Protein Sourdough Blueberry Muffins With Streusel
I finally created my dream muffins that have it all: Bakery style Jumbo Protein Sourdough Blueberry Muffins With Streusel from scratch. Moist and fluffy insides studded with bursts of juicy, flavorful blueberries, puffing up in the oven to perfection. They use up your sourdough discard, giving them that perfect gentle tang and have added protein powder, helping with your nutrition. Topped with crunchy streusel, these taste as irresistible as they look. Have them for breakfast, as snack or dessert.
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Why You Will Love This
The Quest
Look, my introduction to muffins was a bit unusual I guess. Back in time, when I was pretty young, think 14 or so, one of the first American Diners opened right beside our also brand new cinema. One of those huge chain cinemas as opposed to the tiny ones I was used to. Now that diner in it’s shiny trailer like building really drew me in. Stuff I’d never seen before in Germany!
Among all the interesting things, there was a stack of huge muffins.
Until then I had never seen a single muffin in my life. Weird, isn’t it?
We have loaf cakes and about a gazillion different layered cakes and baked goods that Germany is so well known for, but muffins weren’t one of them. So of course I had to try one!
Now, these were not the dainty little muffins barely peeking over the tin tops they were baked in. Oh no! These were about double the height of your “normal” muffin, these days we’d call them “jumbo muffin”, had a super crunchy top even without streusel and a soft, fluffy, moist and dare I say “silky” inside. I have never eaten one like it in all the years after but have been on a quest to re-create it ever since, it was such perfection. And I tried many on the way.
Completing the Quest
My epic quest was finally successful in a rather unexpected spot: “The Elements of Baking”,* a favourite new book I got by Katarina Cermelj, the creator of the blog “The Loopy Whisk”.
The book focusses on making any recipe gluten, dairy, or egg-free or even vegan. Something, I figured, that would come in very handy when adapting recipes.
What I didn’t expect however, was that I would find my dream muffin recipe in this very book. I made her muffins following the base recipe (not free from anything) once and was hooked. They came out exactly as the muffins I remembered so fondly from said diner: Sky high, crunchy tops, silky-soft, moist and fluffy insides and a relatively open crumb compared to cupcakes.
The difference I found, was in using both baking powder and soda and milk plus yoghurt.
Sourdough and Protein
Of course, if you are reading my blog, you know what comes next:
I usually want both the tang of sourdough and a good hit of protein in my baked desserts. Using up my sourdough discard is also a great benefit.
The protein powder slightly reduces the carbs in these muffins, as it replaces part of the flour and sugar. Win/win.
Why Do I Add Protein?
You mean apart from the well known physical benefits of protein for the body like helping you to build muscle, keeping your bones strong and increasing satiation, meaning you stay fuller for longer and with that can maintain your weight easier?
Lesser known is, that it also effects the brain by helping it to effectively transport information through neuropathways using the amino acods found in Protein.
This even has been shown to help protect from age related dementia.If you’d like to read more about how and why I use protein, I wrote a blog post about it.
How to adapt the muffin recipe to Sourdough and Protein or just one of them
Obviously the book, having a very different focus area, didn’t give me any hints about the addition of sourdough and protein, for which I always aim. But that’s the easy part at this point.
Let me explain how I calculate the replacements, so you can adjust these exactly to your requirements.
- Protein replaces up to ¼ of the flour in the base recipe. The base recipe has 320g/ 2 2/3 cups. So in order to keep them fluffy and moist and the measurements reasonably easy I decided to replace ½ cup of flour with protein. Just under ¼ of the total flour.
- The protein powder, since I’m using vanilla flavored whey powder, which has sweetener in it, also means I can omit part of the sugar, lowering the calories a little. I took out 2 tbsp, leaving the muffins sweet enough for me.
I used MyProtein Whey. This is neither affiliated nor sponsored. Just the powder I found to taste best after trying a fair few. If you never found one you actually enjoy, give this one a try.
I haven’t tried this with any sort of vegan protein powder, so I can’t guarantee for the results with those. But if you try it, I’d love to hear about it.
- In theory, if using vanilla powder, you could leave out vanilla essence, but I just love the scent and taste of it, so I left it in.
- Sourdough starter, consisting of 1:1 water and flour needs to be replaced in 2 categories: The flour and the liquid. In desserts I aim for roughly 1/4 of flour again, but it’s pretty forgiving.
