These delicious sourdough scones are the perfect master scone recipe. They have a tender crumb on the inside and are the perfect base for all of your favorite add-ins. From blueberries to chocolate chips and everything in between, this will be one of your favorite recipes.
Have I ever told you how much I love sourdough? I’m kind of kidding. If you have been around here for more than one minute, you will surely know my deep passion for sourdough. This blog alone has over 60+ sourdough recipes… with more to come.
There are so many reasons to love sourdough, from its easier digestion to its heightened nutrition due to the fermented grains; it can also make life much easier.
Sometimes I don’t have the time to make a whole recipe from start to finish at one given moment. With sourdough, you can start it the night before and the bulk of the recipe is done until the next day. All you have to do is add a few remaining ingredients, if needed, and bake.
Such is the case with this basic scone recipe made with extra sourdough discard. You can whip them up right away or ferment them for better digestibility. You can even make them up to three days in advance, just shape them, cut, and bake.
So if you know you have a brunch coming up, a special breakfast, or just an afternoon tea, you can be super prepared and ready for easy baking that makes it look like you were up really early laboring away.
Or, let’s say you’re about to have a baby, and you want to prep some of these yummy scones for a one-handed snack that you can eat while nursing a sweet baby. Just looking into my near future.
These are the best scones for just that (and a great way to use up extra discard starter).
Tips For Making Sourdough Scones
- The key is to keep the scones very cold before baking so they don’t spread out. I put mine in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking.
- Also, it helps to use frozen butter, cold cream, and cold eggs. This also helps to make the scones more flaky.
- If you want to long-ferment these scones, there are two ways to go about this. See below for two examples.
- Freeze them totally baked for an easy and special breakfast any day of the week. Just pop them into the oven to reheat.
- Place the dough in the freezer for 5-10 minutes (or the refrigerator for about 30 minutes) before baking. This will help the scones keep their shape and not spread out so much.
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FAQ
Yes! Since this recipe doesn’t need the sourdough to actually give it height (it uses baking powder to do so), you can use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter for this recipe. Use discard to make sourdough discard scones.
Over-kneading the dough will leave you with a tough and chewy texture rather than light and flaky.
This scone dough should be in between wet and dry. It shouldn’t be too crumbly, but it also shouldn’t be too wet where it is too hard to shape.
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients
All purpose flour
Granulated sugar
Baking powder
Salt
Unsalted butter– frozen. You want to use really cold butter to make tender scones.
Mix ins (chocolate chips, blueberries, dried cranberries, etc)
Wet Ingredients
Sourdough starter discard – You could also use an active starter, but it is not necessary to give this sourdough scone recipe rise.
Egg
Vanilla extract – Homemade or store-bought
Heavy cream – Milk can be substituted)
Topping (optional)
This gives it a nice golden color and crunchy sugar crust. Yum.
Heavy whipping cream
Coarse sugar
Tools:
Food processor or pastry blender (optional). You can also just use a fork.
Large mixing bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
Cutting board
Knife
Rolling pin
Kitchen scale (optional)
Bench scraper is very handyCheese grater for grating the frozen butter.
Parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
How To Make Sourdough Scones:
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Grate frozen butter into the dry ingredients with a cheese grater and cut in with a pastry cutter. (You can also use your hands or a food processor). Add in the mix-ins and coat with flour. Set the bowl aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
Add any add-ins desired into the butter flour mixture and mix gently.
Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Fluffy scones that have the perfect texture are created by lightly mixing the dough.
On a clean, lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a circle about 8” in diameter. Cut the circle into 8 equal parts.
Place on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2” apart.
Put in the fridge for 30 minutes up to 3 days for a longer fermentation. They will not ferment much at 30 minutes, but after 3 days the grains should be nicely fermented. If fermenting for longer period, wrap in plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°.
Brush the top of the scones with cream and sprinkle with sugar. (Optional)
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with a glaze if desired. A lemon glaze is delicious.
Long Fermented Scones
There are two ways to go about long-fermenting scones. You can make them as directed above, but before swapping and cutting, place them in a bowl with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The longer they are in the fridge, the more the grain gets fermented. My friend has done this and finds that 3 days was the perfect amount of refrigerator fermentation for her family to tolerate grains.
Another way to make them is by mixing flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl.
Cut in butter using a fork or pastry blender.
Combine sourdough starter and cream.
Add the mixture to the flour mixture and mix until combined, being careful not to over mix.
Cover with a towel and allow to ferment at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
Sprinkle over baking powder, add egg, and any add-ins you would like. Knead together until just combined.
Shape and cut into equal slices.
Brush with cream.
Bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes until the edges start to turn golden.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve.
