🥖 Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Sourdough — Step-by-Step

Ingredients

Dough

  • 500 g bread flour
  • 330 g water (66% hydration) — room temp
  • 100 g active sourdough starter (fed, bubbly)
  • 10 g fine salt
  • Zest of 1 lemon (finely grated)
  • 150–170 g blueberries (fresh or frozen) tossed with 1 tbsp flour

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

  • 150 g cream cheese, softened (but still slightly cold)
  • 2 tbsp sugar (or honey/maple syrup)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)

For baking

  • Extra flour for dusting/banneton
  • Egg wash or milk for gloss (optional)

Quick timeline (so you know what’s happening)

  1. Mix & autolyse: 30–40 min
  2. Add salt + folds: 2–4 hours bulk ferment (with stretch-and-folds)
  3. Add fruit + shape + fridge proof: overnight 8–12 hrs
  4. Bake: 45 mins

Step 1 — Prep (5 min)

  • Make sure your starter is active (fed 3–6 hrs before, bubbly).
  • If using frozen blueberries, keep them frozen until mixing. Toss berries in 1 tbsp flour to stop them bleeding too much.

Step 2 — Mix & Autolyse (40 min total)

  1. In a large bowl, pour 330 g water. Add 100 g starter and gently stir to dissolve.
  2. Add 500 g bread flour and mix until no dry flour remains. It will be shaggy.
  3. Cover and rest 30–40 minutes (this is the autolyse — it develops gluten so your hands do less work later).

Step 3 — Add Salt & Lemon Zest (5 min)

  • Sprinkle 10 g salt and the lemon zest over the dough. Fold it in by pinching and folding the dough over itself 6–8 times until incorporated.
  • The dough will tighten a little.

Step 4 — Bulk Fermentation + Stretch & Folds (2–4 hrs, depends on room temp)

  • Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours, perform a stretch-and-fold: wet your hand, grab one side, stretch up, fold over, rotate bowl, repeat 4 sides (takes 20–30 sec).
  • After ~2 hours the dough should feel alive — slightly risen and airy. Total bulk may be 2–4 hours depending on warmth.

Tip: If your kitchen is cool, bulk will be slower — that’s OK.


Step 5 — Gently Add Blueberries (5–7 min)

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