Blueberry Sourdough Bread Boule Made With Fresh Milled Flour

This blueberry sourdough bread boule made with fresh milled flour was the perfect balance of sweet and tangy! Slathered with a smear of butter or even some cream cheese, this loaf was giving me blueberry bagel vibes all over! My eyes have been opened to the simple world of sourdough mix-ins, and they can never be closed again!

Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Bread

Once you master fresh milled flour sourdough breads, then you can start getting creative with it! Just a simple inclusion can make all the difference in the world! But first, make sure you are one with your sourdough starter! This will make or break your sourdough baking future. Baking with your sourdough starter should be a language of love, not frustration or fear. So, take some time to play with it, and allow yourself to have those failed loaves, it is ok! We all had them. Learn to listen and understand what the dough is telling you!

If you haven’t made your starter yet, I have a video HERE to help get you started, and I also have a post HERE.

Some important things to note when making sourdough boule loaves with fresh milled flour is to check out the GISP Method HERE. This method is very different than traditional sourdough methods, and if you are struggling with fresh milled flour sourdough breads, then this will definitely help you improve upon that!

Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Bread Inclusions (Blueberry Addition)

So, today I chose to make a fresh blueberry sourdough bread loaf because spring is upon us, and I wanted a fresh delicious way to embrace the berries of spring! However, there are countless inclusions you can add to your sourdough loaf to enhance and alter the flavor!

Sourdough Bread Inclusion Ideas

Here are just a few ideas to get your brain moving:

1. Cheese: Incorporate shredded or cubed cheese like cheddar, Gruyere, Parmesan, or goat cheese into the dough for a savory and gooey center. I have one of these loaves coming out in the future too!
2. Herbs and Edible Flowers: Adorn the top of your boule with fresh herbs like rosemary sprigs, thyme leaves, or edible flowers like calendula or lavender. These add a pop of color and fragrance to your bread.
3. Nuts: Chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or almonds can provide a crunchy texture and nutty flavor to the bread.
4. Seeds: Add seeds like sesame, poppy, sunflower, or pumpkin seeds for extra crunch and nutrition.
5. Dried or Fresh Fruits: Dried fruits such as cranberries, raisins, apricots, or figs can add sweetness and bursts of flavor to your bread.
6. Caramelized Onions: Incorporate caramelized onions for a sweet and savory flavor combination.
7. Sun-dried Tomatoes: Chopped sun-dried tomatoes add a tangy and intense flavor to the bread.

Also, remember, you may need to adjust the hydration level of your dough to maintain the proper consistency and rise of your sourdough boule. Get creative, let me know in the comments below what you made! Happy baking!

How To Feed Your Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Starter The Night Before Baking

Because you need a nice, strong, active starter to rise bread, (let’s be real, it’s hard work!) Make sure to feed your sourdough starter the night before you want to bake bread, as late as you can without interrupting your normal sleep patterns! Also, make sure this is a HEAVY feeding. So, feed 50g of starter with 100g of water and 100g of freshly milled flour (preferably hard wheat for this feeding, because that is what you are going to need for the loaf tomorrow.)

The goal is to teach our starter what we want it to eat, and that we are getting it ready for a nice big meal in the morning. So, even if you fed your starter the morning before baking, make sure to feed that heavy feeding late at night the night before baking a loaf. Your sourdough starter will thank you later, and you will be blessed with a beautiful loaf!

Ingredients To Make Fresh Milled Flour Blueberry Sourdough Bread

• 115g Sourdough Starter (1/2 cup) (Fed HEAVY the night before, it should be active, healthy, and bubbly)
• 500 g of Fresh Milled Hard White Wheat Flour (*See notes for wheat variety variations)
• 10 g sea salt (1&3/4tsp)
• 425 g room temperature filtered water (about 1&3/4 cups)
• 21g Honey (1 TBSP)
• 166g Fresh Blueberries (1 cup – you can use frozen, but they will bleed purple color throughout the dough more.)
• Dusting of rice flour (You can use wheat flour for this as well, if you don’t need the full loaf to be fermented.)