So, for this particular recipe I replaced 1/3 cup of the flour and 1/3 cup of the milk with sourdough starter, bringing it to 2/3 cup of needed starter.
- This means, you can choose if you want the muffins with sourdough or protein or both, by simply reversing one of the above changes.
The all-important Oven rise
I made one more change to the recipe from the book, following the tip from “Sally’s Baking addiction” to start by baking muffins at a higher temperature for the first 5 minutes, giving them a head start in rise. Similar to the method used in German pancakes/Dutch Baby, where you pre-heat the pan to get that burst of heat which achieves the marvellous puffed edges.
This created the perfectly domed and crunchy tops I was looking for. Be aware though: These Blueberry Muffins are seriously big!
I used tulip muffin cases to contain them and filled them to about ¾. If you don’t have those, I would advise to make 1.5 batches (18 muffins), to avoid spilling.
Streusel Topping
Honestly, you could stop here and have absolutely delicious and stunning muffins. But why would you when you could add streusel? Right? Right.
Plus, I’m German and Streusel are from Germany, so apart from loving them dearly, I have to include them for the sake of it.
So, to take these beauties over the top, I’m adding the lovely crunchy topping, which has them look and taste like right from your favourite bakery.
The Ingredients
Note:
Cups, due to the possibility of compacting the flour while dragging the container through it, can give you wildly different results. Use a tablespoon to gently fill the cup with flour, then drag the back of a knife over it to level. This should give you the closest to the standard 120g per cup of flour.
Alternatively, if you have kitchen scales, assume 120g flour per cup and weigh it out.
In some of my recipes I will give gram measurements for this reason, but I mostly try to accommodate the American cup system.
Dry Ingredients:
- All Purpose Flour – Since part of my quest was, to get these to the exact consistency I remembered so fondly from my very first muffin, I keep it for once at simple white flour. You could add a bit of (ideally fine) whole wheat flour, but might have to adjust the liquid ever so slightly up. I’d say 1-2 tbsp milk should do.
- Sugar – I reduced the amount from the original by 2 tbsp due to the sweetener in the protein powder. You could just use 1 cup here if you’d like to make it easier for yourself. The muffins will just be a little sweeter.
- Baking powder and baking soda – Give the fabulous high rise in combination. The amount seems high, but trust the process here.
- Salt – As usual I’m using Diamond Crystal kosher salt here. If you use sea salt, use half of it.
Wet Ingredients:
- Sourdough – discard in my case, but you can certainly use active starter if you like.
- Protein Powder – I’m using Vanilla Whey Protein.
If you are vegan, I read that pea protein is supposed to work, but I haven’t tried this and can’t guarantee for the results. - Butter – Unsalted. Can be replaced by vegan butter, if you’d like to make them vegan.
- Oil – Use a neutral oil that stays liquid at room temperature. Vegetable, canola, grape seed or even a light olive oil, which is what I’m using, are all good options.
- Vanilla – paste for an intense vanilla flavor. You can use extract, but double the amount. Or just leave it out, relying on the vanilla protein powder.
- Eggs – 2 large eggs. If you’d like to make these vegan you could try bananas, which lead to a slightly more dense, yet delicious muffin. But the pro-method from “The Elements of Baking” would be to use more milk (220g), flour (360g) and baking powder (2.5 tsp).
- Milk – I used oat milk, as that’s what I always have at home. You can use any full fat milk or plant milk here.
- Yoghurt – Mine was reduced fat greek yoghurt. Full fat works marvellously. So does ricotta, sour cream or a good vegan yoghurt.
Mix Ins:
Blueberries – Ideally frozen, as they don’t sink to the bottom as easily and burst later, giving you a slightly better defined structure inside of the muffins. But honestly, fresh is just fine. I’ve made them with both and they were delicious every time.
Streusel Topping:
- Butter – Unsalted again. Vegan butter works nicely.
- All purpose flour
- Sugar – You could use brown for more caramel flavor and colour
Note:
I realise protein powder would theoretically be a dry ingredient, but I found it mixes much easier when whisked together with the wet ingredients to avoid any lumps. This also means you don’t run into the danger of overmixing the batter as easily, since you don’t have to whisk it vigorously to get the protein powder to incorporate when folding in the flour mix.
