Sourdough Cranberry Date Muffins

My sourdough starter, Blanche, died from neglect. I thought I knew how to take care of a starter properly but found out otherwise. So I will do some more research and try again after my Whole 30.

Although I didn’t get to my end goal of making bread with my starter, it wasn’t a total waste. I was able to make some really awesome recipes with my sourdough discard. You know, the stuff you throw away when you feed your starter.

The first sourdough discard recipe I tried was for sourdough cranberry date muffins. The muffins were light and tender with a nice balance of sweet and tart.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From The King Arthur Flour Website

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup chopped dates

4 TBS sugar

1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup fresh or dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup sourdough starter discard

1/2 cup plus 2 TBS all purpose flouf

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease the wells of a 6 cup muffin pan.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, dates, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.

Remove the sauce pan from the heat and stir in the cranberries, nuts, baking soda, salt, and eggs; mix thoroughly. Stir in the starter and the flour until evenly combined.

Fill the cup 2/3 full. Bake the muffins for 17 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.

Remove the muffins from the oven and cool them in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely

Sourdough Adventures Starter Day 1

Some people have bucket lists filled with exotic places they want to visit before they die. Other people have bucket lists filled with all the exciting things they want to do before they die. My bucket list is filled with all the foodie people I want to meet, the places I want to eat at, and most of all, the food I want to learn how to make from scratch.

On the very top of that bucket list is to learn to make all kinds of sourdough bread. I have learned to make many different kinds of yeast bread over the years and I am pretty good at it but sourdough has always intimidated me. The idea of having to create and maintain a starter just seemed like a lot.

Well, in December, I turned 50 years old and decided if I want to learn how to make sourdough bread I had better get started so part of my birthday present to myself was a packet of dried sourdough starter.Since then I have been putting off for one reason or another. Now with Corona virus keeping me at home I thought now might be the time to start some sourdough experiments

.First step in sourdough baking is making a starter. I decided to use a dehydrated starter rather than trying to develope a wild starter. So may I introduce to you, baby Blanche, my new born sourdough starter.Dry StarterBaby Blanche with 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon water added to the soaked starter. I placed the container in a gallon sized plastic bag and set it in my pantry to rest for the next 24 hours.Stay tuned tomorrow for the further adventures of baby Blanche.