Instructions To Make Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Blueberry Bread

Make The Dough & Autolyse

1. Firstly, pour 400g of room temperature filtered water into a medium bowl.
2. Then, add the Heavily fed active sourdough and stir it together.
3. Next, add 500 g of fresh milled hard white wheat flour, mix until no dry flour is left. Cover and let sit for 30- 45 minutes. This is called the Autolyse. This allows the fresh milled flour to start absorbing the liquids, and the bran to start to soften.
4. In a separate small bowl, add 25g room temperature filtered water (1/8cup) and 10g of sea salt (1&3/4 tsp), stir to start dissolving the salt. Set this aside until the next step.
5. Then, after the autolyse, add the salt & water mixture, and the honey to the flour mixture. Then, mix it in with your hands. You should see that the dough already is softer and not so shaggy than it was before the autolyse. Cover, and let sit for 30-60 minutes. This is the beginning of the Bulk Ferment.

Bulk Ferment & Stretch and Folds

1. During this Bulk Ferment Period, Pull & fold dough in the bowl, turning the bowl a few times, Then cover again.
2. Repeat this Pull & Fold technique every 30-60 minutes until the dough rises about 20-30%. It should get bubbly, and stretchy over time. This phase should take about 4-6 hours.
3. After the Bulk Ferment Period, then take the dough to a clean flat work surface.

Adding The Blueberries & Lamination

1. Gently flatten and stretch the dough into a flat rectangle sheet.
2. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly all over the flat sheet of dough, and gently press them into the dough without smashing them.
3. Then, fold 1/3 of the dough towards the middle, and then the other 1/3 of the dough towards the middle to overlap the first folded layer. This should cover all the blueberries with dough.

Pre-Shaping & Shaping The Loaf

1. Then, roll the dough up. Next step it to preshape the loaf.
2. To preshape the loaf, use the cup & turn technique to form a round shape, try to use your hands to create surface tension as you shape. If the blueberries tear through, that’s ok, just pinch the dough back together after shaping.

Bench Rest & Baking The Loaf

1. Let the dough ball rest for 10-20 minutes. This is called the Bench Rest.
2. Repeat shaping 1-2 more times, until the dough ball forms good surface tension. You should notice the dough ball “remembers” better each time you shape it.
3. During this time, preheat oven to 480*F with Dutch Oven or a High Heat Proof Baking Vessel With Lid inside. (If you don’t have one, never fear, check the notes for an alternative.)
4. Place dough on parchment paper, and coat dough ball with a little rice flour and score the loaf however you desire.
5. Place loaf in preheated Dutch oven with lid on.
6. Bake bread 35 minutes at the 480*F covered.
7. Then, decrease oven to 450*F, remove the lid, and continue baking 20-25 more minutes.
8. Check the temperature of the loaf, and bake until the internal temperature of the center of the loaf reaches. 210*F
9. Let the loaf cool completely before slicing into it. I let it rest uncovered overnight for best results (I know that is hard to do, but remember we didn’t do an overnight ferment, so this bread deserves to rest! lol)

Baking Sourdough Bread Without A Dutch Oven

If you don’t have a Dutch Oven, the alternative method would be to use a heat safe vessel, fill it with water, and preheat the oven with that water inside to create steam. Then, place loaf on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake with the water in the oven for the first 20 minutes. Finish baking without the water (Be very careful when removing, because it will be very hot!)

How To Store Blueberry Sourdough Bread Made With Fresh Milled Flour

To store this bread, keep covered at room temperature for 1-2 days. (However, covering the loaf will make the exterior of the loaf softer.) I like to slice into it the next morning after it has cooled. Then, enjoy the slices toasted and slathered with your desired topping. Then place a few extra slices in a bag for the next morning. For longer storage, I slice it and keep in a freezer safe bag. Then, I can just grab a slice out of the freezer whenever I want!

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Checkout Some Of My Other Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Recipes

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Blueberry Sourdough Bread Made With Fresh Milled Flour Printable Recipe

Blueberry Sourdough Bread Boule Made With Fresh Milled Flour

This blueberry sourdough bread boule made with fresh milled flour was the perfect balance of sweet and tangy! Slathered with a smear of butter or even some cream cheese, this loaf was giving me blueberry bagel vibes all over!

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Fermentation Time 6 hours hrs

Total Time 7 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course bread, sourdough

Cuisine American

Servings 1 sourdough boule loaf

Ingredients

  

• 115 g Sourdough Starter 1/2 cup (Fed HEAVY the night before, it should be active, healthy, and bubbly)
• 500 g of Fresh Milled Hard White Wheat Flour *See notes for wheat variety variations
• 10 g sea salt 1&3/4tsp
• 425 g room temperature filtered water about 1&3/4 cups
• 21 g Honey 1 TBSP
• 166 g Fresh Blueberries 1 cup – you can use frozen, but they will bleed purple color throughout the dough more.
• Dusting of rice flour You can use wheat flour for this as well, if you don’t need the full loaf to be fermented.

