskap berries on hand which offers a nice tart balance to the sweet. I omitted the sugar topping- for anyone like me that prefers minimal sweet I suggest this as well as possibly reducing the sugar by 10-20%. The sugar worked well with tart berries but I would have found too sweet had I used blueberries. Overall an awesome recipe to play with! Thank you 🙂
Glad to hear you liked this one, Lolla! Love those mods 🙂
These are outstanding! Healthy with the whole grain and delicious I tried them about 6 months ago and they are so popular with my family that I have made them every week since – thanks Maurizio!
So happy to you guys like them, Katrinka!
In case anyone is curious about substitutions, I used all sprouted spelt flour and kept everything else the same (my starter is maintained with white flour). They came out perfectly! Just the right amount of sweetness, and I’m happy to use a higher amount of whole grains.
That’s a fantastic sub, Sarah! Thanks for sharing. I’ve used whole spelt, but not sprouted. Next 🙂
Best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had. They’ll be on constant rotation in our house! Thanks for another wonderful recipe, Maurizio!
So glad to hear you like them, Esther! And thank you so much for becoming a member and supporting the site. Enjoy!
These are my new favorite, go-to muffins! They taste fantastic and every time I bring them to work, they’re gone in a flash. My neighbors and family rave about them as well. Definitely reduce the baking time to about 20 minutes. Thank you for the awesome formula!
Happy to hear that, Shannon! Muffins are definitely sensitive down to the minute on baking, sounds like a good adjustment for your location/oven! Thanks for the comments and enjoy 🙂
Can I make a blueberry cake instead of the muffins? Assuming baking time will be 50-55 minutes on 350. Thanks
I love this idea! I think it should work, but obvs. haven’t tested it. I’d imagine it would turn out a little squat, like a banana bread—totally delicious though!
It did it – in a cake tin. Amazing !! Wish I could send you a pic.
Fantastic, ok I’m going to try this next 🙂
Hi Mauricio! I absolutely love your formulas and posts. You are very thorough and precise and I appreciate that. Do you think the muffins would hold up in the fridge overnight before baking? Our family needs the extra fermentation time to break down gluten for better digestion.
Thank you, Conni! If you want to go that route, I would hold back the baking powder and baking soda and add those into the batter in the morning. I haven tried this, but that’s the route I’d go!
Another great recipe! Thank you so much Maurizio! I used whole Red Fife flour instead of spelt flour. Since my husband does not eat dairy products, I substituted 52g coconut milk (the solid part only) mixed with 1.5 teaspoon lemon juice for the sour cream. I used frozen blueberries. The muffin turned out wonderfully! They are nice and moist. I will make this recipe again! 🙂
Right on, Sylvie! What an interesting sub for the sour cream, I’ll have to remember that (others have asked!). Enjoy!
What a wonderful recipe! I swapped the sugar for date paste at 1:1 for weight to make it more toddler friendly – which baked up lovely, but maybe a teensy bit sweeter than I meant it to be (kept the turbinado sugar on the muffins for the adults, as nothing compares to that crunch). Will gradually reduce the date paste (maybe try 140g next time) until I reach a happy medium. I love this website and am trying to make every recipe! So far the enriched doughs (babka, hamburger/hotdog buns, cardamom and cinnamon rolls) are the biggest hit in my house, and I really appreciate the level of detail to help make those trickier doughs a success. Whenever anyone asks what I want for a gift, I direct them to the “baking tools” page on this site.
So happy to hear you liked the recipe, Quincy! I’v never used date paste, but what a wonderful idea for the kiddos. It’s always a challenge adjusting sweetener (sugar -> honey or vice versa, for ex.), but you’ll dial that in. Thanks so much for the comments and for spreading the word about The Perfect Loaf, I appreciate that 🙂 Happy baking!
Great recipe! and thanks. I’ve add little red currants for slightly sour taste, delicious….. if fact I’ve always add them to … for example white cherry jam, pancakes, banana bread, brownies, ect.
I’ve thinking for salty taste with white and yellow cheese. In Bulgaria we love cheese. Greetings
Oh that sounds wonderful! If I had access to fresh currants I would definitely go with that. Thanks for the comments and enjoy!
Hi! I’m thinking of modifying this recipe to zucchini muffins (I have so much extra from the garden!). Do you think I could simply swap blueberries for zucchini after draining some water? Thanks!
Hey, Emily! Yes, I do think they’d work really well this way. Like you said, just be sure to drain as much water from the zucchini as possible. Let us know how it turns out, I have zucchini in abundance right now as well!
They came out absolutely delightful! I followed the recipe exactly, just subbed the blueberries for zucchini (squeezing out alll the water), and sour cream for yogurt. Thanks for another great recipe!
Awesome, Emily! Glad to hear they worked out. I just make some zucchini fritters yesterday, but have a few more coming in—now I have a plan 🙂
Happy to hear you’re like me, I love weighing everything! I hope you gave this a try and they turned out great. Happy baking, Tandy!
Hoping to make these in the morning. Is there any reason why this won’t work work with sprouted whole spelt?
