Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

How To Make These Sourdough Blueberry Muffins – Step By Step

1.Make Your Crumble Topping

You want to start by mixing together the sugars, flour, and cinnamon. Then stir in your melted butter. It should form a crumbly mixture. I like to keep mine in the fridge until I’m ready to use it.

You may need to break up the mixture again when you’re ready to use it.

2.Combine Your Dry Ingredients

You want to start by whisking together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

It’s important that you measure your flour correctly. Over-measuring flour is one of the biggest mistakes bakers make. I always recommend using a digital scale and weighing your ingredients. It’s faster, and much more accurate!

But if you do measure using measuring cups (aka by volume) then be sure to do it correctly. Spoon the flour into your cup and then level off. Do not pack it down in the cup. You can read How To Measure Flour.

3. Toss Blueberries In Flour

In order to not have the blueberries sink to the bottom of your muffin, toss the blueberries with a tablespoon of the dry ingredients. This will help keep them suspended throughout the batter.

4.Combine The Wet Ingredients

In a second mixing bowl, combine the egg, milk, discard, vanilla, and oil. Just simply whisk it together.

Pro Tip: Be sure your egg is room temperature so it’s easily incorporated. Place it in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using.

5. Combine The Dry And Wet Ingredients

Next you want to combine the wet and dry ingredients. I like to create a well first by pushing the dry ingredients aside and then pouring the wet ingredients into the hole.

And then just stir together using a spatula.

Pro Tip: Be careful to NOT overmix. Overmixing will create a tough muffin. Stop mixing once the last of the flour has been incorporated. I like to stop with one or two stirs left before I add the blueberries.

6. Add The Blueberries

Last but not least, fold in the blueberries. Do this gently so as not to smash the berries up to much. If you’re using frozen, some of your batter may turn slightly blue, so be careful to not mix too much. A couple of gentle stirs should do the trick.

Word To The Wise: The key to great muffins is to NOT overmix! Lumpy batter is actually preferred!!

7. Scoop The Batter

Go ahead and scoop the batter into your prepared pan. These aren’t cupcakes so go ahead and fill them up. I like to leave just a little room for the topping. I get about 10-12 muffins depending on how much I fill them up.

8. Add The Crumb Topping

I then sprinkle on about a 1/2 Tablespoon of the crumb topping. And then it’s time to bake!

Tips and tricks for making this sourdough blueberry muffin recipe:

• Measure your flour correctly – Measuring your flour wrong is one reason why homemade muffins don’t come out fluffy and moist like they do as a bakery. The best way is to use a scale and measure by weight. I still love to measure by volume, as I am sure most American home bakers do. So if you do use your measuring cups, then be sure to first fluff up the flour. Then scoop with a spoon into the cup and then level off with a flat edge. For more on how and why to measure your flour you can read this post.
• Prepare your pans first. You want to make sure to get those ready before you start measuring. I like to use liners for my muffins and then also spray the top of the pans with non-stick cooking spray. You don’t have to use liners, but then make sure the wells and the top of the tin are sprayed well. If not using liners I would recommend, greasing AND dust with flour to ensure they don’t stick.
• Do not overmix. Once you add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, you want to make sure to mix just until the flour is mixed in. If you keep mixing, then you activate the gluten protein in the flour which can make your muffins tough and chewy. And cause “tunneling” which are these long holes throughout your muffins. So. Do. Not. Overmix. Ok? Ok.
• Test for doneness. It can be tough to tell if your muffins are done. I like to use a toothpick inserted into a muffin in the middle of the tin and look for moist crumbs clinging to the toothpick. If you see batter still then pop them into the oven for a few minutes.
• Cool on a cooling rack. Once you have taken your muffins out of the oven you want to move them from a tin to a cooling rack. If you leave the muffins in the tin, then the heat from the tin will cause them to continue to bake possibly causing them to overbake.

For more muffin making tips check out this post!

Sourdough Muffin Variations

You could use this muffin recipe as a base to really make any type of sourdough muffin you want!

• Add a different extract: You could leave out the vanilla and try a different extract like almond.
• Add a zest: Try adding the zest of an orange or lemon.
• Add some chocolate: Make chocolate chip muffins instead of blueberry!
• Add a different fruit: Try adding a chopped up apple or different berry.
• Add some toasted nuts: Try adding in some chopped walnuts or pecans for some crunch.
• Make your own fun new combination: Maybe apple walnut, raspberry white chocolate, blueberry orange!

Sourdough Blueberry Muffins Recipe FAQ’s

How much do I fill each well with batter?

So these are NOT cupcakes so that means we don’t need to worry about filling only about 2/3 full. Go ahead and fill up each well to the top.

