Sourdough Lemon Muffins
The perfect afternoon snack.
These fluffy sourdough lemon muffins are tender, moist, and drizzled with a tangy lemon glaze.
I love making muffins to use up sourdough discard starter. The acid in the discard creates a lovely and tender crumb. The muffins have lots of fresh lemon zest that’s rubbed into sugar to release the lemon oil. It fills them with a beautiful fresh lemon flavor. There’s the option to give the muffin batter an overnight ferment, or if you want to bake them right away, you can.
Ingredients
250g (2 cups*) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon zest, finely grated
113g (1/2 cup) butter, melted
15g (1 Tablespoon) olive oil or vegetable oil
30g (2 Tablespoon) lemon juice
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g (1/2 cup) sourdough discard, room temperature
180g (3/4 cup) milk at room temperature
Glaze
90g (3/4 cup) powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
*The cup sizes given are for US-sized cups, which are smaller than metric cups, for best results, use a scale and measure in grams.
Method
Mix the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add granulated sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar to release the lemon oils.
Add the melted butter, oil, lemon juice, eggs, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and the milk and fold with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until combined.
The muffins can be baked right away or cold-fermented overnight.
Cold-fermenting - Cover the bowl tightly and place it in the refrigerator for up to 16 hours. The next day, the batter will be very thick.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a muffin pan.
Use an ice cream scoop to divide the muffin batter evenly over the 12 liners. They will be full.
Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (220°C), then turn the oven down to 350°F (180°C) and bake for 16-18 minutes more until golden brown and the muffin tops spring back when pressed or a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let the baked muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing them and placing them on a wire rack to cool further.
Glaze
Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. If you'd like an extra hit of citrus flavor, you can also add some lemon zest. Stir everything together until you have a smooth, slightly runny glaze.
If the glaze is too thick, add a bit more lemon juice. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Once the muffins have cooled down a bit but are still slightly warm, drizzle the glaze over the muffins.
