Sweet, tangy, and bursting with flavors of summer, sourdough discard lemon berry muffins are a great grab and go treat! Simple, probiotic rich and delicious, these muffins are sure to be on repeat this summer!
As soon as the sun starts to make a regular appearance here in the Pacific Northwest, I am ready for all the fresh ingredients. Salads, berries, and this year especially- lemon!
Lemon flavor just screams fresh and summer to me. The burst of tangy lemon alongside the mix of berries, these flavors compliment each other so well. My children also get very excited when they see momma in the kitchen baking away. Big mom points with these.
How to begin with sourdough starter?
My favorite way to begin with a sourdough starter is to ask a friend for a portion to begin with. This is by far the easiest way to begin with a sourdough starter. Having an established starter to work with from the beginning means you can begin baking sourdough goodies right away.
If you do not have a friend who has an established sourdough starter, the method that worked the best for me establishing my 5 year old sourdough starter was this one : Farmhouse on Boone Sourdough Starter . Her low fuss, low maintenance strategy has made sourdough baking smooth sailing in our kitchen.
What is sourdough discard?
Sourdough discard is the sourdough starter that is removed before feeding your sourdough starter with fresh flour and filtered water. If I have sourdough starter leftover after having made a recipe with the active portion of the sourdough starter (the peak rise stage after feeding with fresh flour and water). I use the excess in discard recipes like this one. I like to always save 1/4 cup of sourdough starter in the fridge for my “parent” starter to feed and keep the process going.
Long Fermentation
The sourdough component of the batter, especially when using the longer fermentation option, helps break down the phytic acid in the flour. Along with helping the grains more digestible, sourdough being a fermented food helps with daily consumption of probiotics for gut health.
In our family we try to include probiotic rich foods into our diet daily. Sourdough is a great way to do this! A few other ways we incorporate probiotic rich foods is by consuming yogurt, milk kefir, homemade sauerkraut and I love to drink kombucha as a special treat now and then. The live cultures in these foods contribute to the good bacteria in our gut flora. This is super important for good digestion as well as taking care of our immune system.
I love that learn more about baking with sourdough every time I make a recipe. These sourdough discard lemon berry muffins are a great recipe to begin with on your journey to sourdough baking!
Let’s dive into these muffins shall we?
Recipe for Sourdough Discard Lemon Berry Muffins
Makes: 12 regular sized muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 28-30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup of organic unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
- 3 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup of grass-fed unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 pasture raised eggs
- 3/4 cup of organic sugar (could also use turbinado sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup organic frozen mixed berries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Then, line a regular muffin pan with 12 muffin tin liners.
- Next, using a hand or stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla, sourdough discard, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth. Mix in the eggs until incorporated well.
- Then, using a sifter, sift in the flour and baking powder into the wet ingredients. Using a sifter helps ensure that no dry clumps will be found in your muffins or batter. Mix together well.
- Stir in the sea salt.
- Fold in mixed berries by hand using a spoon.
- Next, fill your muffin liners up to 1/4″ from the top. (Just over 3/4 of the way full)
- Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the middles are baked through which you can test by sticking a toothpick into the center of the biggest muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are done. If batter comes out of the muffin then cook for another 1-2 minutes at a time.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool on the cooling rack completely.
- Store at room temperatures for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Long fermentation Sourdough Discard Lemon Berry Muffins
For the benefits of long fermentation, mix all ingredients besides the baking powder and salt. Allow to sit in the refrigerator overnight and up to 3 days. Then, when you are ready to bake, mix in baking powder and salt. Bake as directed.
This muffin batter freezes very well! See my favorite trick for freezing muffins here. This method saves freezer space and gives you the same fresh baked consistency over freezing already baked muffins. If pulling out of the freezer, allowing the batter to defrost in the fridge will allow for further fermentation to occur. Fermented foods are great for gut health which is why we love to include fermented foods in our diet in some form every day.
Grab your FREE Freezer Labels HERE! I made these to help simplify your freezer. The labels are clearly printed so that whether it’s you, your husband or a babysitter can easily remove from the freezer and follow the instructions. Quick, easy and a great way to systematize the freezer. The video below shows you how I use thawed muffin batter from the freezer.
CLICK HERE FOR MY FAVORITE FREEZER MUFFIN TRICK!
Sourdough Discard Lemon Berry Muffins
Sourdough Discard Lemon Berry Muffins
Sweet, tangy, and moist. These muffins are bursting with flavors of summer!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup of organic unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
- 3 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup of organic sugar (could also use turbinado sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Then, line a regular muffin pan with 12 muffin tin liners.
- Next, using a hand or stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla, sourdough discard, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth. Mix in the eggs until incorporated well.
- Then, using a sifter, sift in the flour and baking powder into the wet ingredients. Using a sifter helps ensure that no dry clumps will be found in your muffins or batter. Mix together well.
- Stir in the sea salt.
- Fold in mixed berries by hand using a spoon.
- Next, fill your muffin liners up to 1/4" from the top. (Just over 3/4 of the way full)
- Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the middles are baked through which you can test by sticking a toothpick into the center of the biggest muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are done. If batter comes out of the muffin then cook for another 1-2 minutes at a time.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool on the cooling rack completely.
- Store at room temperatures for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Long fermentation Sourdough Discard Lemon Berry Muffins - For the benefits of long fermentation, mix all ingredients besides the baking powder and salt.
- Allow to sit covered in the refrigerator overnight and up to 3 days.
- Then, when you are ready to bake, mix in baking powder and salt. Bake as directed.
Notes
This muffin batter freezes very well.
I like to freeze the batter versus the baked muffins because this method saves storage space and you get the same fresh baked result by freezing the batter.
Take a ziploc freezer bag with 90 degree angled corners (not the square bottom stand up corners). Label the bag with a sharpie marker or my pre-made freezer labels.
Fill the bag with the raw batter and set in the freezer lying flat.
When you would like muffins, set bag out to thaw in the fridge or the counter.
After the batter has defrosted, cut the tip of the bag and squeeze into lined muffin pan.
Bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes (same as above) and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 muffinAmount Per Serving: Calories: 180Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3.8gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 79mgCarbohydrates: 20.8gFiber: 0.9gSugar: 8.9gProtein: 3.9g
If you enjoyed this recipe please share it with a friend!
Let me know in the comments, do you have a sourdough starter you bake with? Also, what other types of recipes would you like to see?
In case you missed it. For a step by step walk through on organization and kitchen systems, check out my video below!
Blog post to accompany the video can be found here: 5 Steps to Creating an Organized, Efficient and Peaceful Kitchen
Thank you for being here, friend. Until next time!
-Amanda
