This is your favorite fluffy, fermented sourdough loaf stuffed with all the flavors of childhood and summer. With a twist on the nostalgic flavors of “berries ‘n cream”, this sourdough loaf has fresh blackberries and cream cheese swirled throughout. Through and through, this is a fun and delicious loaf of bread.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Berries ‘n Cream Sourdough
You’ll love this berries and cream loaf because its flavors are versatile (choose your berries) and nostalgic. You can use any of your favorite summer berries in this loaf to create something your family will love and remember.
🍲 Ingredients
Sourdough Starter – Bubbly, active sourdough starter that was previously fed.
Flour – For most all my recipes, I use Costco’s organic, unbleached all-purpose flour.
Water – Filtered water is best.
Salt – We use pink Himalayan salt but use whatever you have on hand!
Blackberries – Blackberries, when in season, are unmatched!
Cream Cheese – Half of one block of cream cheese.
👩🍳 How to Make Berries ‘n Cream Sourdough Loaf
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
- In the afternoon, when your starter is at peak, assemble your dough by mixing the starter and water together until a milky liquid forms.
- Add in the flour and salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with a bowl cover or tea towel for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
- After resting, pull the sides of the dough up and towards the middle, rotating the bowl each time, until a semi – smooth dough forms. Cover and let rest for another 45 minutes- 1 hour.
- Perform 2 – 4 more sets of stretch and folds every hour. On your last set of stretch and folds, laminate your dough by transferring it to a clean workspace and stretching it out into a large rectangle, careful not to tear the dough. Disperse your blackberries evenly over the surface of the dough. Roll the dough back up into the ball making sure the blackberries stay inside the dough ball.
- Place the dough back into your mixing bowl, cover with a damp bowl cover or tea towel and let bulk ferment on the counter for 8-10 hours.
- In the morning, transfer your dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pre shape the dough by roughly pushing and pulling the dough into a round shape. The dough may be a little wet because of the blackberries and this helps further strengthen it. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
- After resting, stretch your dough into a rectangle and place dollops of cream cheese all throughout the top. (7-8 dollops). Take one of the shorter sides of the rectangle and fold it up and towards the center and repeat on the other side so they touch. Place the rest of the cream cheese in the middle and roll the dough back into a ball. Shape it into the appropriate shape of your banneton basket.
- Cover your banneton with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat your Dutch oven to 475 for at least 20 minutes.
- Turn your dough over onto a piece of parchment paper or a bread mat. Score the top of your dough and carefully transfer it into your hot Dutch oven.
- Bake with the lid on for 25 minutes, remove the lid, drop the heat down to 450 and bake for an additional 23 – 25 minutes.
- Remove the bread and place it onto a wire cooling rack, and wait until it has fully cooled before cutting into it.
- Enjoy with a big smear of butter and your favorite cup of coffee.
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- The dough will be a little bit wetter and stickier than other bread dough you’re used to because of the blackberries, don’t be afraid to add a touch more flour during the shaping process to make it easier for you to handle, and for the dough to hold its shape.
- If you use softened cream cheese, it will swirl more in the dough while baking. But if you use cold cream cheese, you’re more likely to have cream cheese chunks throughout your bread instead.
- Pat your berries to make sure they are very dry before adding them into your dough.
🗒 Variations
I’m a sucker for a good sourdough inclusion loaf! Using seasonal ingredients is one of my love languages, so after I went berry picking with the kids and ended up with a whole gallon of blackberries, I knew I had to make this loaf. But here are some other super popular stuffed sourdough recipes that use fun ingredients!
- Strawberries ‘n cream sourdough loaf
- Blueberry + goat cheese sourdough loaf.
- Cranberry + orange sourdough loaf.
🗒 Bakers Schedule
9 am- feed your starter. I like a 1:3:3 ratio. (50g of starter, 150g of flour + 150g of water)
5:30pm – assemble your bread dough.
6:15pm – pull the sides of your dough towards the middle until a semi – smooth ball forms.
7pm – first set of stretch and folds.
7:45pm – second set of stretch and folds.
8:30pm – laminate your dough and add the blackberries, cover and let it bulk ferment over night.
The next morning, 7am – shape your dough, add the cream cheese and place it in your banneton and into the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
If we’re having a loaf of bread for lunch, I’ll preheat the oven at 10am and start baking so that our bread is ready by noon. If we’re having the loaf for dinner, I’ll preheat the oven and start baking between 3 and 4pm.
🗒 Best served with
- Summer BBQ
- Big smear of butter + honey
- Glass of lemonade
👝 How to Store Leftovers
You can slice the loaf and place the slices into a Ziplock bag and into the freezer for up to three months. Or, what I like to do is dice the leftover pieces and place them in the freezer to save for a French toast casserole!
🤔 Common Questions
This may be because of the blackberries, when you add your blackberries make sure you pat them really dry and if you need to add flour during the shaping process, add a little flour at a time until the dough is manageable!
Berries ‘n Cream Sourdough
Equipment
- bowl cover/ tea towel
Ingredients
- 50 grams bubbly, active sourdough starter
- 340 grams filtered water
- 520 grams all-purpose flour
- 9 grams salt
- ¾ cup fresh blackberries
- 4 oz cream cheese
Instructions
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
- In the afternoon, when your starter is at peak, assemble your dough by mixing the starter and water together until a milky liquid forms.
- Add in the flour and salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with a bowl cover or tea towel for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
- After resting, pull the sides of the dough up and towards the middle, rotating the bowl each time, until a semi – smooth dough forms. Cover and let rest for another 45 minutes/ 1 hour.
- Perform 2 – 4 more sets of stretch and folds every hour. On your last set of stretch and folds, laminate your dough by transferring it to a clean workspace and stretching it out into a large rectangle, careful not to tear the dough. Disperse your blackberries evenly over the surface of the dough. Roll the dough back up into the ball making sure the blackberries stay inside the dough ball.
- Place the dough back into your mixing bowl, cover with a damp bowl cover or tea towel and let bulk ferment on the counter for 8-10 hours.
- In the morning, transfer your dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pre shape the dough by roughly pushing and pulling the dough into a round shape. The dough may be a little wet because of the blackberries and this helps further strengthen it. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
- After resting, stretch your dough into a rectangle and place dollops of cream cheese all throughout the top. (7-8 dollops). Take one of the shorter sides of the rectangle and fold it up and towards the center and repeat on the other side so they touch. Place the rest of the cream cheese in the middle and roll the dough back into a ball. Shape it into the appropriate shape of your banneton basket.
- Cover your banneton with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat your Dutch oven to 475 for at least 20 minutes.
- Turn your dough over onto a piece of parchment paper or a bread mat. Score the top of your dough and carefully transfer it into your hot Dutch oven.
- Bake with the lid on for 25 minutes, remove the lid, drop the heat down to 450 and bake for an additional 23 – 25 minutes.
- Remove the bread and place it onto a wire cooling rack, and wait until it has fully cooled before cutting into it.
- Enjoy with a big smear of butter and your favorite cup of coffee.
Notes
Nutrition
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This recipe sounds amazing. I’ve been looking for recipes that I can stuff in my bread. I tried roasted garlic & rosemary. The loaf vanished wirhin 2 days. I’m trying roasted garlic & artichoke hearts next. There is a bakery near Santa Cruz CA that makes this type but not sourdough. I’ve been making bread since the shutdown & have perfected my technique. Dying to try either the blueberry or the blackberry one since I have fresh ollieberries to use.
Would subbing raspberries in for blackberries work?
Sounds delicious!