Lemon-Blueberry Sourdough Loaf

A classic, artisanal sourdough loaf with the additions of blueberry and lemon - it feels so fresh for spring and summertime. This recipe uses wild blueberry powder for maximum blueberry flavor, without the moisture issues that fresh blueberries can cause.

A classic loaf of sourdough, chock full of lemon zest and blueberry and sweetened just a smidge with maple syrup.

This bread gets its blueberry flavoring and the pretty marbling effect from wild blueberry powder, which, I'm convinced, is THE BEST way to make blueberry bread!

Fresh blueberries don't give the best flavor in breads, plus they can produce too much moisture, making for some slimy bites of bread, and a reduced shelf life.

Wild blueberries are known for being intensely flavored, with all the sweetness we love in a blueberry, and none of the sour. The powder is made from freeze dried wild blueberries that are ground up, meaning you can get a ton of wild blueberries into your loaf with just a small amount of powder (there's about 1 cup of wild blueberries per tablespoon of powder). That means a LOT of blueberry flavor, with none of the sogginess or sourness of a fresh blueberry!

Ingredients

This is a pretty typical loaf of sourdough, that you'll add blueberry and lemon zest to during stretch and folds.

The bread base consists of:

• A strong sourdough starter - this recipe uses a lot of starter! This will make the rise go faster and will give the final loaf a less pronounced sour flavor.
• Water - of course! If you're in to hydration levels, this loaf is right around 70%, which means it's easy to handle, while still giving you a nice crumb and a thin, crisp crust.
• Maple syrup - I usually sweeten this dough just a bit with a few splashes of maple syrup. A bit of sweetness will intensify the blueberry flavor. Omit if you want.
• All purpose flour - I typically use all purpose flour here, but you can use bread flour if you prefer.
• Salt - can't make bread without it.

(This is based off of my Easiest Sourdough Ever recipe. It never fails me!)

And the inclusions are:

• Wild blueberry powder - Wild blueberry powder provides intense blueberry flavor and a stunning marble effect. There’s a good chance you’ll have to special order it since it’s not available in most grocery stores. (I bought this blueberry powder on Amazon).
• Lemon zest - Lots of lemon flavor, without added acidity that would affect fermentation. The zest of 1 large lemon is what the recipe calls for, but feel free to do more (or less) than that depending on how lemony you like things!

Substitutions

This is a fairly flexible recipe. Here are some things you can swap out if you so desire:

• The blueberry powder - You can substitute dried blueberries. They are much easier to find and will still give you nice blueberry flavor/color (though you'll get less marbling than you will with the powder). You’ll use 3 ounces for this loaf. Fresh or frozen blueberries WILL NOT work here!
• Maple syrup - you can use an equal amount of honey.
• All purpose flour - bread flour works perfectly well here as well.

How to make lemon-blueberry sourdough

Start by mixing the water, starter, and syrup in a large bowl.

Add the flour and salt and mix very well. When just about all the flour is mixed in, I like to switch to mixing with my hands. Once fully mixed, scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover, and let rest for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the blueberry powder and lemon zest over the top of the dough. Use your fingertips to gently poke the inclusions into the dough, then do a round of stretch and folds. The inclusions won't be very well dispersed at this point - that's okay! Cover and let rest again.

Over the next 2-3 hours, do 3-4 additional rounds of stretch and folds. Then, cover and let rise for another 2-3 hours, until doubled in size.

Turn dough out and shape into a loaf.

Place seam side-up in a proofing basket or a loaf pan lined with a floured tea towel. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours more, or in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Turn the loaf out onto a piece of parchment paper and do an expansion score.

Use the parchment paper to transfer to a metal loaf pan, cover with a second metal loaf pan, and bake in a 450 degree oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before cutting.

Tips

• If you don't care about the marbling effect, you can mix the blueberry powder and zest in with the dry ingredients. Your dough will be uniformly bluish purple. Still do the stretch and folds.
• I always recommend using an instant read thermometer to check that bread is fully cooked. The internal temperature should be at least 200 degrees before pulling from the oven.
• The instructions in this recipe are written for baking in a metal loaf pan, but you can use whatever method you normally use for a typical sourdough loaf.
• Since there's so much starter in this bread, it will ferment quickly! Just keep that in mind when planning out your baking schedule.

Eat this plain, toasted with butter or cream cheese, use it to make these French toast sticks.