Name: Sourdough Blueberry Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups (225g) all purpose flour; 1/2 cup (170g) whole milk yogurt; 1/2 cup (160g) active sourdough starter; 1/4 cup whole milk; 3/4 cup (185g) softened butter; 2/3 cup (180g) sugar; 2 eggs; 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 cup frozen blueberries; Optional glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 3 tablespoons milk

Jump to Recipe

Sourdough blueberry bread is a sweet, blueberry loaf with a hint of vanilla. This bread is perfect to enjoy for dessert or with a cup of tea!

Why Sourdough?

Digestibility + Probiotics

Sourdough is a fermented food. This means that it includes beneficial live cultures and wild yeasts. These yeasts allow bread to rise as well as break down phytates in the wheat grain, making the flour more digestible and less inflammatory.

Here is an excerpt from the book Real Food for Fertility by Lily Nichols RDN, CDE and Lisa Handrickson-Jack FAE, HRHP:

“In wheat, rye, and barley, the process of traditional sourdough fermentation reduces the level of the protein gluten as well as compounds called phytates, both of which can be irritating to the digestive tract and impair mineral absorption. Sourdough fermentation also changes the structure of starches and increases the levels of organic acids, which contributes to a lower glycemic index of the resulting bread (meaning that sourdough bread typically doesn’t spike your blood sugar as much as regular yeast bread).” pg. 82

probiotics for gut health
lower glycemic index
improved digestibility of grains
less inflammatory

By using the longer fermentation methods of sourdough baking, delicious baked goods can be a little more digestible, good for gut health and have a lower glycemic index than other breads. This sourdough blueberry bread, mixed up and long fermented in the fridge, offers a more nutritious alternative to just the next dessert.

Flavor Profile of Sourdough Blueberry Bread

There is nothing like anticipating a soft, moist, aromatic dessert bread coming out of the oven.

The soft sourdough blueberry bread is a sweet sourdough loaf with a wonderful hint of vanilla and pockets of fruity blueberries. This sweet loaf pairs very well with a cup of afternoon tea or coffee. This recipe is also a hit with guests for an after dinner dessert!

Recipe for Sourdough Blueberry Bread

Makes: 1 loaf

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Cool time: 1 hour

Ingredients for Sourdough Blueberry Bread

When sourcing ingredients for baking, I like to make sure as many of my ingredients are from an organic, non-GMO source. For sourcing animal products I look for pasture raised, grass-fed, and full fat.

Animals that are raised in a sustainable way, feeding on non-GMO food and organic material, produce products that are of higher quality.

If animals are raised on GMO grains and feed, their food affects the quality of fats that are going to be found in the products they produce. Eggs, meat, milk, butter. Polyunsaturated oils such as these are much more inflammatory to the body and in our home I try to stay away from those as much as possible. Especially with my own autoimmune symptoms, I feel much better when avoiding these oils.

It is also important to source good quality fats for hormone health. Fat soluble vitamins that are found at a higher concentration in quality animal sources. We do not shy away from quality butter in this house.

1 1/2 cups (225g) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (170g) whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup (160g) active sourdough starter
1/3 cup whole milk
3/4 cup (185g) softened butter
2/3 cup (180g) sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup frozen blueberries
Optional glaze: 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 3 tablespoons milk

Directions

First, using a hand or stand mixer on a low to medium setting, cream together yogurt, milk, butter, sourdough starter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and milk.

Next, sift flour into wet ingredients. I like sifting the dry flour into the wet ingredients to ensure that no dry bits are left at the bottom of the bowl. Mix until well incorporated and no dry bits of flour remain.

Long fermentation

After mixing, cover the bread batter with a bowl cover or plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight for the benefits of sourdough fermentation. Plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, or a wet towel will help make sure that the batter does not form a dry layer on the top when you pull it out the next day. This batter will be fine in the fridge for up to 3 days. The longer left in the fridge, the more of the sourdough flavor you will get from the fermentation process.

The next day

The next day when you are ready to bake your bread, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Then, remove batter from the refrigerator and stir in salt, baking soda and baking powder.

After the baking soda, baking powder and salt ingredients are well incorporated throughout the dough, fold in 1 cup of frozen blueberries.

Grease your loaf pan with butter or coconut oil.

Pour mixed batter into a regular sized loaf pan. I prefer to use stoneware pans which may affect baking time slightly. If you are using a metal loaf pan, check your bread around 1 hour of bake time.

Baking your sourdough blueberry bread

Next, turn the oven heat down to 350 and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. I highly recommend not opening the oven before at least an hour of bake time has passed. Keeping the heat in the oven allows for a nice oven rise on your bread.

After at least an hour and 15 minutes has passed, test the center of the bread with a toothpick or wooden skewer. When the toothpick comes out clean and the top of the bread is golden in color, remove it from the oven.

If your toothpick does not come out clean, the top looks like it jiggles, bake for another 2-5 minutes.

If your bread is not cooked all the way through, the center will cave in during the cooling process and you will have a doughy center. We don’t want that!

After your bread is removed from the oven, allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. After 10 minutes use a butter knife to loosen the bread from the sides of the loaf pan and transfer to a cooling rack. Transferring to a cooling rack will allow the moisture to escape from the bottom of the bread loaf. Failing to do this step could result in a soggy bottom half of your bread.

Allow bread to completely cool for about 1-2 hours.

Adding a glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar sifted + 3 tablespoons of milk or just enough to get a spreadable consistency. For a thinner drizzle consistency, add a little more milk to the powdered sugar. Whisk until no clumps remain.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.

This bread freezes well.