Name: Sourdough Strawberry Milk Bread
Prep time: 660 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 688 min
Ingredients: 10 grams active sourdough starter; 50 grams strawberries (pureed); 5 grams granulated sugar; 50 grams bread flour (12.7% protein); 70 grams whole milk; 50 grams granulated sugar; 55 grams unsalted butter (sliced into thin pats); 100 grams strawberries (pureed); 280 grams bread flour (12.7% protein); 47 grams freeze-dried strawberries (processed into powder); 6 grams kosher salt; 1 large egg; All of the strawberry starter; Neutral oil for dough handling; Extra milk or egg wash

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Strawberry milk has officially entered its bread era. 🍓This sourdough strawberry milk bread is soft, fluffy, lightly sweet, and packed with strawberry flavor and a naturally pretty pink hue from the freeze-dried strawberries. It’s everything you love about milk bread with a fun strawberry twist.

The interior of a loaf of strawberry milk bread.

This loaf kicked my butt almost as much as my sourdough pumpkin milk bread. After 6 test loaves, I think we got the perfect soft, fluffy, pink bread. I kept bringing all the bread I’ve been testing to work, and they have all been gone within a day or two. Pro tip: make multiple loaves! 🤭

Key ingredients

Ingredients for sourdough strawberry milk bread.

🍓 Both fresh strawberries and freeze-dried strawberries are key in this recipe. I replace water in the sourdough starter and some of the milk in the bread dough with fresh strawberry puree. But freeze-dried strawberry powder is what really gives this loaf a strong strawberry flavor.

The first loaf I tested only used fresh strawberries and while the bread was super soft and fluffy, it only has a very light hint of strawberry with barely a pink hue.

You can replace fresh strawberries with frozen but there is no substitution for freeze-dried. I used 47 grams of freeze-dried strawberries which is the equivalent of a whole pound of fresh strawberries – there really isn’t any way to substitute that. DO NOT use artificial strawberry flavoring, I think it’s disgusting 😝.

The rest of the ingredients are the same as my signature sourdough milk bread. But I did increase the sugar a bit to balance out the tanginess of the strawberries and the biggest difference is I used bread flour.

Sample baking schedule

You can bake this sourdough strawberry bread the same day you make the dough, but you still need to prepare your sourdough starter the day before. The schedule below accounts for that. Remember that the timeline is my best estimate to give you an idea what to consider when you bake this loaf. Time will vary depending on how long your starter typically takes to peak, the temperature the day you’re baking which will affect how quickly or slowly your starter and bread rise.

You can also split this bake into 2 days if you wish to fit it into your schedule. You just need to add the cold fermentation step by putting your dough into the fridge after you finish your third stretch and fold and the dough has mostly finished bulk fermentation.

Day 1
7:00 AM	Feed your regular sourdough starter
9:00 PM	Make strawberry starter with active starter
Day 2
7:00 AM	Scald milk & prepare liquid
7:30 AM	Autolyse
7:50 AM	Knead the dough
8:10 AM	Continue bulk fermentation
9:00 AM	Stretch and fold #1
9:45AM	Stretch and fold #2
10:30AM	Stretch and fold #3 + continue bulk (or put in fridge if you want to continue next day)
11:30PM	Finish bulk + divide dough
11:45PM	Shape into logs
12:00PM	Proof
5:00 PM	Bake

Let’s make strawberry milk bread!

Ingredients for strawberry sourdough starter in a jar; starter risen.

1. Make strawberry sourdough starter (night before)

I recommend pureeing all of the strawberries you need at this point. Use what you need for the starter and refrigerate the rest for the next day.

NOTE: Make sure you have an active regular sourdough starter before making this strawberry starter.

Pouring milk and butter into strawberry puree; check temperature of the mixture.

2. Prepare your liquid

Once you scald the milk with sugar, the mixture should be hot enough to melt the butter, but if not, you can put it back on the stove. Then once you mix it with the cold strawberry puree, the whole thing should be cool enough to start autolyse but if not, let it cool a bit more.

Freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor.