Alternative Mix Ins
If Blueberries are not your thing (really though?) or you are bored and would like more flavor options, simply swap the blueberries for the same amount of:
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Chocolate chips
- Nuts
- Reeses peanut chips
- Pistachios and white chocolate chips
- Chopped candy bars
Or whatever flavor combination you can think of. I’d love to hear what you come up with!
Alternative topping
If you’d rather not have streusel, you can either leave these just as they are (I often do) or mix a quick and easy lemon glaze with a cup of icing sugar and a few spoons of lemon juice, which you then drizzle over when cooled.
A more detailed recipe for it is in this Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf recipe.
Or simply sprinkle them with a bit of sugar before baking, for a sparkling, crunchy sugar crust.
The Process
Preheat your oven to 425°F/218°C. Line your muffin pan* with large, tulip muffin cases* . Or use small ones but make 1.5 batches. Alternatively grease the muffin pan.
In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt. Use 1 tbsp of the mix to coat the blueberries, preventing them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.
In a separate large bowl or large jug mix sourdough discard, melted and cooled butter, oil, vanilla paste, eggs, oat milk, yoghurt and protein powder. Whisk well to combine.
Fold in the dry ingredients until no flour lumps remain but be careful not to overmix or your muffins will be tough due to too much gluten development.
Measure 1 cup of blueberries (ideally frozen, so they keep their shape better. But fresh will work too) into the bowl with the remaining flour mix and toss to coat. Then gently fold into the muffin batter.
Mix the Streusel Ingredients. Let them stand while you fill the muffin cases, so the flour can soak up the butter.
Using a ice cream/cookie scoop, fill the muffin cases to about ¾. I tried the same method without the cases once and found they spread too far before they rise for my taste. Hence: Cases. Makes it easier to clean the pan too!
Distribute the streusel mix over the muffins, using your hands, to get a nice variety of streusel sizes on each muffin. Push them gently into the batter, so they stick.
Bake the muffins for 5 min at 425°F/218°C, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F/175°C and bake for another 25-30 minutes until they look golden brown, crunchy and a toothpick comes out clean.
The first 5 minutes give you the quick, high rise.
Meal Prep
These Protein Sourdough Blueberry Muffins With Streusel will keep in an airtight box on the counter for about 3 days, up to 5 days in the fridge and freeze really well for about 3 months.
If you want to re-heat them, 20-30 seconds in the microwave will do. Though, frankly, I always prefer using the air fryer! About 5 minutes at 350°F/175°C will give you muffins even better than fresh.
After freezing you can either defrost them on the counter or, as I do, give them about 6-9 minutes in the air fryer* at 350°F/175°C or 15 minutes at the same temperature in the oven. Personally I adore reheating them in the air fryer, as the streusel topping gets really crunchy!
FAQ
Yes, you can use either. Both work well in place of yoghurt.
You can, but the texture and flavor might change slightly.
You can, but you will have to adapt the amount and add Xanathan gum. I haven’t made this myself, so I would refer you to the expert for “free from” baking recipes Katarina and her book “The Elements of Baking”* . Or simply the Gluten Free Blueberry Muffin recipe on her blog.
You can. Simply swap for the non-dairy alternatives from your supermarket for milk, yoghurt, and butter.
You can. But since honey is sweeter than sugar, use about ½ cup of honey for these muffins and 2 tbsp less milk to adjust for the liquid. Since honey also burns faster than sugar, you might have to bake them slightly shorter. It’s also a good idea to add 1/8 tsp of additional baking soda to balance things out.
The most common reason is using cups instead of scales to measure the flour and dragging the cup through the flour while doing so, which compacts it and gives you a lot more than the recipe specifies. If you notice it before baking, simply add a little more milk, until you get to “heavy drop” consistency, with the batter dropping very slowly off a spoon if you turn it over.
You can watch the video to get an idea of the batter consistency.
Another reason could be that you used a different protein powder. I only use MyProtein and Gold Standard Whey, so I know these two work. But especially vegan powders can have a very different consistency.
Absolutely. Just make sure to not add the baking soda and baking powder until the next morning and store the bowl covered with clingfilm in the fridge. That way you can make use of all the benefits of sourdough and have freshly baked Protein Sourdough Blueberry Muffins With Streusel
for breakfast!
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.
Looking for more great sourdough-protein recipes?
