Sourdough scones come out light and flaky with the perfect tangy flavor.
This sourdough scones recipe uses leftover sourdough starter discard, flour, dairy, and a touch of chocolate for a decadent treat any time of day.
Try These Sweet Sourdough Scones!
- With simple ingredients, and no rolling or rising times, scones are a great recipe for practicing baking skills.
- Don’t let that precious sourdough discard go to waste. Bake up a batch of fresh scones with this failproof recipe.
- Tangy sourdough scones can be turned into sweet or savory scones to match your menu (or your mood).
What’s in Sourdough Discard Scones?
Sourdough Starter: Sourdough starter gives scones and muffins a slightly sour taste. No starter? No problem. Whisk a ¼ cup of buttermilk with a ¼ cup of flour (whole wheat, or regular). Add a pinch of extra baking powder to make up for the lack of a starter.
Flour: All-purpose white flour makes the scones light and airy, while whole wheat flour adds fiber and a mildly nutty flavor.
Dairy: For the best flavor, use real butter and cream and a large fresh egg.
Chocolate: Choose your chocolate. Semi-sweet, dark, or white, even cacao nibs can be used.
Sensational Scone Variations
- Besides chocolate, sourdough scones taste amazing with bits of dried strawberries, blueberries, or cranberries. Chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds are also great additions.
- Brush the tops with milk or melted butter and top with lemon or orange zest before baking for a beautiful presentation.
- Make savory scones by topping them with parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of Italian seasonings.
- A little pumpkin spice can be added to the flour for festive pumpkin scones.
How to Make Sourdough Scones
- Whisk wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Add the wet to the dry.
- Knead the dough.
- Place on a floured surface, shape into a circle, and cut into wedges.
- Bake (full recipe below).
Storing Sourdough Scones
Keep sourdough scones in a zippered bag at room temperature with a slice of bread to absorb excess moisture.
Freeze the cooled scones by wrapping them in plastic and then transferring them to a zippered bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature.
More Savory Sourdough Recipes
Did you enjoy this Sourdough Scones recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Sourdough Scones
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter cold and cubed
- 1 cup chocolate chips dark or semi-sweet (or other add-ins)
- ½ cup sourdough starter 127 grams
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons cream or milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon butter melted, optional (for after baking)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until butter is mixed in, but still lumpy, about pea-size. Stir in chocolate chips or other add-ins.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sourdough starter, egg, cream, and vanilla.
- Add sourdough mixture to flour mixture and mix using a spatula or wooden spoon until most has incorporated. Knead by hand 2-3 times in the bowl, then turn onto a work surface*, and knead a couple more times to incorporate the flour mixture. Form a circle, and cut into 8 equal pieces using a knife or a bench scraper.
- Carefully place scone pieces 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking tray. I recommend refrigerating for 10-15 minutes before popping scones into the oven, especially if butter has warmed or your kitchen is warm (optional step).
- Bake 18-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Cool for 10 minutes, brush with melted butter if using, and serve.
Notes
- For savory scones, reduce sugar to ¼ cup and omit vanilla. Add additional 2 teaspoons of milk.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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Perfect scones! Refrigeration must make the difference. I also halved the amount of sugar and used one cup all purpose flour and one cup of white wheat flour. The best recipe.
Andrea, I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out for you.
I don’t have whole wheat flour on hand, can I use all white flour? Will it still taste okay?
Yes Jeannine, that will work just fine in this recipe. Enjoy the scones! They’re a family favorite!
These were excellent and fool proof. I goofed and over mixed the butter and flour, and then found out my cream was bad. I used half and half and an egg and they were great. Took them to a neighborhood get together and got lots of compliments. I used dried cranberries, will add orange zest next time.
Thanks for sharing Linda, so glad it worked so well!
Easy to make and taste good except they burned on the bottom! Never had scones burn before so not sure why.
Glad you enjoyed them Arlenes. I can’t say for sure why they’d burn on the bottom. Have you checked the temperature of your oven? It may run a little hot, so turning it down a little may help. Is the rack in the middle of the oven? Perhaps you could move it up. To save the already baked scones, try running the bottom lightly over a cheese grater to get rid of the burned part.
Made these with rhubarb and they were so yummy! To balance the tart fruit flavor, towards the end of baking, I sprayed the tops with water & sprinkled on some course sugar crystals. They also gave a sparkly effect! Recipe is a keeper for us.
That sounds so delicious Bobbie! Thank you for sharing!
The scones turned out great! I did have sourdough discard to use.
So glad to hear that you love the scones Barb! They’re a favorite around here too!
I don’t see in the directions when to add the wet mixture.to the dry. Before adding the sourdough starter or after?
In Step 4, “Add sourdough mixture to flour mixture”. The sourdough mixture is the wet mixture, which contains the sourdough starter. Hope that helps Nicole, you’ll really love these!
My sister dropped off some of these the other day, and they were so amazing I had ask her for the recipe to make some more…my husband and daughter devoured the ones she sent over!
I’m glad you included the options for making these without having sourdough starter available, as I I don’t usually make sourdough but we can still enjoy these! I’m looking forward to trying the different additions, I can definitely see these being a regular addition to our weekly baking for all sorts of meals and treats. Candace’s sister
So happy to hear how much you loved them! I’m making them a couple times a week with different add-ins!
Had these for breakfast today, and they were SO delicious. The best scones I think I have ever had!
Thank you so much Bailey! I’m so glad you love the scones! (I’m making them a couple times a week!)