Honey-Sweetened Sourdough Muffins

Over the past few months, I’ve been getting to know my sourdough starter bit by bit, and I’m doing it in a really “intuitive” way, meaning I mostly eyeball it with my timing and ingredient amounts rather than weighing things out on a scale and being precise with hydration or flour ratios. I’ve kept my starter on the counter, fed it twice per day, and when it’s not used for bread, I try to find something enjoyable to do with the discard. I’m baking bread nearly every day because, as someone who learns by doing, I know it’s the only way I’ll ever improve my skills. As a result, I’ve got bread coming out of my ears. I’m baking more than we can eat and giving most of it away to any family member or friend I can.

With two feeds per day, I’m learning a whole lot about sourdough and the way we enjoy it. Mostly my loaves turn out edible and beautiful in a rustic sort of way, but there are occasional duds. Even with this many feedings, it’s rare that I’ll throw that precious discard down the sink. Mostly it goes into sourdough dutch babies, pancakes or muffins, and I’m always looking for other easy ways to use it because that’s a whole lot of good quality flour down the drain if you can’t find a way to bake and eat it.

I eventually plan to learn how to make all-things sourdough: pie crust, bagels, pastries, crackers, quickbreads… but for now, while I’m still focused on learning how to make basic bread and feeding my starter this often, I’m just looking for solutions that can be accomplished quickly and easily with a napping baby and a 4-year-old underfoot.

That said, I’d like to share a recipe for sourdough muffins that I’ve been using nonstop this summer for my discard. It uses all-purpose flour and cornmeal for a light, yet robust muffin that won’t get soggy with berry add-ins. Plus, they’re lightly sweetened with a bit of honey. Delicious.

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Honey Sweetened Berry Sourdough Muffins

Author: A Wooden Nest

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour1 cup cornmeal1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon cinnamon1 cup sourdough discard¼ cup milk1 egg¼ cup melted butter or oil½ cup honey2 cups berries, fresh or frozen

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a muffin tin. Set aside. Dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Wet ingredients: Whisk together the sourdough discard, milk, egg, butter/oil, and honey in a large bowl until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
3. Fold in the fresh berries.
4. Fill the wells of a standard sized greased muffin tin with batter until ¾ full. Place in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and then remove muffins from muffin tin and place on a cooling rack until room temp. Store in an airtight container. Muffins will last for a couple days on the counter, a couple weeks in the fridge or a couple months in the freezer.
5. Enjoy!