Two words: blueberry muffins. It can’t get better than that. Nah, it can, with sourdough it can! Sourdough blueberry muffins, my friends!
I’m determined to use all my sourdough discards, it is painful to throw it away! So these days the new normal is something like this:
Feed starter – save discards – bake loaf -bake with the discards
The more I bake with sourdough discards, the more I get to test the effect on other food. So far, I can say that cakes and muffins made with sourdough last longer than those without. Nothing new really, sourdough bread also lasts fresh longer time
Isn’t it amazing? Although… after you make these muffins, I doubt you’ll need an extended shelf life, they’re INCREDIBLE!
Why do sourdough baked goods last longer?
Bread and other baked goods are usually discarded when they lose quality rather than when they get spoiled. Bread gets stale kind of quickly, cakes dry and get crumbly… Although there are many factors involved in why and how baked goods dry out, obviously, moisture content plays a key role.
When you mix your ingredients with water, the very first thing that happens is that those ingredients absorb the water. They start making hydrogen bonds and trapping the water within the matrix. Sugar and salt start dissolving, gluten proteins start hydrating, starch granules starch absorbing water and swelling (you see why autolysis helps to develop the gluten? Wink wink)… And all this takes a long time. Much more time than we think.
If we focus on the physical changes of food, rather than the biological changes of sourdough fermentation, we need to pay close attention to how the water is used in baked goods.
Moisture is key
There are two types of water in food: the bound water that’s forming some type of bond and the free water, that is simply stored within the food matrix.
After baking, the free water is going to be the first to go. It moves from the inside of the food (The crumb) towards the outside. Thus, why crust gets soggy over time, and then it finally evaporates and leaves the food.
Bound water, however, it’s somewhat trapped. It can be part of the gluten network, of swollen starch granules, it can be trapped within the fat matrix etc. The amount of bound water (among other things, of course) is one of the things that determines how long the food stays fresh; because its’ much more difficult to separate from the other ingredients. So the loss of quality related to water is slowed down.
Since sourdough baking needs lots of time, the levain preparation, long fermentation times etc. allow all ingredients to keep absorbing water and binding it to other molecules. The flour had many hours to ensure al the particles are saturated with water (I’m assuming a 100% hydration starter here). These bonds survive throughout the whole process; after the food is baked and starts cooling down, the food holds onto these water bonds.
And that’s one of the reasons food made with sourdough lasts longer!
If you’re interested in other food science facts, feel free to send me an email or DM on social media and I’ll try my best to write a post about it!
Back to the muffins!
Alrighty! About these muffins… I made them small for two reasons: 1) because the number of muffins I eat doesn’t depend on the size, so I’d better eat smaller portions now that the gym is close 🙂 and 2) because I don’t have a large muffin tin and if I buy more kitchen stuff my husband is going to make me sleep in the kitchen.
So obviously, feel free to make larger muffins or smaller. Whatever you prefer!
I like to whip eggs and sugar very well, this helps with the airy structure of the muffin and I think the texture turns out super delicate!
Usually, when you make blueberry muffins, they collapse a little after they come out of the oven, it’s normal, that’s because the water inside of the fruits turns into steam while the muffins are baking, and they swell. Some blueberries might burst, and the others, when they cool down, they collapse because the steam condenses. They also wrinkle because the heat affects the structure of the skin.
I like to let the batter chill in the fridge for at least a couple of hours to allow the baking powder and baking soda hydrate well. Their leavening power is activated by acids and moisture. You can leave the batter in the fridge overnight and bake the muffins first thing in the morning!
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think and tag me on your creations! I love to see what you guys do!
You can also follow me on Instagram or Facebook and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
If you have any suggestions or would want me to make some recipes, adapt a yeast-based recipe into a sourdough one, etc, please contact me and I’ll try my best to respond and plan a recipe!
Happy baking!
Sourdough blueberry muffins
Use your sourdough discard to make these delicious muffins!
Ingredients
- 200 g all purpose flour
- 200 g sourdough discards (collected throughout a week)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 L eggs
- 180 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon extract (optional- to taste)
- 180 g heavy whipping cream
- 60 g olive oil (see notes)
- 1½ cups blueberries
Instructions
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Preheat your oven at 375 F
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Sift the flour into a large bowl. Take a tablespoon of that flour and reserve
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Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt to the flour and combine
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In the bowl of your stand mixer whip the eggs until they are fluffy and have a light yellow color
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Add the sugar to the eggs and combine
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Add the whipping cream, the oil, the sourdough starter, and the extracts and combine well. Use a spatula if you need to break down the sourdough blob
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Change from the wire whisk to the paddle attachment, add the flour in 3 batches and combine at medium-low speed
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In separate bowl toss the blueberries and the tbsp of flour you reserved and carefully stirr tso they blueberries get a nice coat of flour
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Add the blueberries to the batter and with a spatula stir until just combined (you can put now the batter in the fridge if you want)
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line a muffin tin with baking cups and fill them to about 3/4
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Add some blueberries on top as decoration
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Bake for about 30 minutes or until they have a nice golden color
Recipe Notes
I like to use olive oil because I think it gives muffins in general a really nice aroma. And it’s also how my mom taught me. But feel free to use melted butter or any other oil of your choice!
