Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread
Lemon blueberry sourdough bread with lemon glaze is full of fresh blueberries and lemon for a bright and refreshing quick bread.
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Make the most of blueberry season and enjoy this sourdough blueberry bread. With its moist crumbs and blueberry goodness, don’t be surprised when the whole loaf disappears. My whole family eagerly awaits for the bread to come out of the oven so they can enjoy a warm slice. They all love this bread and agree that this recipe is a keeper!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy – Quick bread recipes are so quick and easy, and this lemon blueberry bread recipe is no exception. It’s studded with sweet blueberries and a tart lemon glaze for a tasty treat.
- Great flavor – I love enjoying a slice of lemon blueberry bread warm from the oven. The juicy blueberries are the perfect balance with the fresh lemon flavor. The bread is delicious, but the best part is the lemon blueberry bread glaze! It’s tart and sweet and adds the finishing touches to the bread.
- Uses Up Your Discard – This quick bread recipe is a great way to use up any surplus amount of sourdough discard so it doesn’t go to waste.
Ingredients
- Sourdough Starter – This sourdough lemon blueberry bread recipe was created as a way to use up sourdough starter discard. However, if all you have is active sourdough starter, then use that. This bread doesn’t rely on the sourdough starter for its rising agent.
- Butter – Melt salted butter and allow it to cool a bit before combining it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Brown sugar – The caramel notes in brown sugar adds a depth of flavor to the bread.
- Sour cream – Sourdough lemon blueberry bread with sour cream is incredibly moist and tender.
- Lemon juice – Fresh squeezed lemon juice will have the best taste. A citrus juicer makes juicing a lemon a breeze. Lemon juice is added to the batter and the glaze.
- Lemon zest – Zest the yellow part of the lemon rind with a micro planer and leave the white part behind as it has a bitter flavor.
- Eggs – Room-temperature eggs make for easy mixing.
- Flour – All-purpose flour’s protein content is great for baked goods.
- Baking soda – Used for its lifting powder for a light and airy bread.
- Baking powder – A second leavening agent is needed to create the right balance. Remember, baking is all science so the ratios of the ingredients matter.
- Salt – Flavors baked goods.
- Powdered sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar, powered sugar dissolves quickly to create a smooth, sweet glaze.
How To Make Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread
Prepare
Line a 9 X 5 bread loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
Mixing Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread – Same Day Method
Add 113 g (1/2 cup) melted butter and 150 g (3/4 cup) brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and combine. In the same bowl, add the lemon zest of one medium-sized lemon, 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 180 g (3/4 cup) sour cream, 2 large eggs, and 125 g (1/2 cup) sourdough discard, and mix it all together with a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon.
Add 312 g (2 1/2 cups) flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp baking powder to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl of wet ingredients and fold until just combined, making sure to scrap the bottom and sides of the bowl.
Toss 1 cup of blueberries with a tablespoon of flour to coat the blueberries before adding them to the batter, and gently fold in.
Bake
Spoon the lemon blueberry sourdough batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Next, sprinkle the remaining blueberries over the top of the batter and place in the oven. Bake for 55-65 minutes. The top of the bread will be golden brown and the center will spring back when touched.
Cool and Glaze
Remove the sourdough lemon blueberry bread from the oven and let it rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Lift the bread onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
To create the lemon glaze, combine 28 g (1/4 cup) powdered sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix it until all of the clumps of powdered sugar dissolve. Then, drizzle the top of the loaf with the lemon glaze.
Long-Ferment Method
Mix the lemon blueberry sourdough bread as directed in the ‘Same Day Method’ above. Instead of adding the batter to the prepared pan, cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature for an hour. After one hour, move to the refrigerator to long ferment. (I like to store in the fridge overnight and bake fresh in the morning.)
The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. The dough will be cold and a bit stiff.
Bake for 60-70 minutes.
Slice and enjoy!
Store
Store sourdough lemon in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Like most baked goods, blueberry lemon sourdough bread is best the day you bake it.
FAQs
Quick breads are breads that don’t use yeast for it to rise. Instead, they use either baking soda or baking powder as the leavening agent, or a combination of the two. Quick breads can be sweet or savory and can be made from batter or dough. Muffins, coffee cake, soda bread, pancakes, scones, and popovers are all examples of quick breads.
