Fresh Milled Blueberry Lemon Pull-Apart Sourdough Focaccia
This Fresh Milled Blueberry Lemon Pull-Apart Sourdough Focaccia is a soft and buttery sourdough brioche made with freshly milled hard white wheat flour, a homemade blueberry lemon filling, lemon sugar, and finished with an optional lemon glaze. It's a delicious pull-apart bread that's great for brunch, dessert, holidays, or sharing with family and friends.
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Ingredients
For the Fresh-Milled Sourdough Brioche Dough
- 500 g freshly milled hard white wheat flour milled fine
- 310 g milk at cool room temperature, plus 5–20 g more if needed
- 100 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 50 g unsalted butter softened
- 1 large egg
- 7 g fine sea salt
For the Blueberry Lemon Filling
- 450 g blueberries fresh or frozen
- 60 g granulated sugar
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 15 g fresh lemon juice
- 15 g unsalted butter
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 g cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Lemon Sugar
- 150 g granulated sugar
- zest of 2 lemons
For the Lemon Glaze
- 120 g powdered sugar
- 20–25 g fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
Dough
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the freshly milled flour, milk, sourdough starter, egg, sugar, and salt. Mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and let the dough rest for 20–30 minutes. If the dough still feels very stiff after resting, add another 5–20 g of milk.
- Add the softened butter while mixing on low speed. Once all the butter has been added, continue mixing on low-medium speed for about 2 minutes. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Perform 2–3 sets of stretch-and-folds, spacing them about 30 minutes apart. After the final fold, cover the dough and let it continue fermenting until it has increased by about 30–50% in volume. This usually takes 5–7 hours at 72°F (22°C). - starting from the moment the starter was added to the dough!
Blueberry Filling
- While the dough is fermenting, add the blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, butter, salt, and vanilla to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries have softened and released plenty of juice.
- Sprinkle in the cornstarch while stirring continuously. Cook for about 1 minute longer, until the filling has noticeably thickened. If your blueberries are extra juicy, you can add up to 10 extra cornstarch! The goal is to transform the blueberry filling from liquid so syrupy. Remove it from the heat and let it cool completely before assembling the focaccia.
Lemon Sugar
- Place the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a shallow bowl. Rub them together with your fingertips until the sugar becomes fragrant and slightly moist. Pour the melted butter into a separate shallow bowl.
Assembly
- Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Slice or tear off pieces of dough about 3–4 tablespoons in size (I like to do bigger ones for the first round and smaller ones for the second round). Dip each piece into the melted butter, let the excess drip off, and then coat it lightly in the lemon sugar.
- Arrange about half of the coated dough pieces in the prepared pan. Spoon about ¼ of the cooled blueberry filling between and over the pieces.
- Add the remaining coated dough pieces, cover the pan and let the dough rise until it looks noticeably puffy and jiggly, about 2–3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Spoon over the rest of the blueberry filling. You can drizzle any remaining melted butter over the dough too. Use your fingertips to gently press dimples across the surface without completely deflating it. Sprinkle any remaining lemon sugar over the top.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the top is golden brown and the dough in the center is baked through. Let the focaccia cool completely before adding the glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, 20 g of lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt until smooth. Add the remaining lemon juice a little at a time if you need to make the glaze thinner.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled focaccia. Let it set for about 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Lemon glaze is optional! This dessert is plenty sweet without it, it just tends to look less good. If I’m making this for my family, I always skip it. But it does look extra good visually if you have guests over.
Use finely milled flour. Mill the hard white wheat as finely as possible for the softest and fluffiest texture.
Adjust the milk as needed. Freshly milled flour can absorb different amounts of liquid. Wait until after the initial rest before adding more milk because the flour will continue hydrating as it sits.
Cool the blueberry filling completely. A warm filling can soften the dough, melt the butter, and make the focaccia harder to assemble.
Fresh or frozen blueberries. You can use either in the cooked filling. There is no need to thaw frozen blueberries first.
Overnight after bulk fermentation. Once the dough has finished bulk fermenting, cover it and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. Let it sit at room temperature for about 30–60 minutes before assembling.
Overnight after assembly. After arranging everything (except the remaining ¾ of the filing) in the pan, cover and refrigerate it overnight. The next day, let it rise at room temperature until puffy and jiggly, usually 2–4 hours, spoon over the rest of the blueberry filling, dimple and bake.
Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The focaccia is best served at room temperature or gently warmed.
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Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 267mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 217IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 0.2mg
