Strawberry Sourdough Muffins (Printer View)

Tender sourdough muffins filled with fresh strawberries and a crunchy buttery crumb topping.

# What you'll need:

→ Muffins

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
06 - 1 cup sourdough starter, unfed or discard
07 - 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter
08 - 2 large eggs
09 - 1/2 cup milk
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 - 1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries, diced

→ Crumb Topping

12 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
13 - 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
14 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced
15 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
16 - Pinch of salt

# Method:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease thoroughly with butter or cooking spray.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar until evenly distributed.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk together sourdough starter, vegetable oil or melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
04 - Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix; some lumps should remain to ensure tender muffins.
05 - Gently fold diced strawberries into the batter using a spatula, distributing them evenly throughout.
06 - Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each approximately 3/4 full to allow for rise during baking.
07 - In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in cold diced butter using a fork or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
08 - Sprinkle crumb topping generously over each muffin, pressing lightly to adhere.
09 - Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean with no wet batter.
10 - Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before serving.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Your sourdough discard finally has a purpose, and these muffins are way more interesting than standard ones.
  • The crumb topping is so easy to make by hand, and it bakes into pure, crunchy gold.
  • They're tender enough to eat with your fingers but substantial enough to actually fill you up at breakfast.
02 -
  • Overmixing is the muffin killer—stop mixing the moment you see no dry flour, even if there are visible lumps, or you'll end up with dense, tough muffins that nobody wants.
  • Pat your strawberries dry before folding them in because any excess moisture will make the batter wetter and affect the bake time and crumb structure.
  • If your sourdough starter is very active and recently fed, it might be more liquid than usual—start with slightly less milk and adjust as needed so the batter isn't too thin.
03 -
  • Room-temperature ingredients mix more smoothly, so pull out your eggs and milk before you start prepping—it takes five minutes and makes a real difference in the final texture.
  • If you don't have paper liners, brush your muffin cups with a bit of oil and dust lightly with flour so the muffins release easily without sticking.
  • The crumb topping can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a week, which means you could have muffin-ready topping waiting whenever you want fresh muffins.
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