Blueberry and chilli sourdough
Blueberry and chilli sounds a bit chaotic until you taste it. The blueberries bring little bursts of sweetness, the chilli gives warmth, and the sourdough keeps the whole thing from becoming sugary. It is excellent with soft cheese, salty butter, or toasted under a fried egg if you like breakfast with opinions.
The main risk is handling. Blueberries burst if you are heavy-handed, and fresh chilli adds moisture. This is a loaf for gentle folds, a slightly lower starting hydration, and a bit of patience.
Ingredients
- 500g strong white flour
- 315g water, plus 10-15g only if needed
- 100g active sourdough starter
- 10g fine sea salt
- 100g fresh blueberries, dry and firm
- Either 1 small fresh red chilli, finely chopped, or 1/2-1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- Optional: 10g honey if you want a softer, rounder sweetness
Fresh chilli or dried chilli?
Fresh chilli tastes brighter and fruitier, but it adds moisture and can spread heat unevenly if the pieces are too large. Deseed it for a gentler loaf, chop it finely, and pat it dry before adding it.
Dried chilli flakes are easier to control. They do not add much water, they distribute well, and the heat is more predictable. Start with 1/2 tsp if you are baking for other people. A full teaspoon is still bread, not a dare.
Before you mix
Make sure your starter is active and near peak. The starter calculator is useful if you want your starter ready for a morning or evening mix. After mixing, use the bulk fermentation calculator for your base timing, then expect the fruit to make the dough feel a touch softer.
Method
Mix the flour and water until no dry flour remains. Rest for 20-30 minutes. Add the starter, salt, and honey if using, then mix until even. Take the dough temperature and enter the recipe into the bulk calculator.
Give the dough one normal fold after about 30 minutes. For the next fold, gently stretch the dough out on a lightly damp worktop. Scatter over half the blueberries and chilli, fold the dough over itself, then scatter over the rest and fold again. This two-stage approach stops everything collecting in one stripe through the middle.
Continue with gentle coil folds rather than aggressive stretch-and-folds. If a few berries burst, do not panic. If all of them burst, you have made purple dough and learned something.
Shape and proof
Shape gently and avoid forcing the dough tight enough to squeeze the berries. Flour the banneton well because fruit juice can make the surface tacky. A cold proof works particularly well here because it firms the dough and makes scoring cleaner.
Bake
Heat the oven to 240°C with a casserole pot, baking steel, pizza stone, or two loaf tins inside. If using two loaf tins, place the dough in one and invert the second tin over the top to trap steam.
Bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncover, reduce to 220°C, and bake for another 20-25 minutes. Let it cool properly before slicing so the berry pockets set rather than smear.
Notes
Frozen blueberries can work, but add them from frozen and expect more staining. If your berries are very juicy, hold back 15-20g water from the dough. Do not add the berries at the start of mixing unless you want them crushed into the crumb.