If you don’t have blueberries, you can make these muffins with any other fruit
Sourdough chocolate and orange bundt cake
Oh, hey there! I’m glad you’re here because I have a wonderful sourdough chocolate orange bundt cake recipe for you! I know… the name it’s kinda long, but trust me, this cake is so delicious, it won’t last long! And I like to think of it as a zero waste recipe. Why? Because I used orange peels and sourdough discards that I collected during the week.
My new challenge in life is to generate less food waste, and that goes to sourdough too. So I’m developing recipes that allow me to do so. The world of sourdough it’s endless! I realized that I can use it in so much more than bread.
I have different sourdough starters that I use for different things. And not long ago I made a chocolate sourdough bread with my chocolate sourdough starter. And that’s pretty much how this cake was born!
If you don’t have a chocolate starter discard, don’t worry, use your regular discards and then substitute 20g of flour with 20g of cocoa powder.
I love the contrast between chocolate and orange and the sourdough starter makes this cake moist and extends its shelf life significantly! It doesn’t taste or get sour; the orange peels are boiled and aren’t bitter and the chocolate flavor is just enough so you can enjoy all flavors.
I made a ganache to add a little something to the cake and topped it with walnuts, but you can use anything you like.
How to prepare the orange peels
The first thing you need to do is to make sure the orange peels are not bitter or they will ruin your cake. You need to put the peels in a sauce pan and add enough water to cover them. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook them until they start boiling. Let them boil for a minute. Drain and rinse them until they’re not too hot. Put them back in the saucepan and repeat 2 or 3 more times (Until you bite a piece and it isn’t bitter).
It’s important to cool down the peels between boils, otherwise, they might disintegrate completely before they are ready.
Once the orange peels are ready, let them cool down and then chop them either manually or with a food processor. They will last in the fridge for a week and you can use them anywhere!
The rest of the steps are similar to any other cake. I used my KitchenAid to mix the batter, but if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use something else or even do it by hand. Just make sure when you beat the eggs and the sugar, the mixture is foamy. Otherwise, the cake can turn out a bit dense.
Amazing results!
The results are spectacular! This cake is rich, moist and spongy. The flavors come together perfectly, the chocolate flavor complements the tangy orange flavor, and it’s not overly sweet. The sourdough enhances the aromas and really improves the shelf life of the cake. It can stay fresh for several days and I just covered it with foil, I didn’t put it into a plastic container or anything.
Let me know what you think of this recipe and please, tag me on your creations! I love to see what you guys do! You can follow me on Instagram or Facebook and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
If you have any suggestions or would want me to make some recipes, please contact me and I’ll try my best to respond and plan a recipe!
Happy baking!
Sourdough chocolate & orange bundt cake
Use your sourdough dicards and orange peels to make this scrumptious dessert!
Ingredients
Cake
- 340 g all purpose flour *see notes
- 325 g sourdough starter – 100% hydration (about 2 cups)
- 20 g cocoa powder 1
- 300 g white sugar
- 200 g vegetable oil
- 4 L eggs
- 100 g boiled and ground orange peels **see notes
- 70 g milk ***see notes
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon optional
Chocolate Glaze
- 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts optional – decoration
Instructions
Cake
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Preheat your oven at 350F
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Grease your a bundt cake pan that can hold at least 12 cups
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On a bowl, mix all dry ingredients and set aside
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On your stand mixer bowl,add eggs and sugar and beat using the whisk attachment until they're fluffy and the color is lighter
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Add milk, vegetable oil, orange, and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated
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Add the sourdough starter and incorporate it at medium speed, you might need to pause or even use a spatula to break it down a little
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Add the dry ingredients and with a spatula or the paddle attachment incorporate them into the batter. Don't over mix. If possible, don't add all the dry ingredients at once, add them in 2 or 3 times to avoid lumps
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Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If needed, tent the cake with aluminum foil to avoind the top from burning
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When ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool down in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack
Chocolate glaze
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When the cake is already baked, melt the butter and the chocolate chips at a very low temperature
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Add the cinnamon combine it well
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Pour on top of the cake and decorate with walnuts or any other nut you prefer
Recipe Notes
*I’ve tried both, chocolate sourdough starter and regular sourdough starter. If you have chocolate starter, use it and avoid the cocoa powder and just add 20 more grams of all purpose flour.
**You need to boil the peels 2 or 3 times to get rid of the bitterness. Please, read the paragragh where I explain how to do it 🙂
***If you don’t have enough orange peels, you can use orange juice instead of milk, but 100g or orange peels give this cake a really nice orange flavor.
**** I collected my starter for several days and kept it in the fridge until I baked the cake