How to Bake Lemon Poppy Seed Blueberry Sourdough Bread

This recipe is adapted from Zesty South Indian Kitchen and has become my absolute favorite "flavored" loaf. Lemon zest gives it a fresh, bright taste and poppy seeds add a nutty balanced essence. I've experimented by adding fresh blueberries and believe this is simply divine. With only 50 grams of added sugar in the entire loaf, it's a fantastic replacement for high-sugar muffins and cakes. Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Blueberry Sourdough
140 grams active starter
320 grams water
425 grams all-purpose flour
10 grams lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
16 grams poppy seeds
9 grams salt
150 grams fresh blueberries

A few notes:
*You can probably use frozen blueberries but that might add extra moisture making the loaf higher hydration. That shouldn't be a problem but may make it more difficult to handle. You can always a small amount of flour if needed. Be careful though, maybe add in 10-20 gram increments.

*It takes my oven about 45-60 minutes to preheat the Dutch oven enough. Just because your oven may say it's been preheated doesn't mean your DUTCH oven has had time to get completely up to temperature.

*Yes, you can experiment with other flours but remember it will change the texture. Whole grains are much denser and will likely absorb more water making your loaf drier and denser. I'd suggest trying 325 grams of all-purpose and 75 grams of rye or whole wheat.

*Although rice flour is generally inexpensive, I make my own with regular rice that I grind in the blender.

*I spray my loaf before placing the lid on so it can create steam. Most professional sourdough ovens are steam-injected. Spraying with water in a very hot Dutch oven helps mimic that steam effect. This helps with oven spring.

*Stretch and Folds timing:
-Mix dough initially
-30 minutes later add salt, lemon, etc. Do the first set of stretch and folds to incorporate
-30 minutes later another set of stretch and folds
-30 minutes later another set of stretch and folds
-30 minutes later another set of stretch and folds
-(if I have time) 60 minutes later another set of stretch and folds
-BULK FERMENTATION depends on your house's temperature. My bulk ferment takes 4-6 hours. The dough should rise by 25% or more.
-SHAPE dough

*I prefer to do a long fermentation in the fridge overnight after shaping my dough. This makes it much easier to score in the morning. It's also a great way to increase the digestibility of the gluten. You can opt to bake the same day. After shaping the dough and placing it in the banneton allow the dough to rise at room temperature. This may take 1-2 hours. In the last hour preheat your oven and Dutch oven. Score and bake the same way as described in the video.

*I bake the loaf immediately after removing it from the fridge. It's cold. I believe this helps improve the oven spring.

Tools I personally use and love:
Danish Dough Whisk: https://amzn.to/3UUUv95
Salt: https://bit.ly/49HaADp
Banneton Set: https://amzn.to/48FL7cI


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