Can I use a different berry?

I don’t see why not! I think raspberries would be wonderful. Chopped up strawberries would also work, but I also find with strawberries they tend to release more moisture and need a few minutes of extra baking time.

Can I use frozen blueberries in these muffins?

You definitely can! If the craving hits in the middle of winter and your berries look not their best then use frozen. Just make sure to not thaw the berries first. This releases too much moisture.

Why did my muffins fall flat?

This is a common problem in baking. And this is usually due to the fact that you took them out too early so the insides were set up yet causing them to collapse upon cooling. I recommend using a toothpick to test the doneness. And invest in an oven thermometer so you can accurately gauge if your oven temperature is accurate.

How do I make my muffins fluffy?

This comes down to that not over mixing. Again too much mixing and you cause your muffins to become tough and dense from overactivating the gluten protein in the flour. Also, double check that freshness of those leavening agents!

Can I substitute whole wheat flour for these muffins?

Of course you can! I love using white whole wheat flour as a 1:1 swap. Or if I use 100% whole wheat flour, then I substitute half of the flour called for with whole wheat flour.

Can I make these muffins gluten free?

I used to do a lot of gluten free baking awhile back. You can definitely make these gluten free. Just use a 1:1 gluten free baking mix. My favorite is Cup 4 Cup.

Can I freeze muffins?

Yes. And you should! Freezing your baked good is a major time saver.

To freeze unbaked: Scoop as the recipe directed into your liners, then freeze the muffin in the tin. Once frozen you can either take them out of the tin (therefore getting your tin back) and place in a zip-loc bag. Or just wrap the whole tin in plastic wrap a few times. Then when ready to bake, just bake frozen (no need to thaw) and add on a few minutes of bake time.

To freeze baked: If you find you have some leftover, then allow them to cool completely and place them in a resealable plastic bag and freeze. When ready to enjoy, I just let mine thaw at room temperature (this happens within a few minutes!) and enjoy.

More Sourdough Recipes Using Discard

• Sourdough Crepes
• Banana Sourdough Muffins

Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

Fresh blueberry muffins made with discard and topped with a cinnamon streusel.

5 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 195kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cups (120 grams) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1/3 cup (80 ml) neutral-flavored oil canola, vegetable and grape seed are great
• ▢ 1 large egg room temperature
• ▢ 120 g (a generous 1/2 cup) sourdough discard
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 mL) milk dairy and non-dairy both work
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 6 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries; see note below about frozen berries about 1 cup

Crumb topping:

• ▢ 1 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Instructions

Make Crumb Toppings

• In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugars, and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter until mixture is crumbly. Set in the fridge until ready to use.

Prepare Oven and muffin tin

• Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line muffin tin with 12 liners, or butter and flour (make sure to also grease the tops of the tin)

Make Batter

• Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Set aside.
• In a second bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, discard, milk, and vanilla.
• Add milk mixture to the bowl with dry ingredients then use a spatula to combine. Do not over mix. (The muffin batter will be lumpy – I stir about 10 times). Fold in the blueberries.

Bake Muffins

• Divide the batter between muffin cups. You can fill almost to the top of the muffin tins Sprinkle a little of the crumb topping on top of each muffin.
• Bake muffins 5 minutes then lower heat to 350 and bake until 350 for 15 minutes or until tops are no longer wet and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out with crumbs, not wet batter. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

• Tools: Muffin Pan | Spring Loaded Scoop | Muffin Liners
• Flour Substitutions: If you want to use whole wheat flour I recommend using 1/2 AP and 1/2 whole wheat flour.  Make gluten free  by replacing the flour with your go to gluten free flour. I love and use Cup 4 Cup flour.
   
• Storage: Cool your muffins thoroughly, then store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. If you want them to last longer, follow the freezing instructions below.
   
• Freezing: Cool thoroughly, then wrap individually in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped muffins in a zipper bag for an extra layer of protection from the cold. Then freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature or using the defrost setting on the microwave.
• Blueberries: You can use frozen blueberries but do NOT thaw before using. Fold in gently.
• Tips On Baking:
  • Measure your flour accurately. The best method is to use a kitchen scale and measure your flour in grams. If you don’t have a scale, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off gently with a butter knife. For more details, read my post on How to Measure Flour Correctly. 
  • Don’t overmix the batter. Once you add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix until everything is just combined. Don’t worry if it is still lumpy. Overmixing can lead to tough muffins or cause tunneling, which is essentially large air pockets (holes) in the muffins. So no overmixing!  
  • Portion your muffins evenly. Nowadays they make awesome LARGE ice cream/cookie/muffin scoopers that are perfect for getting even sized muffins. 

Nutrition

Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 58mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

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