This Strawberry Sourdough Bread takes fresh strawberries and active starter or discard to create a soft, flavorful loaf perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a snack any time.
Quick Recipe Overview: Strawberry Sourdough Bread
⏱️ Ready In: About 1 hour
🍞 Serves: 1 loaf (10–12 slices)
🔥 Calories: ~285 calories per slice
🧺 Main Ingredients: Sourdough starter or discard, fresh strawberries, all-purpose flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla
🌾 Dietary Info: Vegetarian, sourdough discard-friendly
❤️ Why You’ll Love It: This is an easy, quick-bread-style sourdough recipe that doesn’t require a long ferment but still gives you great flavor and a tender crumb. The fresh strawberries add natural sweetness and moisture, while the simple glaze turns an everyday loaf into a bakery-worthy treat that’s perfect for spring and summer baking.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
“I have a huge strawberry patch so I’m always looking for creative ways to bake with strawberries in the spring and early summer, this recipe is one of my kids’ favorites, we never have any leftovers!” – Steph
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Quick discard recipe: A perfect way to use sourdough starter or discard without a long ferment — mix, bake, and enjoy the same day.
• Sweet, not sour: This loaf is lightly sweet with fresh strawberry flavor and barely noticeable sourdough tang.
• Fresh milled flour option: Easily adapt this recipe for fresh milled flour, giving you a more wholesome loaf without sacrificing softness or flavor. See my notes below for adjustments when using FMF>
If you love a good strawberry sourdough combo, try making my long fermented sourdough strawberry cinnamon rolls or sourdough strawberry shortcake next!
This post may contain affiliate links. I only recommend products I use and love. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Key Ingredients
Precise measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
• Sourdough Starter or Discard: Either active starter or unfed discard works perfectly here, adding structure and flavor without making the loaf sour.
• Fresh Strawberries: Finely diced strawberries give natural sweetness, moisture, and real strawberry flavor throughout the bread. Frozen strawberries work fine, too.
• All-Purpose Flour: Creates a soft, tender crumb that keeps this loaf light and cake-like rather than dense or bready. Fresh milled flour can be used as well.
• Sugar: I use minimally processed, organic cane sugar in my daily baking. I source my sugar in bulk from Azure Standard, just like my flour and other baking staples
• Eggs: Provide structure and richness, helping the bread rise well and slice cleanly.
Fresh Milled Flour for Sourdough Strawberry Bread
TLDR – I use about 2 ¼ cups fresh milled soft white wheat flour in place of the all-purpose flour for this sourdough strawberry bread.
- Best Wheat Variety: Soft white wheat is ideal for this recipe because it’s naturally lower in protein, creating a tender, cake-like crumb that works beautifully for sweet quick breads.
- Flour Conversion: When swapping fresh milled flour for all-purpose, increase the flour by ¼ cup for every 1 cup of all-purpose flour called for.
- How Much to Use: This recipe needs about 2 ¼ cups fresh milled soft white wheat flour total.
- Texture Tip: Let the batter rest for 10–15 minutes before baking to allow the fresh milled flour to fully hydrate.
Step-By-Step Instructions for Making Sourdough Strawberry Bread
Prep the oven + pan. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and/or line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment for easy removal.
Step 1 – Mix the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, leaveners, and salt. Add all batter ingredients, then stir just until no dry flour remains (avoid overmixing).
Step 2 – Dice the strawberries. Wash and finely dice the strawberries, toss in 3 tablespoons flour to coat.
Step 3 – Fold in strawberries. Gently fold in the diced strawberries.
Step 4 – Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 50–60 minutes, until the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Step 5 – Cool completely. Cool in the pan 10–15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully before glazing.
Step 6 – Make the Glaze. Add glaze ingredients to a small mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.
Set the glaze aside until the bread has cooled to the touch. If you pour the glaze over while the bread is hot, it will melt.
Step 7 – Pour the Glaze. Pour the glaze over the cooled bread, slize, and serve.
