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If you love the flavor of sweet summer strawberries, you’ve got to try this Strawberry Sourdough Bread. Made with dehydrated strawberries, this strawberry loaf can be made year-round so you don’t have to wait for strawberry season!
This recipe is based off my traditional sourdough artisan bread recipe but is filled with pops of white chocolate and swirls of sweet strawberry. It’s all the things you love about a sourdough loaf – crispy, soft and tender in the middle and perfect for a morning snack or to enjoy with a schmear of cream cheese and strawberry jam!
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Why You’ll Love Strawberry Sourdough
- Sweet Strawberry Flavor – This is the perfect bread to enjoy delicious strawberry flavor. If you are looking for a sweeter breakfast option, try these Sourdough Strawberry Rolls or my favorite Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins!
- Crisp Crust & Soft Middle – You’ll love the texture of this bread with it’s soft middle, crispy crust and pops of white chocolate that are added in a similar lamination method as my Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread.
- Fun Inclusions – Adding freeze-dried strawberries makes this an extra special loaf. I also use them in my Sourdough Discard Strawberry Bread for fresh strawberry flavor. If you are looking for more creative ideas (like this Funfetti Sourdough Loaf), check out these Top 10 Sourdough Add Ins!
Important Ingredients
- Sourdough Starter: Use an active/ripe sourdough starter (doubled in size/bubbly/mild sour aroma) to mix the levain.
- Bread Flour: I almost always use a 12.5% protein bread flour for my breads. This strawberry sourdough is mixed with a high water content and needs to be paired with strong (higher protein) flour. If you don’t have bread flour and substitute all-purpose, you will need to reduce some of the water in the recipe.
- White Chocolate: Choose good quality white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate for this recipe.
- Freeze-Dried Strawberries: Using freeze-dried strawberries gives sweet strawberry flavor and color to this bread. Crush them into a fine powder for best flavor throughout the loaf. I linked them so you can see what to purchase, but check your local grocery for better prices.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Substitutions
- Levain: Equal amounts of ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter can be substituted for the levain in this recipe.
- White Chocolate: If you prefer to leave the white chocolate out, the loaf won’t taste quite as sweet but will still have great strawberry flavor.
- Strawberries: Freeze-dried strawberries are central to this loaf. Do not substitute fresh strawberries -it will make the dough too wet. You can substitute other freeze-dried fruits to change the flavor. A mixed berry or raspberry would be delicious.
- Granulated Sugar: I like the little bit of sweetness the granulated sugar brings the loaf, but you can leave it out if you prefer.
Sample Baking Schedule
A sample baking schedule helps me when baking with sourdough. Sourdough takes much longer to rise than commercial yeast bread. This schedule helps me plan my bake.
A few notes: This schedule assumes the dough temperature is 78°F throughout the process. If you’d like to make the bread all on the same day, skip the cold fermentation and let the dough rise for a few hours in a banneton before baking.
| Day 1 | Levain/Mixing/Bulk Fermentation/Shaping/Cold Fermentation |
| 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Mix Levain. Let sit at 78°F for about 3-4 hours until doubled/bubbly and ripe. |
| 12:00 PM | Mix Dough |
| 12:30 PM 1:00 PM 1:30 PM | Stretch and Fold #1 Stretch and Fold #2 Stretch and Fold #3 |
| 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM | Bulk Fermentation Continued |
| 5:00 PM | Laminate white chocolate chips and reserved freeze-dried strawberries Shape and begin cold fermentation |
| Day 2 | |
| 9:00 AM | Preheat Dutch oven |
| 9:15 AM | Score and Bake |
If you are new to sourdough, learn how to make a sourdough starter from scratch and how a sourdough starter works in my Free Sourdough Beginner Guide. Using naturally fermented sourdough will take much longer, but you will love the fermentation benefits and the flavor!
How to Make Strawberry Sourdough Bread
Mix the Levain
Step 1: Mix Levain. Combine ripe sourdough starter with water and flour to prepare your levain. Let rise until bubbly and active (Images 1 & 2).
Do you have to use a levain in this recipe? No. I prefer it, but if you have a well-maintained and frequently refreshed sourdough starter, you can substitute it in place of the levain in the recipe.
Mix the Dough and Begin Bulk Fermentation
Step 2: Mix Dough. Once your levain is ripe and ready, use a dough whisk or a wooden spoon to combine ripe levain, water, sugar, salt, finely crushed freeze-dried strawberries and flour (Image 3).
Give freeze-dried strawberries a whirl in a blender to grind them finely or take a rolling pin and smash and roll over the bag of dried strawberries to finely crush them.
