Julie Clark
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Sourdough Discard Scones
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Don’t throw away sourdough discard! Use it make sourdough discard scones with chocolate chips and chocolate drizzle in just 30 minutes.
Buttermilk and our technique of cutting the cold butter into the flour mixture make for the most tender scones. They are just as quick as our sourdough biscuits.
From our kitchen to yours:
Although a beautiful crusty loaf of artisan sourdough bread is hard to beat, but sourdough discard recipes are my jam. From our wildly popular sourdough pancakes and sourdough pizza crust to our new sourdough discard english muffins and unique sourdough pie crust, using spent sourdough starter gives you a taste of that tangy flavor you love in short time.
I took our traditional scone recipe with tender crumb with our favorite add-in of chocolate chips and swapped out some of the flour and buttermilk for sourdough starter. This took several tests to get the ratio correct. The dough should be easy to work with: not sticky, but not too much flour so that the scones are dry. I nailed it.
My daughter, who loves chocolate chip scones, took these sourdough discard scones back to the university and I got a pick of her friends devouring them. Feeding college kids is the best ever. 🥰
Key Ingredients
If you keep sourdough starter on hand, most of the ingredients are pantry staples. Here are a few tips:
- All-purpose flour. This sourdough discard scone recipe calls for all-purpose flour, keeping it simple. Cake flour can lead to slightly more tender scones, but all-purpose flour gives them the perfect structure.
- Baking soda. This is a 30 minute scone recipe (no long-fermentation!), so you’ll need baking soda to give rise to the scones.
- Cream of tartar. Rather than adding baking powder, I chose to use cream of tartar, which reacts with the baking soda to give a light, airy texture to the scones. Don’t skip this recipe! Cream of tartar can also help add to the slightly tangy flavor.
- Buttermilk. Whole milk buttermilk is a must. Make your own by placing ½ teaspoon of white vinegar in a ½ cup measuring cup, then filling the rest with whole milk. It will curdle as it sits and create a similar flavor.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and amounts.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Scones
It’s important to keep ingredients cold when making scones. Especially butter! Because if the butter is cold, it will melt in the dough during baking, creating pockets of fluffy texture. Refrigerate or freeze a large mixing bowl for 5 minutes to get it cold. Then preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- In the refrigerated bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, sugar and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes (or use a cheese grater and grate the cold butter) and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter in with the flour mixture until the butter is mostly mixed in. It is okay if there are small pieces of butter. Feel the flour mixture with your fingers and “snap” any large chunks of butter between your fingers to make them smaller.
- Make a well in the flour in the center of the bowl. Add the sourdough discard, beaten egg, buttermilk to the well.
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix just until blended, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Dust a pastry mat with flour. Turn the dough out onto the lightly floured surface. Turn the dough over again over so the floured side is up. Shape a disk that is about 1 ¼ inches thick. Use a sharp knife to cut the disk into 8 triangles, as if you were cutting a pie.
- Place the scones on a parchment paper lined baking sheet or a nonstick baking mat. Bake immediately for 12 minutes. Allow the scones to cool for 3-5 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir and continue to melt in 10 second increments until the chocolate is fully melted. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the sourdough discard scones. Immediately sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Allow the chocolate to set.
Freeze Unbaked Scones
You can have a freshly baked sourdough discard scone any morning you desire by freezing the cut, unbaked scones. Here’s how to do it:
- Cut the Scones. Prepare and cut the scone dough as usual.
- Flash Freeze. Place the unbaked scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet, ensuring they aren’t touching. Freeze them for about 1-2 hours, or until firm.
- Transfer and Freeze.Move the frozen scones to a zip-top freezer bag or wrapped in plastic wrap. Label with the date. They’ll stay fresh and ready to bake.
- Bake from Frozen. No need to thaw! Just place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Or, you can let them thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Adjust Bake Time. Add a few extra minutes (usually 3-5 minutes) to the standard baking time. Bake at the same temperature as the original recipe.
Other Scone Recipes
Do you want scones but don’t have sourdough for these sourdough discard scones? Try one of these without sourdough:
Sourdough Discard Scones
Don't throw away sourdough discard! Use it make these sourdough discard scones with chocolate chips and chocolate drizzle. They have the perfect tenderness and flaky texture thanks to buttermilk and our technique of cutting the cold butter into the flour mixture.
Servings 8
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 rounded teaspoon baking soda
- 2 rounded teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- dash salt
- 1/2 cup cold salted butter plus an additional 1 tablespoon
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
For the drizzle:
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons coarse raw sugar optional
Instructions
- Refrigerate or freeze a metal bowl for 5 minutes to get it cold. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- In the refrigerated bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, sugar and salt. Whisk well. 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 rounded teaspoon baking soda, 2 rounded teaspoons cream of tartar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, dash salt
- Cut the ½ cup cold salted butter into small cubes (or use a cheese grater and grate the cold butter) and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter in with the flour mixture until the butter is mostly mixed in. It is okay if there are small pieces of butter. Feel the flour mixture with your fingers and "snap" any large chunks of butter between your fingers to make them smaller.
- Make a well in the flour in the center of the bowl. Add the sourdough discard, beaten egg, buttermilk to the well. ½ cup sourdough starter discard, 1 large egg, ½ cup buttermilk
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix just until blended, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips. 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- Dust a pastry mat with flour. Turn the dough out onto the lightly floured surface. Turn the dough over again over so the floured side is up. Shape a disk that is about 1 ¼ inches thick. Use a sharp knife to cut the disk into 8 triangles, as if you were cutting a pie.
- Place the scones on a parchment paper lined baking sheet or a nonstick baking mat.
- Bake immediately for 12 minutes. Allow the scones to cool for 3-5 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir and continue to melt in 10 second increments until the chocolate is fully melted. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the scones. Immediately sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Allow the chocolate to set. 4 ounces dark chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons coarse raw sugar
Notes
- If you only have unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon salt.
- Make different flavors! Make orange scones by adding orange zest and then powdered sugar orange glaze on the top of the scones. The same can be done with lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Add fruit instead of chocolate. 1 cup fresh blueberries can be folded into the scone dough. Depending on the fruit, you may need a little extra flour due to the fruit juices. Other favorite add-ins are cranberries, craisins, vanilla extract or cinnamon.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freeze any leftover sourdough scones for up to 6 weeks.
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
Nutrition
Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 182mg | Potassium: 197mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 465IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 2mg
