If you want a bake that tastes like December mornings in muffin form, these Sourdough Cranberry Orange Muffins are exactly what you need. Bursts of tart cranberries, bright citrus flavour, and the subtle tang from sourdough make these sourdough cranberry muffins beautifully soft and moist. Whether you're baking ahead for Christmas breakfast or simply working through extra sourdough starter, these orange cranberry sourdough muffins are the perfect winter treat.
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Christmas Sourdough Muffin, Anyone?
These muffins are everything we love about seasonal quick breads: tender crumb, sharp pops of tangy cranberries, and fragrant oils from fresh orange zest that make the whole kitchen smell festive. They're incredibly easy muffins to make - just two bowls, mix, fold, bake - and the acidity in sourdough discard helps them stay fresh for longer.
It's Christmas in a muffin cup, and truly a great way to use up a bag of cranberries and any extra sourdough starter you've been collecting in the fridge.
Ingredient Notes
- Plain flour (all-purpose flour). Gives soft, tender muffins. You can swap up to 25% with whole wheat flour for more fibre, but expect a slightly denser crumb.
- Granulated sugar. You can substitute half brown sugar. Brown sugar adds moisture and a light caramel note, but white sugar keeps the crumb lighter.
- Fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries. No need to thaw frozen ones. Fresh cranberries give sharper bursts of tart cranberry flavour.
- Orange zest + fresh orange juice. Use unwaxed fresh oranges if possible. Rubbing zest into the sugar releases fragrant oils.
- Milk. Dairy milk, oat milk, or even Greek yogurt thinned with a splash of water all work.
- Vegetable oil, sunflower oil, or avocado oil. Oil keeps these muffins extra moist. Olive oil works too if it's very mild.
- Sourdough discard. Adds moisture and that signature tang. Active starter works as well. Don't use discard that smells overly sharp or has hooch on top.
- Eggs + vanilla extract.
- Optional streusel or sweet orange glaze. A crumb topping adds crunch; a glaze adds shine and extra citrus.
As always, find ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Recipe Tips For Best Results
- Use a kitchen scale. Whilst discard is not active, it may still contain gas bubbles within it, so measuring by volume will produce inconsistent results. This is even more important if you're using active sourdough starter.
- Rub zest into the sugar. It releases essential oils and intensifies the bright citrus flavour. Another way to add more orange flavour to your sourdough muffins is to heat oil with orange zest to bathwater temperature, take it off the heat and leave the oil to infuse for 4-6 hours.
- Don't overmix the batter. Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately, then fold together gently in a large mixing bowl until no dry patches remain. Overmixing = dense muffins.
- Fold in cranberries last. This prevents streaking and helps keep the batter thick enough to suspend the fruit.
- Let the muffins cool for at least 15 minutes before glazing. Warm muffins will melt the icing and make it run everywhere.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, but hydrate them first in warm water or fresh orange juice for 30 minutes so they don't dry out the muffin batter. Drain them before adding them to the sourdough muffin batter.
Absolutely. Pecans, white chocolate, or dark chocolate chips pair beautifully with cranberries and orange. I love adding chopped nuts or seeds to the streusel topping. You can also try my summer favourite - Sourdough Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Muffins.
Yes, replace the discard with 50 g milk + 50 g flour, but you'll lose the subtle tang and longer shelf life sourdough gives.
You can! However, baking soda will lose its leavening power overnight. If you're keeping the batter overnight in the fridge, use 2 teaspoon of baking powder instead, and omit baking soda. Make sure to cover the bowl well with plastic wrap to prevent the batter from drying out.
Storage
Let the muffins cool completely to room temperature on a wire rack, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
To freeze: place cooled muffins (unglazed) in a safe bag or ziploc bag, squeeze out excess air, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm in the oven for 5 minutes. Then enjoy with a cup of coffee!
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
Please leave us a star rating and a review below if you loved these cranberry orange sourdough muffins.
If you love fruity muffins, warm spices and easy bakes, you're in the right place. Below you'll find more of my favourite sourdough discard bakes for cosy winter baking.
Sourdough Cranberry Orange Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin Liners
- Electric Handheld Mixer, or a Balloon Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 190 g (1½ cups) plain flour all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) sourdough discard 100% hydration
- 1 large orange all zest and 60ml juice
- 120 g (½ cup) vegetable oil or sunflower oil
- 70 g (¼ cup) milk
- 2 eggs large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 180 g (6.35 oz) frozen or fresh cranberries
OPTIONAL STREUSEL TOPPING
- 70 g (½ cup) plain flour a.k.a. all-purpose flour
- 70 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 50 g (1.76 oz) butter cold cubed
OPTIONAL ORANGE GLAZE
- 100 g (⅘ cup) powdered sugar a.k.a. icing sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon orange juice
Instructions
OPTIONAL STREUSEL:
- In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, flour and a pinch of salt. Add the cubed butter and rub with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- MUFFINS:
SOURDOUGH MUFFINS:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, place the sugar and orange zest. With your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar to release citrus oils.
- Pour in the milk, eggs, orange juice and vanilla bean paste and, using an electric handheld mixer, or a balloon whisk, beat the mixture uniti combined.
- Drizzle in the oil, and continue whisking until well incorporated.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients folding the mixture gently just enough to combine and there are no pockets of dry flour.
- Finally fold in the cranberries (no need to thaw the cranberries if using frozen ones).
- Divide the muffin batter amongst the muffin liners.
- OPTIONAL: If you made streusel topping, top each muffin with about 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture and press down slightly with the back of the spoon.
- Bake for 25-27 minutes (25 minutes for fresh cranberries, 27 for frozen) or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin, then transfer to a cooling rack.
OPTIONAL GLAZE:
- Mix the powdered sugar with the orange juice until you have a thick but smooth paste. Let the muffins cool for at least 20 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the tops.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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