Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread
A tantalizing crispy crust, tender chewy lemon scented sourdough and plenty of juicy ripe blueberries make this the perfect sourdough bread, especially when it’s slathered in a generous pat of grass-fed butter. Sourdough does take a bit of time and lots of love, but the investment is worth every sweet bite, and I know that you will fall in love with this bread just like I have.
Why Sourdough is So Good for You!
Have you ever wondered why sourdough is considered a healthier bread? There are several reasons why sourdough is a great choice when looking for a tasty and nutrient dense bread. Sourdough bread is rich in fiber, minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, vitamins B1 (thiamine), B3 (niacin), B5 (riboflavin) and B9 (folate).
Sourdough bread can be easier to digest for those with gluten sensitivities. I do NOT recommend eating sourdough bread if you have celiacs disease or any type of severe sensitivity to gluten without checking with your physician first. One of the reasons sourdough can be more digestible for those with gluten sensitivities is due to the long fermentation process that sourdough bread undergoes. This allows for the wild yeast and bacteria present from your starter to break down proteins and carbohydrates (fructans) found in the flour [1].
Sourdough bread can be helpful for individuals working to maintain more stable blood sugar levels as it has a lower glycemic index, which supports healthier blood sugar regulation by reducing the potential for a severe blood glucose spike due to its slower absorption. This is thought to occur due to the fermentation process and how the carbohydrates are broken down and changed [2].
Why Organic Unbleached Flour vs. Conventional Flour
If you do a lot of home baking like do it’s important to choose your ingredients wisely, let’s unpack why I only buy and use organic unbleached flours when I bake.
Why Organic? Organic flour is milled from grains that have been grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. By using organic flour in your baked goods, you are also increasing the nutrition found in the foods you create. Organic grains have higher levels of zinc, magnesium and protein than their conventional counterparts [1].
Why Unbleached? Bleached flour is refined, and that is enough reason to cut it out of your diet! During the processing of refined foods such as flours, sugars and oils, the key and essential nutrients get stripped away, yielding a product that is nutritionally void. Chemicals you say? Why yes! Bleached flours are full of chemicals, such as potassium bromide which has been shown to be a carcinogen linked to kidney and thyroid cancer [2].
Making Sourdough is super simple and only uses 4 ingredients: your starter, flour, water and salt. That’s it, but the results are amazing: soft chewy bread with a satisfying crispy crust full of tangy flavor and all the benefits of the fermentation process.
Lemon Blueberry Sourdough:
50g Starter
350 g Cool Filtered Water
450g + 125g Unbleached Organic Bread Flour
12g Fine Real Salt
1 cup Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
Zest of 1 Lemon
1. Start by adding your starter, the water and 450g of flour to a large bowl, mixing well with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let rest for 4 hours at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator overnight.
Shaggy Dough
2. The next day, add the remaining flour, salt and lemon zest and knead into the dough. It will take about 5-minutes, but the dough will take all the flour and zest. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 1-hour.
3. After 1-hour, add the blueberries and start the folding process, four sets of folds every 30-minutes. Fold each side (4 sides) towards the center/opposite side of the dough, repeat until all four sets have been completed.
After 1-hour of rest
After 4 rounds of folds
4. Cover and allow to bulk ferment for 2-12 hours until the dough has doubled in size. Timing of this step depends on environmental factors and each loaf will take a different amount of time.
Pro Tip: Take a marker and indicate on the outside of your bowl the size of the dough before bulk fermentation to have a nice indicator of when it has doubled.
Doubled after bulk fermentation
5. Transfer dough to your floured (rice or regular flour) banneton, or towel lined colander and cover or wrap in a large plastic bag. Set in the fridge 24-72 hours for the cold fermentation.
6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees with the Dutch oven inside.
7. Tear off a large piece of parchment and turn the dough over onto it. Score the dough: typically a large score along the side or you can do a cross over the top. Trim the parchment so you have handles at the end but so that it’s not so large to fit in the Dutch oven.
