Fluffy and full of plump juicy blueberries, these soft and moist Sourdough Blueberry Muffins make a delicious addition to brunch or a tasty snack. They feature fresh or frozen blueberries, tangy sour cream, and discarded sourdough starter, perfumed with vanilla and lemon juice and zest for a bright, lemony flavor.
After mixing, the batter rests for about 25 minutes, before scooping and baking. This rest in part, helps create lofty blueberry muffins with domed tops.
Moist and Fluffy Blueberry Muffins with Sourdough Discard
If you bake Sourdough Bread, you may maintain your starter with a little extra leftover to create sourdough discard. If you’re like me, you make extra just to have it on hand for Sourdough Discard Pizza.
Using sourdough discard in recipes creates a soft texture, light tangy flavor, and longer-keeping qualities than baking without it. It also offers a way to enjoy sourdough recipes without a long bulk fermentation and also maintain a sourdough starter without waste.
I made a lot of muffins in Pastry School which means I’m sharing my muffin tips and the recipe I tested eight times to get just right: blueberry sourdough discard muffins!
This Recipe Is
- simple to make with bowl and spoon
- scented with lemon
- made with fresh or frozen blueberries
If you bake Sourdough Discard Recipes, you’ll enjoy these soft and fluffy sourdough discard blueberry muffins.
“These turned out so yummy! The best blueberry muffins I’ve ever made. And they look exactly like the picture. This gives me courage to try the blueberry scones! 😊”
Denise
About the Key Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour – for light and fluffy muffins, I use Bob’s Redmill Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour.
- Corn Starch – softens and tenderizes the crumb while also soaking up excess moisture.
- Sour Cream – adds richness, tang and moisture to the muffins. It also aids in tenderizing the crumb creating a velvety mouth feel. Use full fat sour cream here! You can substitute unsweetened plain, whole-milk Greek yogurt if desired.
- Melted Unsalted Butter – use high quality for best flavor. Butter tenderizes the muffins and adds so much flavor!
- Sourdough Starter Discard – use your 100% hydration stirred-down sourdough starter. It adds flavor and tenderizes the crumb.
- Vanilla Extract – perfumes and offers a unique and earthy flavor. Paired with lemon zest and juice, a little extra vanilla extract takes the flavor profile over the top!
- Lemon Juice and Zest – brighten the muffins and complement the tangy flavor of sourdough discard.
- Plump Blueberries – for juicy flavor, of course! Use fresh or you can use frozen blueberries (see recipe note for special frozen blueberry instructions).
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How to Make Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins with Sour Cream
step by step
Pro Tip: Knowing the temperature of your oven is key for best baking outcome. Use an external oven thermometer (dial or digital) to know its true temperature and adjust as needed.
About Sourdough Discard
If you’re new to the world of sourdough, I have a DIY Sourdough Bread Starter recipe that’ll help you get off and running with a sourdough starter! It’s super easy to pull together.
For this sourdough muffin recipe you’ll need half a cup of 100% hydration sourdough discard. It can be old or young, and pulled straight from the refrigerator. If it’s been hanging out in the fridge for a while (a few weeks or more), smell the discard. If it smells fruity and ripe, with a little sourness, carry on with your recipe. However, if it smells overly alcoholish, toss it and create a new sourdough discard.
Tips for Creating Lofty Muffins
- Use tulip paper liners. This recipe creates tall sourdough muffins so tulip muffin liners give them the support they need. I also love their presentation!
- Use two muffin pans (if you can). Using two muffin pans allows you to fill every other muffin cup with a liner and batter, resulting in a nice domed muffin top. I tested this recipe, baking in one pan and the center muffins don’t have quite as high of a dome as the outer muffins. The difference is subtle.
- Rest the batter. After mixing the muffins, rest the batter for 15 – 25 minutes. Doing this helps hydrate the flour. Rest closer to 25 minutes to create the best rise and dome.
- Preheat to 425 Fahrenheit. You’ll notice a relatively high temperature for baking these muffins at 425F (218C), but as soon as the muffins are popped in the oven, the temperature is lowered to 375F (190C). A high starting temperature helps give these muffins their loft and a nice domed top.
