Strawberry Sourdough Bread

This bread makes breakfast a little more interesting. And it tastes so good that you can enjoy it as a snack or dessert, too.

Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

You really do need to use freeze-dried strawberries. They absorb moisture and give you that strawberry flavor without messing up the bread’s texture. Fresh or frozen won’t work.

Heart’s Content Farmhouse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This means that when you click on certain links on this site and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely believe in and would use in my own kitchen. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• digital scale
• Bread banneton basket (can use a mixing bowl lined with flour, covered with a tea towel instead)
• Parchment paper
• Dutch oven
• Wooden spoon and spatula

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water 90℉
• ½ cup activated sourdough starter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest, zest of 1 large lemon or 2 small lemons
• 3 cups flour
• ½ cup white chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is good, but any quality white chocolate works.)
• one 28-gram package freeze-dried strawberries (I just use the Great Value ones from Walmart.)

How to Make Strawberry Sourdough Bread

Step One: Activate Starter

A few hours before, feed your starter by mixing 20 grams of sourdough starter, 40 grams of filtered water, and 40 grams of all-purpose flour. Stir and let it sit at room temperature until it’s doubled in size.

Step Two: Make Dough

Mix the warm water and activated sourdough starter together. Stir to combine so the sourdough has almost completely dissolved. Next, add the sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Stir to combine. Add the flour and use a spatula or wooden spoon to stir to combine so the flour is fully incorporated. The dough will be sticky.

Step Three: Rest

Cover and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

Step Four: Stretch And Folds

Pick up one side of the dough, stretch it, and fold it over. Continue this process until the edges of the dough have been stretched and folded over. Cover and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch and fold session 3 or 4 more times, or until you are able to get a long stretch and your dough is looking soft. (For your first few sessions, the dough may break or not stretch much. That is okay. The dough will stretch more the more sessions you do.

Step Five: Bulk Rise

After your last stretch and fold session, cover your dough and allow it to rise until it doubles in size between 8-12 hours.

Step Six: Add Strawberries And Chocolate Chips

Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Flatten the dough so it is about 1 inch thick. Add ⅔ of the freeze-dried strawberries and white chocolate chips over the dough.

Step Seven: Fold And Mix In

Fold the sides up and over in thirds, covering the strawberries and white chocolate chips in the process. Add the remaining strawberries and white chocolate chips on top and roll the bottom edge up to the top edge, creating a ball.

Step Eight: Second Rise

Transfer your dough to a well-floured banneton. Cover and place in the fridge for 6-8 hours (overnight is best). 2 hours before you are ready to bake your bread, remove the dough from the fridge and place it on the counter to come up to room temperature.

Step Nine: Prep Oven

Place your Dutch oven in the oven on the lowest rack. Preheat your oven to 450℉. Once the oven is preheated, let the Dutch oven sit in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Step Ten: Score

Turn your dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Using a bread razor, cut a slice over the top of the dough. Transfer the dough to the preheated Dutch oven.

Step Eleven: Bake

Bake with the lid of your Dutch oven on for 20 minutes at 450℉. Remove the lid, reduce the heat to 375℉, and bake the bread for 20 more minutes.

Step Twelve: Cool

Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour before cutting into it.

Serving & Storing

Keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

For longer storage, slice it first, then freeze it with parchment between slices so you can take out just what you need.

Make It Your Own

Mix up your add-ins to experiment with flavors.

• Try freeze-dried raspberries or blueberries instead. If you prefer to use fresh berries, try my white chocolate raspberry sourdough bread.
• Dark chocolate makes it less sweet, or skip the chocolate completely.
• Chopped pistachios or almonds add a nice crunch.
• Orange zest instead of lemon gives it a different taste.
• Day-old slices make fantastic French toast for weekend breakfasts.

Related Recipes

• Another delicious bread for breakfast is cranberry orange sourdough bread.
• This no-knead sourdough bread is classic and simple.
• If you don’t have an active starter or are short on time, this strawberry buttermilk bread tastes similar but is done faster.
• These sourdough berry sweet rolls are a delicious twist on a classic.

Printable Recipe