Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These easy Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are tangy and zesty made with sourdough discard, lemon zest, lemon juice, creamy ricotta, crunchy poppy seeds, and topped with a lemon glaze.

The moist and tender sourdough lemon muffins are the perfect balance of sweet and tart with lots of lemon flavor. The addition of sourdough discard not only reduces waste but adds a subtle depth and tender crumb, while creamy ricotta (or yogurt or sour cream) keeps them rich and soft.

Be sure to follow my detailed instructions and tips below for making them so you get domed bakery-style muffin tops! These sourdough discard lemon muffins are a great way to start your weekend morning breakfast, brunch, or as an afternoon treat.

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Bright lemon flavor from lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon glaze.
• Ricotta keeps the muffins moist and rich.
• Domed bakery-style tops.
• Balance of tart and sweet.
• Slight crunch from poppy seeds adds texture and nutty flavor.
• No fancy equipment required.

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🔍 Tips for Making the Best Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

• Rest the batter at least an hour and up to overnight in the refrigerator for bakery-style tops.
• Bake at a high temperature (400ºF or 204ºC) so they rise tall.
• For the best flavor, use seasonal citrus like Meyer Lemons.
• Don’t overmix or they’ll be tough.
• Line your muffin pan with muffin tins/paper and grease them with oil to prevent sticking.

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🛠 Tools Needed

You only need a couple of mixing bowls and a few basic tools to make the sourdough discard lemon muffins.

• Baking scale:
  • Flour and sourdough starter can weigh differently from person to person, so weighing your ingredients is the best option! Weighing your ingredients by weight will make your baking more consistent and accurate.
• Muffin Pan
  • I love this USA Muffin Pan because it’s naturally non-stick and heavy-duty!
• Spatula and Whisk
  • If you have an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, you can also use them to mix the muffin batter.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions.

• All-purpose flour
  • You can substitute some or all of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or a gluten-free flour.
• Salt
• Baking Powder: so the muffins stay soft and rise in the oven.
• Lemons
  • If you can find Meyer Lemons, use them for the best flavor! They’re in season in the wintertime and have floral, orange notes that are less acidic than regular lemons.
  • A tip I have is to buy a bunch and preserve lemons for recipes like my Preserved Lemon & Rosemary Sourdough Bread.
  • Use the zest and juice from the lemons for lots of bright zesty flavor. If you want even more, add a 1/2 tsp of lemon extract.
• Poppy Seeds
  • These tiny seeds add crunch, textural contrast, slight nutty flavor, and specks of black in the muffins. Substitute with chia seeds or leave out completely.
  • Poppy seeds and lemon are a classic combo like in my Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake, toppings for Sourdough Bagels, or inclusion in Seeded Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread, or added to my Easy Sourdough Discard Granola Recipe.
• Unsalted butter, melted
  • I like using butter in most muffin recipes as the primary fat, but you can substitute with coconut oil or another neutral oil instead.
• Ricotta
  • Use whole milk ricotta for the most moist muffins. This is a great way to use up extra ricotta after making lasagna or another recipe that doesn’t use a whole container!
  • Substitute with an equal amunt of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
• Light brown sugar
  • Brown sugar has molasses, which adds a little more richness to the muffins.
• Granulated sugar
  • Balanced out the tartness of the lemons and adds structure too the muffins.
• Eggs:
  • Adds structure to help bind the ingredients together and helps the muffins rise tall.
• Sourdough Discard
  • If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips.
• Powdered sugar, for lemon glaze
  • The simple lemon glaze is made of powdered sugar and lemon juice so it easily dissolves and is pourable.

Variations

• Sourdough grapefruit muffins: use the same recipe but substitute the lemon juice and zest for grapefruit.
• Sourdough orange muffins: substitute the lemon juice and zest with orange.
• Add ½ tsp of vanilla extract or ¼ tsp of almond extract for a little more pop of flavor.
• Skip the glaze and fill the muffins with a lemon curd.
• For more tanginess, add a cream cheese filling like my sourdough pumpkin cream cheese muffins.

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🍋 How to Make Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Follow this detailed recipe guide as you make the best sourdough discard lemon muffins.

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

1. Mix the Dry Ingredients

Zest two lemons in a large mixing bowl with the granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your hands to release the essential oils and fragrance the sugar.

Then, whisk in the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and poppy seeds.

Set aside.

2. Whisk the Wet Ingredients

In another medium bowl, whisk the two eggs, ricotta, lemon juice, and sourdough discard until incorporated.

Then, melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave or on a stovetop and pour in last to the wet ingredients until creamy.

3. Mix the Batter

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until no flour specks remain.

Don’t overmix to avoid gluten development, which may make your muffins tougher.

4. Chill the Batter

For the best results, chill the batter for at least one hour and up to overnight.

Chilling the batter will help the flour and flavors hydrate, improve the flavor, and help the muffins rise tall in the oven.

5. Bake

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).

Prepare a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners and spray with non-stick oil or grease to prevent sticking.

Remove the cold batter from the refrigerator and equally divide the batter among the muffin cups. I like to use a large ice cream or cookie scoop for this, but you can also use a spoon or spatula.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Finally, cool the lemon muffins on a wire rack before glazing.

6. Make the Lemon Glaze

In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar and more fresh lemon juice together until you have a thick but pourable lemon glaze.

Finally, drizzle or spoon on top of the cooled sourdough lemon muffins and top with a sprinkle of poppy seeds.

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How to Store and Serve

You can store these sourdough lemon poppy seed muffins at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or freeze them.

To keep them from drying out at room temperature, keep the muffins in an airtight container for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator a couple of more days.

Muffins dry out over time, so for longer term storage, you can wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight and reheat in the oven or a toaster oven.

To serve, consider pairing them with a hot beverage like coffee or tea for breakfast, brunch, or as an afternoon treat. They’re a particularly great choice for Mother’s Day!

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❓ FAQs:

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Other Sourdough Breakfast Recipes You May Enjoy:

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