Here are some of my favourites:
Deeply Chocolate-y Roasted Banana Bread
Autumn Flavoured Apple-Pumpkin Muffins
One of my all-time favourite waffle recipes
One last Thing:
This is the very first recipe I recorded a video for (after having multiple freakouts over actually doing it. Then learning how to do it and edit it). So I’d love to hear your thoughts on it! Give it a click and a like if you enjoy it. :-)’
That super pretty wooden board you see in the video is from “Hoyne Hardwood” and I got it on a market in Howth. Thanks ton Joe, I love it! Here is his FB page. Supporting locals is always great!
Protein Sourdough Blueberry Muffins With Streusel
Equipment
- 2 bowls
- 1 muffin pan
- 12 tulip muffin cases
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour 275g
- ⅞ cup sugar 187g
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt or ¼ tsp if using regular salt
- ½ cup protein powder (vanilla whey recommended) 50g
Wet Ingredients:
- ⅔ cup sourdough discard 150g or active starter
- ½ stick unsalted butter 55g melted and cooled
- ¼ cup neutral oil vegetable, canola, or mild olive oil
- ½ tsp vanilla paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs large
- ⅓ cup milk oat milk or any full-fat milk
- ⅔ cup yogurt
Mix-In:
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen, tossed with 1 tbsp of the flour mixture
Streusel Topping:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter 60g, melted and cooled
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar 67g
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour 83g
Instructions
Prepare for Baking:
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a muffin pan with large tulip muffin cases or grease the pan.
Mix the Dry Ingredients:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Combine Wet Ingredients and protein:
- In a large bowl, whisk together sourdough discard, protein powder, melted butter, oil, vanilla, eggs, milk, and yogurt until smooth.
Combine Batter:
- Keep 1 tbsp of the flour mix for tossing the blueberries.
- Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Add Blueberries:
- Toss the blueberries with the flour mix, so they don’t sink to the bottom of the muffins.
- Gently fold in the flour-coated blueberries to distribute evenly.
Fill Muffin Cases:
- Using an ice cream scoop, fill muffin cases about ¾ full.
Make the Streusel:
- In a bowl, mix butter, sugar, and flour until crumbly. Sprinkle generously over muffins, pressing slightly so it sticks.
Bake:
- Bake at 425°F (218°C) for 5 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and continue baking for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool & Serve:
- Let muffins cool for at least 10 minutes before enjoying.
Optional Variations:
- Mix-ins: Swap blueberries for raspberries, chocolate chips, nuts, or pistachios.
- Topping alternatives: Use a lemon glaze or sprinkle sugar before baking.
- Enjoy these Protein Sourdough Blueberry Muffins With Streusel for breakfast, a snack, or dessert!
Video
Notes
I have given gram measurements in addition to the cups here, for those of you that have kitchen scales. This is the best method to measure flour in particular.
If you use cups, do not drag the cup through the flour to fill it, as this can compact it and give you a lot more than the recipe requires, changing the texture.
Instead, use a spoon to fill the cup gently, then level the flour with the back of a knife. That way you get closest to the 120g per cup that is assumed in recipes. Storing These Protein Sourdough Blueberry Muffins With Streusel will keep in an airtight box on the counter for about 3 days, up to 5 days in the fridge and freeze really well for about 3 months. If you want to re-heat them, 20-30 seconds in the microwave will do. Though, frankly, I always prefer using the air fryer! About 5 minutes at 350°F/175°C will give you muffins even better than fresh. After freezing you can either defrost them on the counter or, as I do, give them about 6-9 minutes in the air fryer at 350°F/175°C or 15 minutes at the same temperature in the oven. Personally I adore reheating them in the air fryer, as the streusel topping gets really crunchy!
Protein sourdough bluebeery muffins with streusel is so yumm. Love it.
Thank you, me too!
These muffins are a game-changer! They’re fluffy, packed with protein, and the perfect way to use sourdough discard.
Thank you, so glad to hear!
These muffins are delicious and beautiful too! Great recipe.
Thank you, so glad you like it.
I love these! This was the first time I ever made sourdough muffins, but it won’t be the last.
Thank you. Once you are infected with the sourdough bug, there is no going back. 😉
These are so delicious!! They’ll be perfect for Easter morning!
Thank you, that they are indeed!
I love this trick of baking them at higher temperature for the first 5 minutes! This really helps them rise quick and get let cracks on top! Plus so delicious!
Thank you, so happy that worked for you. 🙂