Lemon Poppy Seed Sourdough Muffins
Lemon poppy seed sourdough muffins are tangy, lightly sweetened, and full of bright lemon flavor! They are perfectly golden on the outside and tender and moist on the inside.
They are totally addictive, topped with a delicious lemon glaze, and a great use for sourdough discard!
Let's start spring off on the right foot with these amazing lemon poppy seed sourdough muffins! Just like our sourdough blueberry muffins or sourdough banana nut muffins and our double chocolate sourdough muffins, they are perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee or as a spring dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth.
The batter is made with your sourdough starter and can be baked right away or chilled in the fridge for a day to get as much benefit from sourdough fermentation as possible.
Ricotta cheese helps to keep the muffins soft and moist and the lemon glaze brings a fresh pop of lemon flavor that puts these muffins over the top!
Ingredients needed
The ingredients needed to make lemon poppy seed sourdough muffins are simple.
For the batter
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- sourdough starter discard
- milk
- egg
- ricotta cheese
- vanilla extract
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- poppy seeds
- fresh lemon zest
For the glaze
- fresh lemon juice
- melted butter
- powdered sugar
Recommended kitchen tool
- Microplane/zester: A microplane makes zesting lemons easy. We also use this kitchen tool to finely grate garlic, ginger, and hard cheeses.
Amy's tips
Don't overmix. When you combine the wet and dry ingredients, only mix until they are just combined. If you overwork the batter, gluten will develop, which can cause the muffins to be dense.
Allow the batter to rest. The muffins get the best rise if they are allowed to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. You can also let the batter chill in the fridge for up to 24 hours to allow more fermentation and still get a significant rise.
Baking time. Oven temperatures vary. Start checking the muffins around 22-23 minutes. If your batter was cold when you placed the muffins in the oven, you may have to bake them a few minutes longer. (Mine took 25 minutes.) A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean when the muffins are fully cooked.
Use fresh lemons. A fresh lemon with a firm peel is much easier to zest than an older lemon. We have not experimented with lemon extract.
How to make sourdough lemon poppy seed muffins
There's nothing complicated about this recipe, so let's dive straight into the details!
Step 1
Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and poppy seeds together in a bowl and set aside.
Step 2
Add the room-temperature butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer to cream them together. Add the egg, sourdough discard, milk, ricotta cheese, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, and mix until smooth.
Step 3
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined. The batter will be thick.
After mixing, either allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes before baking or place it in the fridge to ferment overnight. The batter will stiffen if it chills in the fridge.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Divide the batter evenly into the 12 liners.
Step 5
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before glazing.
Step 6
In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and melted butter until smooth. The butter will need extra time to incorporate.
Drizzle the glaze over the muffins or dip the top of each muffin into the glaze.
How to Store
Store the lemon poppy seed sourdough muffins in an airtight at room temperature for 3 days.
They can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
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Lemon Poppy Seed Sourdough Muffins
EQUIPMENT
- Muffin tin
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatula
INGREDIENTS
Wet Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard
- 1 cup (246 g) ricotta (or plain greek yogurt)
- zest of one large lemon (or two small lemons)
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 g) milk
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) melted butter
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare: Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and line a 12 count muffin tin with paper liners, or lightly grease.
- Dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and poppy seeds together in a bowl and set aside.
- Wet ingredients: Add the room temperature butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg, sourdough discard, milk, ricotta, lemon zest and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Combine: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with the spatula until just combined making sure not to over-mix. The batter will be thick. After mixing, either allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes before baking or, place the batter in the fridge to ferment overnight. (See notes.)
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly into the 12 liners. If the batter has been chilling in the fridge, it will be stiff. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and cool completely before glazing.
- Glaze: Mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice and butter in a small bowl until smooth. It will take a minute of stirring for the butter to incorporate. Drizzle over the muffins or dip the top of each muffin into the glaze.
NOTES
- Chilled batter will be stiff. There is no need to bring it to room temperature before baking. Check the muffins around the 22 minute mark and bake longer if needed. My muffins took 25 minutes to bake from a chilled batter.
- Store in an airtight at room temperature for 3 days. Muffins can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
I weigh my ingredients and I find the ricotta to be way off. I have a container of ricotta that is 8oz but when I measure 123g, it's only about 1/2 C. I made them by weight and they were wonderful. I'm making them again and am questioning which measurement I should use.
So easy to make. My whole family loves these muffins. I love using my discard. This will be one of my go to recipes.
Loved this recipe! I didn't have any ricotta on hand so i subbed with greek yogurt and it turned out great. Will definitely be making again.
Thanks for sharing Kristin! 🙂
So excited to try this recipe! If I use a ripe starter and let it sit in the fridge for long ferment do I need the baking soda and powder?
Thank you! Your recipes are always a crowd pleaser:)
These were delicious and easy to make. I used chilled batter and they turned out beautiful, they freeze very well also. Thank you for the recipe😊
These are delicious! I had a little problem with the baking. I had cold dough. It really filled the 12 cups. Put into a preheated oven. After about 6-8 minutes the dough was flowing out of the cups! I wonder, would a slightly hotter oven have made them rise sooner, rather than seemingly melt/soften?
Hi Rissi! It could help to put it in a hotter oven. I've seen recipes that call for the first 5-6 minutes are baked at 425 before the oven temperature is reduced. (I've not tried this technique with this recipe!)
I also fermented my batter overnight in fridge, baked 5 minutes at 425, then decreased to temp in recipe. They rose well and were absolutely delicious. Only thing I would change is either add more lemon zest or a drop of food grade lemon essential oil to give the lemon flavor a boost. I love lemon!
I found that I get 12 normal muffins and 10 mini muffins out of this recipe. Maybe its because I only let it sit for 30 minutes before baking - I am too impatient to wait overnight. Delicious recipe!! Have made these twice in one week!
hi! this sounds delicious as we have so many meyor lemons to use. I don't have ricotta cheese on hand, can I use greek yogurt? Would it be a 1:1 ratio? TIA!
Yes you could use greek yogurt, same ratio.
Hi! Do you have all the nutritional information for these? Carbs, fats and proteins? Thank you!! 🙂
I will adjust the recipe card to reflect them!
Hello from Norfolk England! These look so delicious - I've made the blueberry muffins a number of times and love them, so I will try these tomorrow. I don't have any ricotta and don't get a shopping delivery until after the weekend. Could I use Philadelphia cheese or mascarpone that I do have in the fridge, do you think. Otherwise, I will need to wait until next week - if I have to. The new kitchen looks lovely!
Hi Di! I would think that you could use either of those. I would probably use the mascarpone 🙂