Step 1

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare muffin tin (6 large cups or 12 standard cups) with paper liners, or grease and lightly flour pan.

Step 2

If using topping, combine ¼ cup granulated sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl. Set aside.

Step 3

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Step 4

In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk sourdough discard, vegetable oil, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract until well blended. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir gently until no dry streaks remain. Some lumps may be present.

Step 5

Fill each muffin cup ¾ of the way. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter.

Step 6

Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and tops are lightly brown, 15-18 minutes more. Note: because these are dairy-free, they will not brown as much as traditional muffins, so be sure to check towards the earlier end of the baking time.

Step 7

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove muffins from the pan and cool completely.