If you love easy sourdough muffin recipes, try these Fluffy Banana Sourdough Discard Muffins. One reader commented: “The fluffiness is unreal!” .
Traci’s Tips
- Mixing: When mixing the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, gently fold the batter just until no dry patches remain. Overmixing can toughen the muffins, so use a gentle touch.
- Kitchen Tools: I recommend an external oven thermometer and weighing your ingredients using a digital kitchen scale for the best outcome (affiliate link).
Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins with Sour Cream
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (185 grams) All Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Corn Starch
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder, aluminum free
- 1/2 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1 1/2 cups (205 grams) Fresh Blueberries, divided, if using frozen see note*
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 Eggs, large
- 2/3 cup (150 grams) Organic Cane Sugar
- 1/2 cup (125 grams) Sour Cream, full fat
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest, from about two lemons
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 6 tablespoons (80 grams) Unsalted Butter, melted, cooled to 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit (it will feel warm to touch)
- 1/2 cup (140 grams) Sourdough Discard, 100% hydration
For Finishing:
- 1/3 cup (65g) Turbinado Sugar, or raw sugar
Instructions
Mix the Dry Ingredients:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, corn starch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Toss in 1 1/4 cups (165 grams) of fresh blueberries and gently mix until evenly distributed. Set aside. *If using frozen blueberries, see note.*
Mix the Wet Ingredients:
- In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, sugar, sour cream, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla extract. While whisking, pour in the warm melted butter. Whisk until a smooth, homogenous mixture forms. Whisk in the sourdough discard until smooth.
Mix the Batter:
- To the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients all at once. Use a silicone spatula to fold the ingredients together. Take your time and be gentle. Fold until no dry patches remain. The mixture will be loose, but viscous. Rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, up to 25 minutes. The longer the better here for lofty muffins. The batter will puff up as it sets. Do not stir.
Get Ready to Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 425 Fahrenheit (218 Celsius) and set oven rack in the center. Line a standard muffin pan with 12 tulip style muffin cups or DIY your own. Tip: if you have two muffin pans, use both, leaving every other cup empty. This helps all the muffins rise to their full potential and helps create a nice dome.
Scoop the Batter and Bake
- When ready to scoop, do not stir the batter. Go right in with the scoop. Scoop an overfilled large cookie scoop (#20) or about a heaped 1/4 cup each with batter and transfer to the muffin liners. Distribute leftover batter evenly among cups. Use the remaining 1/4 cup (40 grams) blueberries to dot the tops of the muffins, 2-3 each, then sprinkle about one teaspoon each of turbinado sugar over the tops.
- Bake: Place the muffins in the oven then reduce the oven temperature to 375 Fahrenheit (190 Celsius). Bake for 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to test several muffins starting at 20 minutes. Once the toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs attached, and the muffin tops are golden, remove from the oven.
- Transfer individual muffins to a cooling rack and cool completely. Once cool, cover for up to three days at room temperature.
- To Freeze: allow muffins to cool completely. Place individual muffins on a parchment lined sheet pan and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a lidded container for up to two weeks. Thaw at room temperature.To Rewarm: rewarm muffins in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes. They go from freezer to oven easily.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications or helping other commentors.
I am still struggling to get my starter to work. But this recipe and the crackers have made the process totally worth it. The muffins are delicious!
Hi Ana! Thank you for your note and giving the muffins (and crackers) a go! If you have any Qs about your starter, please send an email for troubleshooting!
These turned out so yummy! The best blueberry muffins I’ve ever made. And they look exactly like the picture. This gives me courage to try the blueberry scones! 😊
Hi Denise! Thank you for your note and giving the muffins a go. So excited you’re on to the scones next! I hope you love em’ too!
Used reduced fat sour cream Delicious.
Thank you for your tip, Tee, and your five star review!
Loved this recipe! Always on the lookout for discard ideas and this did not disappoint. I did add more blueberries then called for, but that was due to my husband’s heavy hand. Fantastic flavor! Thank you for sharing!!
Hi Angela! Thank you for your note and giving the muffins a go! Yes to a heavy hand… I’ve been known to dot more blueberries on top of the muffins 😃 too.