3. Pulverize the freeze-dried strawberries

I recommend placing a towel over the food processor when you do this so the strawberry powder doesn’t puff out everywhere.

Pouring flour mixture into liquid mixture; mix into a shaggy dough for autolyse.

4. “Autolyse”

Mix together flour, strawberry powder, salt and the cooled strawberry mixture, cover and let this rest for 15-20 minutes.

NOTE: This is not a true autolyse since we are adding a bunch of unconventional ingredients to the mixture. However, I do find that this step always helps with dough strength and extensibility.

Autolysed dough with starter and egg; kneaded strawberry milk bread dough.

5. Knead the dough

Add all of the strawberry sourdough starter to the “autolysed” dough with an egg and knead with the dough hook for 20 minutes.

NOTE: This is also technically the start of bulk fermentation, as soon as you mix the starter into the dough.

Strawberry milk bread dough ball in a metal bowl.

6. Continue bulk fermentation

I usually scrape the dough out, form a ball, oil my stand mixer bowl and place it back in.

Stretch and fold process with strawberry milk bread dough.

7. Stretches and folds

During bulk fermentation, you will perform 3 sets of stretch-and-fold to add strength to your dough at 45-minute intervals. Once you are finish with your last set, cover and let the dough finish bulk fermentation in a warm spot.

NOTE: You will notice the dough rising a bit during this step. That’s okay, don’t worry about deflating it. You will also notice it gets harder to pull and stretch during set 2 and 3. Do the best you can but don’t force it too hard.

8. Divide the dough

Cut the dough into 3 equal portions. Roll them into smooth balls, cover and let rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the gluten to relax before shaping.

NOTE: The dough shouldn’t be very sticky by this point. You shouldn’t need oil or flour, but if you do, use just a little bit. I love using a silicone baking mat for this part and also I’ve recently started using vinyl gloves – they’re super nonstick!

Rolling and shaping the dough into a log.

9. Shape into logs

Shape each ball into a log like so and place them into your loaf pan.

Sourdough strawberry milk bread proofing in a loaf pan.

10. Proof the dough

Proof the dough for 4-6 hours. The dough is ready when it is very puffy, has risen well above the rim of the loaf pan, and a gentle press leaves an indentation that slowly springs back (but not immediately).

NOTE: Proofing time is highly dependent on temperature so make sure to pay attention to visual cues.

Proof strawberry milk bread dough; baked strawberry milk bread.

11. Bake

Brush milk or egg wash (if you want shinier crust) generously over the surface of your dough and bake at 400°F (205°C) for 7 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 21 minutes. Total bake time is about 28 minutes. The internal temperature of your bread should reach ~195°F. I try to keep it under 200°F to ensure a soft and moist loaf. Let cool completely before cutting into it.

NOTE: The initial bake at 400°F will give you bread some oven spring helping it rise taller during the first few minutes. Then you want to bake it at a lower temperature to completely cook the inside. Don’t forget to lower the temp or your bread will be dry! (ask me how I know… 🥴)

Storage

Room temperature: you can store your sourdough strawberry milk bread at room temperature for a couple days. Only slice off whatever you’re planning to eat to keep the moisture within the loaf. Store the bread in a ziploc bag. Since this loaf is homemade with no preservatives, I would keep it refrigerated to prevent spoiling if it lasts longer than 2-3 days.
Refrigerator: you can also keep your bread in the fridge for a couple weeks. Again, only slice what you need and keep it in a ziploc bag. It does dry out a bit the longer you store it, but will get softer in the toaster with cripsy exterior.
Freezer: for the freezer, I recommend slicing and then freezing. This way you can defrost only what you need when you need. Or freeze and thaw the whole loaf. Your bread should last up to 3 months. To preserve the flavor, wrap the loaf in foil as well as plastic and then store in a freezer bag.

Since this loaf already tastes like strawberry, it’s perfect toasted with butter or cream cheese, you don’t even need jam! And I haven’t tried this but I’d imagine leftovers would be great in a strawberry bread pudding or as french toast too.