Scone Add-In Ideas:
- Chocolate chips
- Coconut
- Lemon zest
- Orange zest
- Dried fruit
- Nuts
- Cheddar cheese for a more savory scone. You could even chopped cooked bacon.
- Berries: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, or other fresh fruit.
Storage:
Score leftover scones in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or store in the fridge up to a week. You can also freeze unbaked scones for about 3-4 weeks. A better option is to freeze after baking the scones. They will last up to 3 months.
Find More Of My Favorite Sourdough Discard Recipes
- Sourdough Cheddar Waffles
- Fluffy Sourdough Biscuits
- Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Sourdough Scones
- Pizza crust: Makes a wonderful breakfast recipe
- Sourdough Discard Bagels
- Discard Sourdough Bread
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars!
Sourdough Scones
Video
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, frozen
- 1 cup mix ins, chocolate chips, blueberries, dried cranberries
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream, milk can be substituted
Topping (optional)
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons coarse sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Grate frozen butter into the dry ingredients with a cheese grater and cut in with a pastry cutter. (You can also use your hands or a food processor).
- Add in the mix-ins and coat with flour. Set the bowl aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Be careful not to overwork the dough.
- On a clean, lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a circle about 8” in diameter. Cut the circle into 8 equal parts.
- Place on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2” apart.
- Put in the fridge for 30 minutes up to 3 days for a longer fermentation. They will not ferment much at 30 minutes, but after 3 days the grains should be nicely fermented.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°.
- Brush the top of the scones with cream and sprinkle with sugar. (Optional)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
- The key is to keep the scones very cold before baking so they don’t spread out. I put mine in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking.
- Also, it helps to use frozen butter, cold cream, and cold eggs. This also helps to make the scones more flaky.
- If you want to long-ferment these scones, there are two ways to go about this. See below for two examples.
- Freeze them totally baked for an easy and special breakfast any day of the week. Just pop them into the oven to reheat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely perfect. 2nd time making them and this time tried sweetened dried blueberries with great success. Divided dough in half to make smaller scones. Left in fridge overnight and baked off in the morning. Drizzled with lemon glaze and have had several requests for recipe.
Thanks Lisa for doing the hard work. 😍
This was my first recipe of scones ever. Great recipe! It worked out beautifully. I made it with mangos (thawed) and fresh blueberries. I did brush them with heavy cream and sprinkled raw sugar on them. They were a hit…crispy outer, moist on the inside, great flavour! I will make them again. Thank you do much!
I just got a starter going and have made your no-knead bread recipe from your cookbook twice with great success – easy and delicious! I’m going to try these scones next week. Quick question: if I’m going to long-ferment in the fridge, I’m assuming fresh fruit isn’t the best idea? Do blueberries hold up (and if so is fresh or frozen better) or should I stick to chocolate chips?
I would stick to chocolate chips for a long fermentation. You can always add the fruit after the long fermentation, though.
These scones are incredible! We love them split while warm, then topped with jam and whipped cream.
I must say I like them even better made with active or just past peak starter. They seem lighter in texture.
Is it possible to form the dough into a disk before refrigerating, chilling a few hours, then cutting into wedges when ready to bake without negatively affecting the rise? Sometimes fridge space is an issue.
Thanks for a superb recipe.
Yes, that should be just fine!
For the long ferment, you say above “before swapping and cutting”….what do you mean by swapping?
I cooked part of my recipe right away and they turned out tender on the inside and crusty on the outside! Delicious! I did have the oven at 375° (gas) and that worked best.
So I am long fermenting the rest of the batter in the fridge and coking tomorrow. Hoping they turn out!
I recommend 375 degrees at 16 min for a nice soft inside with a firm gold but soft outside
Every time I share these with friends, they keep requesting more. I even had a friend initially decline because she “doesn’t like scones”. I offered one to her and she has been requesting more since.
One tip: I place my hand grater in the fridge for a while before grating the frozen butter. I find it grates better and makes cleanup faster and more thorough.
These were amazing and so easy to make. I just pulled them out and they were so flaky in the best way. Can’t wait to make more with different add ins
How do I make this a savory scone? Do I use less sugar?
Yes, omit the sugar and you can use savory add-ins
I have to say I am new to the sourdough world of baking and have been doing all of the baking at our small farm and I absolutely love every one of your recipes that ive come across. I always know that they are going to be out of this world delicious and I really trust them when looking up something new to try. Thank you for sharing your recipes with the world.
Do I need to add less sugar to make a savory scone? I have only used this recipe for fruity or sweet scones, but I noticed you mentioned adding cheddar cheese. Thanks for the great recipe!