Sourdough discard scones
Scones are the perfect mix of a crumbly, buttery exterior with a soft center. They are just the right amount of sweet, with the sourdough discard adding such a great flavor to an already wonderful treat. These scones are great for any occasion and are quite easy but impressive.
If you haven’t tried using sourdough discard in your baked goods, you really should give it a try! It really is such an easy way to use that leftover starter that is tucked away in the back of your refrigerator. I love to use it in things like pancakes, cookies, muffins and more. Check out my Classic Sourdough Book for all of these recipes. It has helped thousands of people gain confidence in sourdough.
If you aren’t on the sourdough train yet, try my classic scones that are very similar and skip the discard!
What is Sourdough discard?
Sourdough is a natural yeast that is the original form of bread making. When flour and water sit out for a long period of time, and continually get fed with refreshed bacteria (flour and the environment), the mixture develops a permanent form of healthy bacteria called lactobacillus. Our bodies thrive off of positive bacteria and natural probiotics. It increases cell reproduction and reduces inflammation. When sourdough starter is “refreshed” or “fed” with flour and water, a reaction occurs that produced carbon dioxide. It grows and gets bubbly. This activated mixture becomes a natural yeast, making our bread rise.
What about when it’s not “fed”? It still has all of that amazing natural bacteria, but is lacking the fresh CO2 power for rising. That dormant state is referred to as “discard”. While it won’t have as much power to rise a loaf of bread, it can still be used in SO many baked goods, and is still loaded with so many health benefits.
This “discard” or unfed sourdough starter, gives depth of flavor and brings a tender texture to baked goods that don’t need a strong rise – such as pancakes, cookies, and of course – these amazing strawberry scones. And no, it does not taste sour I promise! Just increases the flavor, health benefits, and contributes to that tender texture.
How to make amazing strawberry discard scones
Here are some steps on how to make perfect strawberry discard scones. It comes together in just 30 minutes and can be prepped ahead of time!
1. Mix together dry ingredients
2. Using a pastry blender, fork, or food processor, pulse in cold butter
3. Mix together wet ingredients and combine with dry ingredients
4. Press into 8″ disk and cut into 8 pieces
5. Bake at 425 degrees F for 18-22 minutes until golden brown
6. Top scones with glaze and enjoy!
*PRO TIP: chill for at least 10 minutes in freezer or 30 minutes in fridge before baking, helps them rise higher
Make ahead tip! Store leftovers airtight at room temp. To reheat, place in the oven at 350° F for 10 minutes, or until warm.
Different variations of scones
Scones are so versatile and could be made with a variety of different flavor combinations. All you need is about 1-1.5 cups worth of mix-ins to your dough. It’s so easy to get creative. I’ll list some amounts in the recipe notes below. Some of my favorites include:
- Lemon blueberry
- Raspberry
- Biscoff
- Ham & Cheddar
- Maple Brown Sugar
- Zesty Orange
- Chocolate Chip
I have all of these flavor combinations and other sourdough discard recipes are also in my Classic Sourdough Book!
Make ahead and storing tipS
Can I make the dough in advance?
Store dough or cut scones covered in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Makes it easy to prep and then throw in the oven last minute so you have zero work close to when you want to serve, while having fresh hot scones.
Storing & reheating tips:
Store leftovers airtight at room temperature for a few days. To reheat, place in the oven at 350° F for 10 minutes, or until warm.
More recipes you’ll love…
- Sourdough Discard Biscuits
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Best Strawberry Pie
- Raspberry Swirl Babka
- More sourdough discard recipes in my book: Classic Sourdough
If you make this recipe, make sure you tag @loskitchenco on Instagram and leave a comment below! You can also save for later by clicking the ‘Pin Recipe’ button on the recipe card. Happy baking!
Sourdough Strawberry Scones
Ingredients
SCONES
- 2 ¼ cup (270 grams) all purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold
- ~½ cup (115 grams) discard/unfed sourdough starter
- ⅓ cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream, divided
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped strawberries
- + course sugar to top (optional)
GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 2-3 tbsp heavy cream or milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional for lemon flavor)
- 1 tsp lemon zest (optional for lemon flavor)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Cut butter into tbsp pieces and add to dry mixture. Incorporate using a pastry cutter to get pea sized pieces of butter through the mixture.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients—starter, 1⁄3 cup heavy cream, egg, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients. Add strawberries and fold everything together.
- Transfer to a work surface and press into an 8” disk. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 pieces. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes or fridge for about 30 minutes to chill. Brush tops with heavy cream and sprinkle coarse sugar on top (optional). Bake for about 18–22 min until golden brown.
- While baking, whisk together ingredients for the glaze. Top scones with the glaze after baking. Store leftovers airtight at room temp. To reheat, place in the oven at 350° F for 10 minutes, or until warm.
Notes
Scones are typically a sweeter pastry, however for a little less sweet, reduce to 1/4-1/3 cup sugar. Sugar moistens, so it will make the scone slightly less tender but still delicious. For savory scones, I highly recommend reducing sugar to 2 tbsp. FLAVOR VARIATIONS:
Add about 1-1.5 cups of any of the following flavors to your scone dough
- Biscoff & White Chocolate (~3/4 cup white chocolate chips + ~3/4 cup broken up Biscoff cookies). Brush with cream. Post bake, drizzle on melted Biscoff butter.
- Strawberry (~1 heaping cup chopped strawberries) Brush with cream. Post bake, drizzle on glaze recipe above.
- Chocolate Chip (~1 heaping cup mini semisweet chocolate chips). Brush with cream and add coarse sugar on top before baking.
- Bacon, Cheddar, & Chive (heaping 1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon, heaping 1/2 cup cup up or grated sharp white cheddar or sharp yellow cheddar cheese, & 2-4 tbsp finely chopped chives). Brush with cream prior to baking.
- Ham & Cheddar (heaping 1/2 cup chopped cooked ham, heaping cup chopped or grated cheddar cheese), Brush with cream prior to baking.
- Blueberry Lemon (1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries. Do not thaw. If using frozen, I love using wild blueberries because they are smaller. Add 1 tbsp lemon zest.). Brush with cream. Post bake, drizzle with a lemon glaze. See recipe above.
Truly one of the best intros to sourdough! This recipe is so simple but is a showstopper. My husband isn’t a huge fan of sweets (I am) and we BOTH were obsessed. You will not regret making these and will be sure to impress 🤍
So glad you loved them! Thanks for taking the time to share! Happy baking!
Use the measurement not the weight for flour!!! So I made those first using measurement then realizes that you had the weight provided, my favorite way of baking so I reweighted my flour and ended up using about 1/4 c less the measured! However, it was too wet and I ended up adding the extra flour back!
Glad you used your bakers intuition on that! I’ll have to go back and double check. Even the brand of flour someone uses and the humidity can impact the amount, so by touch is always the best way to double check at the end. Hope you enjoyed them!