Blueberry Sourdough Bread (With Lemon Zest)

Once the Spring hits, it's time to make all the recipes with blueberries and lemon! Sourdough recipes are some of my favorite recipes to make, so why not bring the two flavors together!

When starting out your sourdough journey, it's good to familiarize with this sourdough glossary so you are aware of the different terms and equipment. There's also some essential tools for sourdough that you might want to grab too! While your at it, join our Sourdough Facebook group with lots of other sourdough fanatics!

Why You'll Love This Sourdough Blueberry Bread

• It's a twist on the classic sourdough bread! I love a Dutch oven sourdough bread, sourdough French bread, or a same day sourdough bread, but I also love a flavored sourdough bread! For some spice, try jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread, for saltiness, try my sourdough olive bread, but for some sweetness, this bread hits the spot!
• It's a great use for fresh blueberries! In the Summer, we go blueberry picking a lot. This is one of our favorite recipes to make! We also like making sourdough blueberry muffins and blueberry sourdough scones of course!
• It's a great base for other recipes! You can eat this bread as toast slathered with butter, or you can make it into French toast.

Ingredients to Gather

• Sourdough starter. The sourdough starter should be active and bubbly, meaning you should feed it once or twice before baking with it. You can either make your own sourdough starter, buy one, or get one from a fellow sourdough friend.
• Bread flour. Bread flour vs all purpose flour is a question a lot of people have. In this recipe, either will work, but bread flour has a higher protein content, leading to a chewier crumb.
• Water. Your water should be filtered and just slightly warmer than room temperature. Too cold and the bread will take a long time to rise, and too warm and you might kill the yeast in your sourdough bread.
• Blueberries. They should be washed and ready to be eaten. If they are large, you can cut them in half.
• Lemon zest. The zest of two lemons. It adds a nice zing to the bread, like in my sourdough discard lemon loaf, which counteracts the sweetness of the blueberries.

Be sure to check out the printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Blueberry Sourdough Bread

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, add the water and sourdough starter. Mix well. Add the bread flour and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Let it rest for 1 hour.

Step 2: After 30 minutes, perform a stretch and fold. After another 30 minutes, do it again. Do one final stretch and fold. This time, add the blueberries and lemon zest into the dough.

Step 3: Let it rise for 8-10 hours until it doubles in size. Make sure to cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel.

Step 4: The next morning, shape the dough into a boule by folding the dough onto itself. Place it in a floured banneton and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the Dutch oven in the oven while it preheats. After an hour in the refrigerator, place the dough on parchment paper. Place it in the Dutch oven and bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool completely before serving.

Sample Baker's Schedule

• 7pm- Mix the sourdough starter, water, flour, and salt together.
• 8pm- Perform a stretch and fold.
• 8:30pm- Perform another stretch and fold.
• 9pm- Perform the final stretch and fold. Fold in the blueberries and lemon zest into the dough on the final stretch and fold. Let the dough rise for 8-10 hours.
• 7am- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
• 7:15am- Shape the dough into a boule. Check out how to shape sourdough into a boule for more detailed information. Place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
• 8:00am- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the dough in a parchment lined Dutch oven. Bake for 30 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered. Take the bread out and let it cool on a wire cooling rack.

Tips and Tricks

• Depending on the size of the blueberries will depend on how many you have in the dough. The blueberries I had when I made this original loaf were huge, so the blueberries are not as scattered is if you have tiny wild blueberries.
• The bulk fermentation may take up to 12 hours before it is ready. If you are making this bread in the winter and the kitchen is cold, it will slow down the fermentation process. In the Summer, the bread will rise faster since the kitchen temperature will likely be warmer. Just keep an eye on the loaf of bread. It's ready with it jiggles, has visible bubbles, and has doubled in size.
• Make sure to allow the bread to cool completely before cutting into the bread. The blueberries will be very hot and the bread needs to set and cool before it can be cut. Cut too early, and the crumb of the bread may be too gummy.
• If you have any leftovers that are starting to go stale, make it into a sourdough bread pudding or a blueberry French toast casserole. It would be delicious in both!

Storage Info

Keep leftovers in an airtight container or in a gallon sized Ziploc bag on your counter. Do not refrigerate blueberry sourdough bread as it will go stale quickly.

This bread also freezes perfectly. Once cooled to room temperature, place it in a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months, or longer! I've taken bread out of the freezer that was in there for up to 6 months and it was still perfect! Let it defrost on the counter before serving.

Blueberry Sourdough Bread FAQs

More Sourdough Recipes