Quick breads are indeed, quick to make being made in as little as an hour and a half from start to finish since they don’t need to knead or proof. Without needing to work with a complicated timetable, quick breads are often a great entry point for beginner bakers. I have many fond memories of baking loaves of banana bread and cinnamon swirl bread as a child.
Yes, freezing blueberry lemon sourdough bread is a great way to have bread anytime. Allow bread to cool completely after baking and then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or in a plastic freezer bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Label with the name and date and place in the freezer. Enjoy within 3 months for best results.
While quick breads generally aren’t considered a health food, adding sourdough starter discard and allowing the batter to long ferment will elevate the health factor of this sweet treat compared to traditional preparation methods.
Adding frozen blueberries to sourdough discard blueberry lemon loaf is a great way to enjoy this bread year-round.
Gently stir frozen blueberries into the dough, doing your best to not crush the blueberries. Do not let the blueberries thaw. They will release quite a bit of liquid and tint the dough a greyish color. To compensate for the frozen blueberries, increase the bake time by 5-10 minutes.
Tips
- Use fresh lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in lemon blueberry bread loaf to give you the freshest lemony flavor.
- Invest in a kitchen scale for the most accurate and consistent results. They’re a worthy tool to have in your kitchen if you bake regularly. Plus, you can get a simple one for just a few bucks.
- Be gentle when folding the blueberries in. Crushing the blueberries will tint the lemon blueberry quick bread a light grey color. While it’ll still be delicious, it’s not the most appealing look.
- Oven temperatures vary from oven to oven so be sure to start checking on the bread around the 50 minute mark.
- The best way to check if the bread is done baking is to insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf, as this is the last part to bake.
How To Enjoy Sourdough Lemon Blueberry Bread
Sourdough blueberry lemon bread is a great sweet addition to breakfast or brunch. I always keep a few frozen loaves of quick bread in the freezer to pull out for an easy addition.
But don’t stop there, you can also enjoy a slice or two as an afternoon treat. It’s delicious with a hot cup of coffee or your afternoon tea.
Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 125 g melted butter ½ cup/1 stick
- 150 g brown sugar ¾ cup
- 2 large eggs
- 125 g sourdough starter discard ½ cup
- 2 tbsp lemon juice roughly 1 medium lemon
- 1 medium lemon zest
- 180 g sour cream ¾ cup
Dry Ingredients
- 312 g all-purpose flour 2½ cups
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Glaze
- 28 g powdered sugar ¼ cup
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Prepare
- Line a 9 X 5 bread loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
Mixing Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread – Same Day Method
- Add 113 g (1/2 cup) melted butter and 150 g (3/4 cup) brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and combine.
- In the same bowl, add the lemon zest of one medium-sized lemon, 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 180 g (3/4 cup) sour cream, 2 large eggs, and 125 g (1/2 cup) sourdough discard, and mix it all together with a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon.
- Add 312 g (2 1/2 cups) flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp baking powder to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl of wet ingredients and fold until just combined, making sure to scrap the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Toss 1 cup of blueberries with a tablespoon of flour to coat the blueberries before adding them to the batter, and gently fold in.
Bake
- Spoon the lemon blueberry sourdough batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly.
- Next, sprinkle the remaining blueberries over the top of the batter and place in the oven.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes. The top of the bread will be golden brown and the center will spring back when touched.
Cool and Glaze
- Remove the sourdough lemon blueberry bread from the oven and let it rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Lift the bread onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- To create the lemon glaze, combine 28 g (1/4 cup) powdered sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix it until all of the clumps of powdered sugar dissolve. Then, drizzle the top of the loaf with the lemon glaze.
Long-Ferment Method
- Mix the lemon blueberry sourdough bread as directed in the 'Same Day Method' above. Instead of adding the batter to the prepared pan, cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature for an hour.
- After one hour, move to the refrigerator to long ferment. (I like to store in the fridge overnight and bake fresh in the morning.)
- The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. The dough will be cold and a bit stiff.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes.
- Slice and enjoy!
Store
- Store sourdough lemon in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Like most baked goods, blueberry lemon sourdough bread is best the day you bake it.