8. Transfer to the Dutch oven and spray with water 6-10 times (optional for that mouthwatering crispy crust). Cover and bake for 25 minutes covered, and then 15-20 minutes uncovered.
9. Remove and discard the parchment paper, cool completely on a wire rack.
10. Slice and serve!
Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 50 g Starter
- 350 g Cool Filtered Water
- 450 g + 125g Unbleached Organic Bread Flour
- 12 g Fine Real Salt
- 1 cup Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
- Zest of 1 Lemon
Instructions
- Start by adding your starter, the water and 450g of flour to a large bowl, mixing well with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let rest for 4 hours at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, add the remaining flour, salt and lemon zest and knead into the dough. It will take about 5-minutes, but the dough will take all the flour and zest. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 1-hour.
- After 1-hour, add the blueberries and start the folding process, four sets of folds every 30-minutes. Fold each side (4 sides) towards the center/opposite side of the dough, repeat until all four sets have been completed.
- Cover and allow to bulk ferment for 2-12 hours until the dough has doubled in size. Timing of this step depends on environmental factors and each loaf will take a different amount of time. Pro Tip: Take a marker and indicate on the outside of your bowl the size of the dough before bulk fermentation to have a nice indicator of when it has doubled.
- Transfer dough to your floured (rice or regular flour) banneton, or towel lined colander and cover or wrap in a large plastic bag. Set in the fridge 24-72 hours for the cold fermentation.
- Preheat oven to 450 with the Dutch oven inside.
- Tear off a large piece of parchment and turn the dough over onto it. Score the dough: typically a large score along the side or you can do a cross over the top. Trim the parchment so you have handles at the end but so that it's not so large to fit in the Dutch oven.
- Transfer to the Dutch oven and spray with water 6-10 times (optional for that mouthwatering crispy crust). Cover and bake for 25 minutes covered, and then 15-20 minutes uncovered.
- Remove and discard the parchment paper, cool completely on a wire rack.
- Slice and serve!
Nutrition
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FAQs
Q: What is the shortest amount of time you would recommend doing the cold fermemtation?
A: I would at a minimum allow the dough to cold ferment overnight, but the longer you can wait, the more developed that iconic sourdough flavor becomes.
Q: What if I don’t have a bread lame to slice the dough?
A: You can use a really sharp knife, and it doesn’t have to be perfect, the more rustic looking the better in my opinion!
Q: I used frozen blueberries and my dough is purple, is this okay?
A: Yes! Frozen fruits will release more juices during the folding resulting in a more purple colored loaf, it is one of the reasons why I like to use fresh over frozen.
Q: What is the best way to store fresh sourdough bread?
A: After the first day, I always preslice my sourdough and store it in the freezer to keep it fresh. If you are eating it fairly quickly, you can store it in a paperbag on the counter to prevent too much moisture build up.
Q: How will I know when the bulk fermentation is done?
A: You want to keep an eye on your dough during this time as environmental factors will alter the timing of the bulk fermentation. On warmer days it will go faster than on cooler days. In general, I have found that at 72 degrees my bulk fermentation takes around 6-hours, at 68 degrees it can take up to 12-hours. Keep an eye on it and use a marker to mark the outside of your container so you know when it has doubled.
Q: Do I need to use a hungry or fed starter for this recipe?
A: Honestly, it’s so flexible and easy that you can use a hungry starter (active and fed daily, not from the fridge) or use one that you fed within 8-12 hours when it’s at peak rise after feeding. I’ve done multiple loaves with my starter either of these ways and the bread comes out the same each time.
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I am a holistic nutritionist with an auto-immune disorder, a love of cooking, and a passion for holistic health.
Sharing what I make and eat with all of you…in hopes that you find inspiration here to fuel your body and feel your best with nutrient dense whole foods and clean eating.
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