Bulk Fermentation: Stretch and Folds and First Rise
Step 3: Bulk Fermentation and Stretch and Folds. Over the first two hours, perform a series of “stretch and folds” every 30 minutes. For each stretch and fold, pull the dough from the bottom of the bowl and fold it over onto itself (Images 4 & 5). Turn the bowl and repeat from each side. Cover the dough and let it rest before performing the next set of folds 30 minutes later. Repeat for a total of 3-4 times.
Step 4: Rise. Then let the covered dough rest until puffed up, and risen about 40% (assuming 78-80ºF dough temperature) (Images 6 & 7).
Note: Colder dough will take longer to rise and will need to rise more than 40% before lamination and shaping. Look for scattered bubbles and a jiggly dough before moving to the next step.
Laminate in Inclusions and Shape Dough
Step 5: Lamination & Shaping. Dump the dough on the counter and stretch it into a 12 by 12-inch square. Sprinkle powdered freeze-dried strawberries and white chocolate over the dough (Images 8 & 9). Shape the dough by gently folding half of it into the middle and then folding the other half on top. Add the remaining inclusions on top and gently roll the dough into a circular shape before placing it in a prepared banneton proofing basket (Images 10 & 11).
A Note on Adding Inclusions: I chose to laminate the white chocolate and dried strawberries into my sourdough for 2 reasons. First, I found when I added the white chocolate during the second set of stretch and folds the bottom of the loaf tended to burn more. Second, I like the little bit of strawberry swirl you get throughout the loaf by laminating in the freeze-dried strawberries. If you want to skip this step, add all the freeze-dried strawberry in at the beginning and the white chocolate in during the second set of folds.
Cold Ferment, Proofing and Scoring
Step 6: Cold Ferment, Proofing and Scoring. Allow the dough to proof for 18-24 hours covered in the refrigerator (Image 12). When you are ready to bake, dump onto a piece of parchment paper and score the dough with a bread lame (Image 13).
Want to bake the same day? Skip cold fermentation. Cover the dough and let rise in a warm 78-80°F place for about 2-3 hours until puffed up, jiggly and risen. Pre-heat Dutch oven, score and bake.
Baking the Strawberry Sourdough Bread
Step 7: Bake. Preheat a Dutch oven to 450ºF. Carefully place the bread into the preheated Dutch oven and bake at 450ºF for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, lower the temperature to 400ºF and remove the lid (Image 14). Continue baking for 20 more minutes until bread is fully baked and the internal temperature is 205ºF. (Image 15).
Burned Bottom? If your loaves are prone to burning, stick a baking sheet/pizza stone on the rack below the Dutch oven and watch your temperature closely. If your oven bakes hot, reduce the temperature to bake the loaf at 425ºF instead of 450ºF to help with any burning.
How to Store Leftovers
After the strawberry loaf has cooled completely, slice it up into pieces. Place sliced bread in a plastic bag, push air out and freeze. This bread toasts up well straight from the freezer into the toaster or defrosts well to enjoy a slice later.
Amy’s Recipe Tip
Inclusion loaves bake up a little differently than a traditional sourdough loaf – inclusions tend to interfere the gluten strands making most loaves delicious, but not always the most beautiful. For best results, score the dough simply with just one or two slashes about 3/4 of an inch deep. Decorative scoring is best left to traditional artisan loaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I have a guide on how to bake sourdough in a loaf pan that gives you all the details and multiple options.
No. This recipe is specifically for freeze-dried strawberries. You can find them at most local grocery stores and using freeze-dried fruit makes this loaf one you can make year-round because you don’t need in-season produce. Fresh strawberries will add too much moisture to the dough and are not a good substitute.
Yes. If you have a ripe, bubbly and active sourdough starter, you can use it – equal weights and substitute it for the levain called for in this recipe.
Sourdough Bread Recipes
If you tried this Strawberry Sourdough Bread or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!
Strawberry Sourdough Bread
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Ingredients
Levain (1:1:1 ratio, 3-4 hours peak at 78-80ºF)
- 35 grams sourdough starter ripe and active, about 2 Tablespoons
- 35 grams all-purpose flour, about ¼ cup
- 35 grams water, about 2 Tablespoons
Strawberry Sourdough Bread
- 100 grams levain ripe, bubbly and active, (scant ½ cup)
- 360 grams water, about 1 1/2 cups
- 15 grams granulated sugar, about 1 1/2 teaspoons
- 10 grams salt, about 1.5 teaspoons
- 25 grams crushed freeze dried strawberries, about 5 Tablespoons, see recipe notes
- 500 grams bread flour, about 3 2/3 cups
- 100 grams white chocolate chips, reserved for lamination, scant 2/3 cup
- 5 grams crushed freeze dried strawberries, reserved for lamination, about 1 Tablespoon
Instructions
Day 1: Levain/Mix/Bulk Fermentation/Shape/Cold Bulk Fermentation (keep dough at 78ºF for best results)
- Levain: Mix together 35 grams ripe sourdough starter, 35 grams all-purpose or bread flour and 35 grams water. Set aside to ripen for 3-4 hours, keeping the temperature at 78ºF. Levain is ready when it has doubled in size, is very bubbly, smells milky sweet and is just about to fall.Note: Ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter can be substituted for the levain in this recipe.
