This sourdough blueberry bread is the perfect combination of sweet blueberries and sour lemon flavor. Topped with a butter and sugar crumble and made with sourdough discard, it’s an easy and quick recipe to whip up for brunch or as a mid afternoon sweet treat.
Fresh fruit season is upon us. With spring officially here, it won’t be long before we are picking strawberries, blueberries, and eventually peaches. Is your mouth watering yet? I know mine is!
Although we are not harvesting anything here in the midwest yet, I am already experimenting with recipes that include all the fresh produce.
Although I love to bake during the cold months to keep the kitchen nice and warm and enjoy comforting freshly baked creations, there’s just nothing like cooking and baking with items straight from my garden or the local orchard.
I thought I’d start with blueberries since blueberry season is already in full swing in some warmer climates.
Unlike my Sourdough Blueberry Muffins recipe, which has hints of warm cinnamon, this quick bread is bright and citrusy with bursts of lemon mixed in with juicy blueberries. I added a crumble topping because, well, why not?
Although I love making quick breads in loaf pans, this could also be turned into muffins for a weekend morning treat or after dinner dessert. Seeing how this has become a family favorite already, I have no doubt I’ll be making this in muffin form in the near future.
No matter how you enjoy this recipe, it’s the perfect way to welcome in the spring and summer months.
What is a Quick Bread?
A quick bread is any type of bread that does not rely on yeast to rise, whether that is commercial yeast or wild yeast like sourdough. Instead, baking powder or baking soda are typically used to give these loaves their oven spring.
Quick breads do not need to be kneaded or proof, hence why they are called “quick.” This bread can easily be made in a couple of hours.
Although the wild yeast from sourdough is not required for quick bread, using discard or even active sourdough starter gives the bread a more robust flavor that you expect from sourdough baking.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Great way to use up discard – If you find yourself with a lot of extra discard on your hands, this is a perfect recipe to use it up.
Simple and quick recipe – Like most quick breads, this is really easy to make and doesn’t take long at all from start to finish.
Perfect spring and summer treat – Between the blueberry goodness and bright lemon, you can’t deny this bread tastes like spring and summer.
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Tips
- I prefer to use fresh blueberries. If you use frozen blueberries, theres no need to thaw them first. Just remember frozen berries will make your batter purple.
- Sprinkle a little flour into the blueberries to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf.
- The time it takes for your loaf to bake will vary based on your oven. I recommend to start checking it at the 50 minute mark by seeing if a toothpick comes out clean.
- Active starter or discard will work for this recipe. Learn how to make your own sourdough starter here.
Tools You May Need
Medium Bowl
Whisk
Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
For the bread:
Cane sugar
Lemon – You’ll need the juice and zest for this recipe. If possible, I recommend using organic lemons.
Butter – I use unsalted so I control the amount of salt. Salted works fine, too, but you may want to add a little less additional salt. Melt your butter and allow to cool before mixing.
Eggs
Avocado oil – You could also use olive oil or coconut oil.
Vanilla extract – I use homemade vanilla. Learn how to make your own here.
Milk
Sourdough discard
All purpose flour
Salt
Baking powder
Blueberries – I used fresh blueberries, but you can use frozen, too. Keep in mind, though, using frozen berries will likely turn your batter purple. It’s just cosmetic, though. They’ll be delicious!
For the crumble
Butter
Cane sugar
All purpose flour
Salt
How to Make Sourdough Blueberry Bread
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and generously grease and line a loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and butter for about one minute.
Add the eggs, avocado oil, vanilla, and milk. Beat again until just combined.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in the sourdough discard until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour into the wet ingredients and fold until everything is just incorporated. Do not over mix.
In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the ½ tablespoon of flour until completely coated. Fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Make the crumble by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl. Spread the crumble mixture over the top of the batter evenly.
Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Begin checking at the 50 minute mark.
Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling for another 40 minutes before slicing and serving.
How to Enjoy Sourdough Blueberry Bread
Sourdough blueberry bread makes a great sweet addition to any brunch spread. Include it with a Ham And Cheese Frittata or Sourdough Breakfast Strata.
A slice can be served for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert. It goes great with a cold glass of milk or hot cup of coffee, too.
FAQ
Adding the crumble to the top of the loaf gives this bread a wonderful texture and added sweetness. It is also delicious without it, though! Another option would be to add a cream cheese glaze to the top for extra richness.
Store the bread in an air-tight container and enjoy within 3 to 5 days for ultimate freshness. You can also freeze for up to 3 months.
Absolutely! Enjoy the first loaf fresh and freeze the second loaf for later. Wrap it in plastic wrap before putting it in a freezer zip-lock bag. You can also slice the loaf before freezing. I recommend flash freezing the slices on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes. Then take it out and put the slices in a freezer safe bag. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Yes! You’ll just need to adjust the baking time. I typically bake my blueberry muffins in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, then drop the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes.
More Sourdough Quick Bread Recipes
- Sourdough Banana Bread
- Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Sourdough Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Easy Pawpaw Bread Recipe
- Sourdough Zuchinni Bread
Self-Paced Online Course
Simple Sourdough
What’s in this course?
- Make your own robust starter
- Bake your first loaves of sourdough bread
- Understand sourdough better
- Expand your sourdough bread repertoire
- Download my Complete Recipe Book
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Easy Sourdough Blueberry Bread
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Medium Bowl
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Loaf Pan
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 large lemon zested + juiced
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup avocado oil or other liquid oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour + ½ tablespoon for the blueberries
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
Crumble
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons cane sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and generously grease and line a loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and butter for about one minute. Add the eggs, avocado oil, vanilla, and milk. Beat again until just combined.
- Using a wooden spoon, stir in the sourdough discard until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour into the wet ingredients and fold until everything is just incorporated. Do not over mix.
- In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the ½ tablespoon of flour until completely coated. Fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Make the crumble by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl. Spread the crumble mixture over the top of the loaf evenly.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Begin checking at the 50 minute mark.
- Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling for another 40 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- I prefer to use fresh blueberries. If you use frozen blueberries, theres no need to thaw them first. Just remember frozen berries will make your batter purple.
- Sprinkle a little flour into the blueberries to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
- The time it takes for your loaf to bake will vary based on your oven. I recommend to start checking it at the 50 minute mark by seeing if a toothpick comes out clean.
- Active starter or discard will work for this recipe.
Deb K says
This recipe is amazing! Thank you Lisa. ❤ I followed the recipe but used slightly less sugar. I also found I needed a little more flour in the crumble topping. This loaf will definitely be a staple in our house! Thank you for sharing your beautiful recipes and your knowledge about sourdough.
Kim says
This was so easy to make and it was delicious. I followed the directions exactly how they were written. I will definitely make it again.