Instructions

 

Making The Dough

• Firstly, pour 400g of room temperature filtered water into a medium bowl.
• Then, add the Heavily fed active sourdough and stir it together.

Autolyse

• Next, add 500 g of fresh milled hard white wheat flour, mix until no dry flour is left. Cover and let sit for 30- 45 minutes. This is called the Autolyse. This allows the fresh milled flour to start absorbing the liquids, and the bran to start to soften.
• In a separate small bowl, add 25g room temperature filtered water (1/8cup) and 10g of sea salt (1&3/4 tsp), stir to start dissolving the salt. Set this aside until the next step.

Bulk Fermentation & Stretch & Folds

• Then, after the autolyse, add the salt & water mixture, and the honey to the flour mixture. Then, mix it in with your hands. You should see that the dough already is softer and not so shaggy than it was before the autolyse. Cover, and let sit for 30-60 minutes. This is the beginning of the Bulk Ferment.
• During this Bulk Ferment Period, Pull & fold dough in the bowl, turning the bowl a few times, Then cover again.
• Repeat this Pull & Fold technique every 30-60 minutes until the dough rises about 20-30%. It should get bubbly, and stretchy over time. This phase should take about 4-6 hours.
  
• After the Bulk Ferment Period, then take the dough to a clean flat work surface.

Add The Blueberries & Lamination

• Gently flatten and stretch the dough into a flat rectangle sheet.
  
• Sprinkle the blueberries evenly all over the flat sheet of dough, and gently press them into the dough without smashing them.
  
• Then, fold 1/3 of the dough towards the middle, and then the other 1/3 of the dough towards the middle to overlap the first folded layer. This should cover all the blueberries with dough.
• Then, roll the dough up. Next step it to preshape the loaf.

Pre-shape The Loaf

• To pre-shape the loaf, use the cup & turn technique to form a round shape, try to use your hands to create surface tension as you shape. If the blueberries tear through, that's ok, just pinch the dough back together after shaping.
  

Bench Rest

• Let the dough ball rest for 10-20 minutes. This is called the Bench Rest.
• Repeat shaping 1-2 more times, until the dough ball forms good surface tension. You should notice the dough ball “remembers” better each time you shape it.

Baking The Loaf

• During this time, preheat oven to 480*F with Dutch Oven or a High Heat Proof Baking Vessel With Lid inside. (If you don’t have one, never fear, check the notes for an alternative.)
• Place dough on parchment paper, and coat dough ball with a little rice flour and score the loaf however you desire.
• Place loaf in preheated Dutch oven with lid on.
• Bake bread 35 minutes at the 480*F covered.
• Then, decrease oven to 450*F, remove the lid, and continue baking 20-25 more minutes.
• Check the temperature of the loaf, and bake until the internal temperature of the center of the loaf reaches. 210*F
  
• Let the loaf cool completely before slicing into it. I let it rest overnight uncovered for best results (I know that is hard to do, but remember we didn't do an overnight ferment, so this bread deserves to rest! lol)
  

Notes

*Fed Heavy The Night Before- feed 50g of starter with 100g of water and 100g of freshly milled flour (preferably hard wheat for this feeding, because that is what you are going to need for the loaf tomorrow.)

*You can sub hard red for hard white, and you can use 80% of a hard wheat variety, with 20% of something like Kamut, Spelt, Einkorn, or Rye 

*If you don’t have a Dutch Oven, the alternative method would be to use a heat save bowl, fill it with water, and preheat the oven with that water inside to create steam. Then, place loaf on parchment paper and on a baking sheet, and bake with the water in the oven for the first 20 minutes. Finish baking without the water (Be careful while removing, it will be very hot!)

*To Store- To store this bread, keep covered at room temperature for 1-2 days. (However, covering the loaf will make the exterior of the loaf softer.) I like to slice into it the next morning after it has cooled. Then, enjoy the slices toasted and slathered with your desired topping. Then place a few extra slices in a bag for the next morning. For longer storage, I slice it and keep in a freezer safe bag. Then, I can just grab a slice out of the freezer whenever I want! 

Keyword blueberry artisan loaf, blueberry sourdough bread, fresh milled flour sourdough, sourdough boule loaf, sourdough bread

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