I excavated a small bag of whole spelt (not sprouted) from the back of my fridge and made them this morning. Divine…even my whole grain sceptics loved them. One thing to note is that the baking time after turning down to 350 may require much less time than 25 minutes. Mine were perfectly done and golden after only 15 minutes. Thanks for another great recipe Maurizio.
So glad to hear that, Patricia! Happy to hear you kept an eye on them. I’ve noticed with muffins, biscuits, and especially cookies, the baking time really varies based on the oven and location—nice adjustments. Enjoy and thanks for the comments!
Should work just fine with sprouted spelt as well!
I used half coconut sugar and didn’t have any freshly milled flour (M, I haven’t used that beauty yet!). So, I used Barton Springs Mill’s all purpose blend. Also, my muffin pans are packed away somewhere in a box above the garage door. So, they were free form drop biscuits. Not too pretty, but delicious nonetheless. They were big hit at both the July 4th festivities we went to. Will definitely make these again next time I mill some spelt!
I love that you used BSM and made them drop biscuits! Part of their charm is the inherent rustiness, I think it’s great 🙂 Enjoy, Gina! I hope you had a great holiday, too.
Maurizio, excellent recipe. I just took them out of the oven and the balance of the blueberry with the sourdough starter discard taste was amazing.
A couple of questions: what changes are necessary if I substitute stevia for sugar in the main recipe (not the crystalline turbinate sugar) and almond flour for the all purpose?
Here is another fruit to try: fresh chopped up apricots.
Excellent, happy to hear that! Sure, stevia should work. I think it’s usually a 1-to-1 substitute. If you use almond flour you won’t have the same rise and structure as with the all-purpose since almond flour doesn’t have gluten. If you wanted to go that route, I’d probably start by substituting out a small percentage of the all-purpose for almond and work up the percentage as desired.
Apricots are some of my favorite, that’s definitely going in here!
Thanks for all the comments and happy baking 🙂
Can i substitute raspberries instead of blueberries? Also the sourdough discard I just had it in fridge for 2 days after a refresh over the weekend. Is this ok??
Yes to both!
These will be my go-to blueberry muffin recipe. Only change was to use whole wheat since I didn’t have spelt flour (which will now be remedied). Grandson gobbled them as soon as they were cool enough to eat. Some have been wrapped and frozen to avoid gluttony. Thanks for delivering another great recipe.
Embrace the gluttony! 🙂 So glad to hear you guys like them, Susan! I have all the blueberries for another batch here this weekend, can’t wait. Enjoy!
Made this but vegan: flax egg, vegan butter, and oat milk (in place of sour cream). Also used nectarines in place of blueberries. Only needed 20 minutes at 325 (after 10 minutes at 400). Delicious! Moist and flavorful.
Great idea using nectarines! Now I’m waiting for my peaches, and I’ll follow suit. Enjoy, Lauren!
Hi Maurizio, I made the muffins just like you wrote them on the recipe, is the batter supposed to be thick?, but they were good.
Yes, it’s a rather thick batter! Glad they turned out well 🙂
Oh my God! I thought that I did something wrong 🙏😷😎🤗 thank you Maruzrio 😊.
Swapped out the sour cream for the rest of the greek yogurt I had and swapped out the spelt flour for white whole wheat.
I’m not sure if they are any good but after breakfast, there aren’t any left…
All signs pointing to success 🙂
I can’t do dairy due to food allergies. Is there a substitute for sour cream/yogurt; maybe silken tofu with a little lemon juice?
It’s hard for me to suggest a substitute for the dairy here! Your suggestion sounds like it’d be worth a good test, or perhaps something like applesauce? I know that’s a common sub.
Just made a half-batch of these to go along with the sourdough loaf that I’m also working on today. I used the substitutions of yogurt and whole wheat flour. Mine came out quite browned already and a bit overdone at the 10+25 minute mark so next time I would start checking them earlier. But they rose well and the flavour is very good! Texture inside the muffins is perfect too – I’ve tried some blueberry muffin recipes that get too wet and soggy.
Update: I think they were even better the next day after keeping them covered overnight (a bit softer) 🙂
I totally agree with this!
Glad they turned out well for you, Genevieve. I find that the tolerance for oven time with muffins is pretty tight and really depends on the oven and elevation—glad you have a go-forward path for that. And also happy they aren’t overly soggy for you, that’s a pet peeve of mine also. Enjoy!
I made these today and they turned out great. Perfect texture, moist, and just the right amount of sweetness. I substituted juneberries/serviceberries which made them even better. Thanks for the recipe!
Super glad to hear that, Jesse! I hate to admit this but I’ve never had a juneberry, in fact, I’ve never heard of them! I’ve done these with chopped strawberries and they were wonderful as well. I think this is going to be a good vehicle for many fresh fruit varieties as they come into season. Thanks for the feedback and enjoy!
These absolutely look delicious and tender too, and with a hit of lemon 🍋, needed to ask you a question, for the all-purpose is it the (unbleached four)?😷🙏🤔
Thanks, Mag! Yes, unbleached AP flour 🙂
Can you also change the blueberries to blackberries?,….and thank you..
I could see just about any fruit working in this! You might want to chop the blackberries if they’re very large. Maybe just in half.
Ok Maruzrio and thank you again 😷😎💕