If you need help with sourdough vocabulary, check out my Complete Guide to Sourdough Terms!
Sourdough Strawberry Bread FAQs
Yes, sourdough strawberry bread can be made with unfed sourdough discard. This recipe is designed as a quick bread, so it does not rely on fermentation for rise and works perfectly with discard or active sourdough starter.
No, sourdough strawberry bread should taste sweet, not sour. Because this recipe does not include a long ferment, the sourdough starter adds moisture and structure without creating a tangy flavor.
Yes, fresh strawberries are ideal for sourdough strawberry bread. Finely diced strawberries add natural sweetness and moisture, but they should be evenly mixed into the batter to avoid soggy spots.
Yes, sourdough strawberry bread can be made with fresh milled flour. Soft white wheat works best, and the flour amount should be increased by about 1/4 cup for every cup of all-purpose flour to account for extra absorption.
Sourdough strawberry bread should be stored covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze for up to 3 months.
Yes. Let sourdough strawberry bread cool completely, then wrap and freeze it whole or slice and freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature or toast slices straight from frozen.
Expert Tips
- • Dice strawberries small: Finely diced strawberries distribute more evenly and prevent wet pockets in the loaf.
• Don’t overmix the batter: Stir just until combined — overmixing can make the bread dense instead of tender.
• Check for doneness early: Strawberry bread can brown quickly; tent loosely with foil if the top darkens before the center is baked through.
• Cool completely before glazing: A warm loaf will melt the glaze instead of letting it set nicely on top.
• Fresh milled flour adjustment: When using soft white wheat, increase the flour to 2 1/4 cups and allow a short rest so the flour fully hydrates.
Storage
• Room temperature: Store the loaf covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
• Refrigerator: For longer storage, refrigerate for up to 5 days; bring to room temperature before serving for best texture.
• Freeze whole loaf: Wrap the completely cooled loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
• Freeze sliced: Slice the loaf once cooled, then freeze slices in a freezer bag. Toast or thaw individual slices as needed.
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐ 5-star ⭐ rating below! If you have questions or suggestions – drop a comment!
Strawberry Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a standard loaf pan.
- Dice strawberries finely, toss in 2 tablespoons flour, and set aside.
- Make the batter. Add all batter ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix until combined. Do not overmix or the loaf will be dense.
- Gently fold in the flour-coated strawberries, then pour the bread batter into the greased loaf pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with crumbs.
- Let the loaf cool to the touch in the pan or on a wire rack completely before topping with glaze.
- Make the strawberry glaze. Add all of the glaze ingredients to a small mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the glaze over the cooled bread, slice, and serve.
Nutrition
Notes
• Sweet flavor: This loaf is designed to be sweet, not sour, with no long ferment.
• Fresh milled flour option: Use soft white wheat for the best tender crumb. Replace the all-purpose flour with about 2 ¼ cups fresh milled soft white wheat flour.
• Hydration tip for FMF: Let the batter rest 10–15 minutes before baking to allow fresh milled flour to fully hydrate.
• Glazing: Always cool the loaf completely before adding glaze so it sets properly.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!About the Author
Welcome to Hopewell Heights, I’m Steph – seasoned sourdough baker, homesteader, homemaker, homeschooling mom of 5, and creator behind this Heritage American food blog. I hope you enjoy my family’s favorite, from-scratch recipes!
I was very impressed with how this bread turned out. The crumb was perfect with a fully cooked fluffy texture inside. The glaze is a perfect addition, not making it to sweet. Cooked in a cast iron loaf pan in a gas stove took 58 minutes. Will definitely make again.
I heard about this recipe in one of the videos on your channel. After some strawberry picking I was excited to try it and was delighted at the result: so delicious and moist and lovely. I ended up using coconut oil instead of avocado oil and used some freshly-milled soft white wheat for the flour! I will surely be making this again in the future. Thank you!