These quick and easy chamomile and honey sourdough discard muffins are sure to be the star at your next brunch or afternoon tea. They are sweetened with natural honey, and infused with chamomile for an added delicate, floral flavor.
You will also love how moist and fluffy these chamomile honey muffins are. Just like going to the bakery!
I am lucky enough to live down the road from a local honey farmer. I always plant good pollinator friendly flowers in my gardens for the bees.
It is fun to know that the honey I buy from the local farmer was created by the bees that visit my garden.
Don’t you just love a good piece of toast and honey? (with a little butter of course). I thought it would be so yummy to make some honey flavored sourdough muffins. And you know what goes so well with honey…. chamomile.
Especially if you use your own home grown chamomile. If you haven’t tried growing chamomile yet, then you have to check out my post all about planting chamomile seeds for your garden.
These honey chamomile muffins have such a delicate and calming flavor and are so easy to make.
I have always had a thing for muffins. I think it is because they are a more acceptable version of cake for breakfast haha. Who doesn’t want cake for breakfast?
I have been on a real kick recently to find new ways to use the herbs I grow. I think this one takes the cake – pun intended.
why you will love this recipe
A quick and easy treat if you are on the go, or want to set out at your next brunch to impress your guests.
Waste less of your sourdough discard by putting it to work with this recipe. I love sourdough discard recipes because they come together quickly and are a great way to use up your discard so that nothing goes to waste in the kitchen.
Delicious muffins that you would not normally find in the store. I don’t know about you, but I have never seen honey and chamomile flavored muffins available.
tips for success
- Do not over mix the batter – this is the key to light and fluffy muffins
- Start with the oven hotter so they can rise faster and higher, and then reduce the heat to finish cooking through
- Organic dried chamomile flowers are best for this recipe, but good quality chamomile tea bags will work as well (the chamomile flavor will just be more mild)
- You can use sourdough starter that is active or discard for this recipe
- Feel free to long ferment the batter before baking for a more tangy, sourdough flavor
Ingredients
All Purpose Flour – I used unbleached all purpose flour for this recipe. You can experiment and substitute with other flours if you like.
Baking Powder – A good amount of baking powder is part of what helps your muffins rise nice a tall.
Salt
Milk
Butter
Chamomile – You can use dried chamomile flowers, or chamomile tea bags for this recipe. You will get a stronger flavor if you use dried chamomile flowers – especially from your own garden. Mountain Rose Herbs also sells organic dried chamomile online if you can’t find any locally.
Eggs – It is best if your eggs are at room temperature.
Sourdough Starter – This can be sourdough discard right out of your fridge, or from an active starter.
Honey – Chose a runny honey for this recipe and don’t forget to support a local honey farmer!
How to Make this Recipe
Preheat your oven to 425 while you get the muffins ready to bake. You can either grease your muffin tins with oil or butter, or use paper liners. I like to use butter.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, milk, and honey and stir until the butter is melted and the milk is just starting to steam.
Remove from the burner and add your chamomile to steep for 5 minutes. It is best to put a lid over the pot while the chamomile steeps to lock in the flavor. The longer you steep your chamomile the stronger the flavor will be.
You will also notice a huge difference when using dried chamomile flowers vs. chamomile tea bags from the store.
While the chamomile is steeping, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl you will mix the sourdough starter and eggs. I like to add my eggs to a glass and whisk them first. Then I stir them into the sourdough starter.
Once the chamomile milk mixture has cooled you can remove the chamomile and add the mixture to the sourdough starter and eggs. It does not need to be completely cooled, just no longer hot so you don’t cook your eggs.
Finally add all the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Do not over mix here or you will end up with dense muffins. I use a spoon and very gently fold the ingredients together.
Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the prepared muffin cups and bake for five minutes at 425. Reduce the heat to 350 and continue baking for another 10-13 minutes.
Your chamomile and honey muffins should be a light golden color on top and a toothpick should come out with just a few moist crumbs.
Remove from the oven and let them sit in the muffin tins for 5 minutes. After that you can remove them and place them on a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy warm with some butter or jam – or both haha.
FAQ
Can you freeze sourdough discard muffins?
Yes, you can freeze sourdough discard muffins. Make sure they have cooled completely. Then you can either wrap them individually in plastic wrap or just add them to an airtight bag or freezer safe container. They will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months.
You can let them thaw on their own, or I prefer to put them in the oven at 350 for about as long as it takes to preheat. Then you have a nice warm muffin to eat.
What if I don’t have dried chamomile flowers?
There is no problem if you do not have dried chamomile flowers for this recipe. You can easily use good quality chamomile tea bags instead. The flavor may just be a little more subtle.
You can also purchase organic dried chamomile online (linked above with ingredients list) if you are not growing your own.
How do you use chamomile in cooking?
Chamomile flowers are actually edible, so you can grind them up and add to your cooking directly.
For this recipe we are infusing the flavor. This means we are going to steep the chamomile flowers in butter and milk and then strain them out. The milk and butter will then carry that sweet, floral flavor into your recipe.
Can you long ferment chamomile and honey sourdough discard muffins?
Absolutely you can long ferment this recipe if you want the added benefits and flavor. Just simply mix up your batter, and then leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning you can take it out, add to your muffin tins and bake as directed.
Chamomile and Honey Sourdough Discard Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/3 cup Honey
- Dried chamomile flowers or chamomile tea bags
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- 4 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Sourdough discard
- 2 Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 and grease or line your muffin tins.
- Add the butter, milk, and honey to a small saucepan and heat over med low heat, stir until the butter has melted and the milk is just starting to steam.
- Remove the milk mixture from the stove and add the chamomile to it. Cover with a lid and let steep for 5 minutes.
- While the chamomile is steeping, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt).
- In a separate bowl combine the sourdough starter and eggs
- When the milk mixture has cooled and is no longer hot, remove the chamomile, and then add the milk mixture to your other wet ingredients.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry very gently. Mix until just combined – overmixing will create dense muffins.
- Add about 1/4 cup of batter to each muffin cup.
- Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and continue baking for another 10-13 minutes.
- Muffins are done when they are lightly golden brown on the top and a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs.
- Remove the muffins from the oven, and let cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.
- Enjoy warm with some butter or jam.
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