- Mix the Dough: Use a dough hook or wooden kitchen spoon to mix together ripe levain, water, sugar, salt, finely crushed freeze dried strawberries and flour. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Bulk Fermentation: Perform 3-4 sets of "stretch and folds" to help strengthen the gluten in the dough during the first 2 hours.To “stretch and fold,” wet your hand (so it doesn’t stick to the dough). Reach down to the bottom of the bowl of dough and pull the dough up and over the top of the dough. Turn the bowl ¼ turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Turn another quarter turn and repeat. Perform one more ¼ turn with stretching and folding the dough. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.Repeat this process again two or three more times with 30 minutes between sets of folds.
- Bulk Fermentation Continued: Let the dough rest in a warm place, for the rest of bulk fermentation, about 2-3 hours at 78ºF. During this time the dough will puff up about 30-40%, become more aerated, start to pull away from the edges of the bowl and have a few scattered bubbles around the edges/top of the dough. If your dough is not showing these signs, warm it up a little and give it more time until it's showing signs that it's ready to shape. Note: Colder dough will take longer to rise and will need to rise a little more (look for 50-70% rise) than a warmer dough before it's ready to shape.
- Prepare Bowl: Prepare a bowl or banneton with a liner or dishtowel. Sprinkle liberally with rice or white flour.
- Shaping: When the dough is showing signs that it's risen and ready to shape, dump the dough out onto the countertop. Gently pull the dough into a 12 by 12 square shape. Sprinkle 3/4 of the white chocolate chips over the dough and most of the reserved freeze dried strawberries on top of the dough. Fold one side of the dough to the middle and then the other side of the dough to the middle. Add the rest of the white chocolate and crushed freeze dried strawberries on top of the dough. Roll the dough up into circular shape. Immediately place the dough in the prepared banneton basket without too much handling of the dough.
- Cold Bulk Fermentation: Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a shower cap and store in the refrigerator overnight for about 18-24 hours. Alternatively let your dough rise outside the fridge for another few hours and then bake your loaf the same day. If you choose this method, sticking your banneton or bowl of dough in the fridge or freezer to chill it for 10-15 minutes can help with scoring.
Day 2: Bake
- Pre-heat the Oven: Put a Dutch oven (top and all) into the oven and preheat to 450ºF. Once preheated, pull the loaf out of the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap or shower cap and place a piece of parchment paper on top of the bread dough. Flip the dough over so that the dough is now sitting on the parchment paper. Take off the bowl banneton and liner.
- Scoring: Smooth flour over the top of the dough (add a little extra for more contrast if desired) or leave the flour off completely for no contrast. Use a bread lame or very sharp knife to score the dough. Bread with inclusions typically do not score quite as well as bread without. This is not a loaf for intricate scoring. One or two large slashes, about 3/4 to 1-inch deep is sufficient.
- Bake: Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the 450ºF oven with hot pads. Take the top off and place your bread into the Dutch oven (including parchment paper – this helps with the transfer). Be very careful not to touch the sides of the hot Dutch oven. Put your hot pads back on before you pick up the lid of the Dutch oven and place it on top of the bread. Put the whole Dutch oven back into the oven. Bake the loaf for 25 minutes. Once 25 minutes are up, take the top off the Dutch oven and lower the temperature to 400ºF. Continue baking for 20 minutes until the bread is fully baked with an internal temperature of 205ºF. Note: If your oven runs hot or you are using a dark cast iron pot, there's a tendency for the bottom of the loaf to burn. Make sure to put a sheet pan on the rack underneath the pot to deflect the heat and decrease the temperature to 425ºF instead of 450ºF.
- Remove loaf to a baking rack to cool completely and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So excited to try this recipe! Have you ever tried chocolate chips instead of white chocolate chips?
I have not tried that. I like the white chocolate chips with the strawberry, but you can sub for other chocolate if you prefer. Let us know how it turns out!
Hi Amy. I plan to make this bread this weekend but seems very high hydration- am I reading this wrong?
It should turn out great if you follow the recipe amounts!
Delicious! Everyone loves. Made with dried mixed berries and it is fantastic.
Thanks for the review. I’m glad the bread turned out perfectly!
This bread is delicious! I have made it several times and everyone loves it!
Could you take this recipe and make 2 smaller loaves?
Yes! I would check out this guide for how to make mini sourdough loaves for guidance on turning this recipe into mini loaves.