Sourdough Scones
Sourdough Scones have a special flavor and the perfect scone texture. A proper scone should neither be too biscuit-y nor too muffiny, but should fall somewhere between the two. A little sourdough discard is all you need to make the best scones ever.
As I mentioned in my post for English Scones, my basic scone recipe is adapted from a recipe given to me by a British mum. I used that recipe for 7 years when I worked in a British tea shop.
I made adjustments to the original recipe so it could work in a US kitchen with US ingredients and measurements. I can tell you I get great feedback from everyone who tastes these scones.
Now, I’ve made these scones even better by adding a little sourdough discard to the recipe.
If you don’t already have one, I can show you how to make a sourdough starter and how to feed a sourdough starter.
How to make Sourdough Scones
- Mix the sourdough discard into the buttermilk.
- Pour the buttermilk & discard into the flour base.
- Toss until almost combined
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Knead a couple of times to bring the dough together.
- Brush the scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar before baking.
- Bake until the scones are golden brown.
Pastry Chef Tips for making Sourdough Scones
- Use real buttermilk if you can. The tangy flavor and tenderizing acidity works perfectly with the sourdough discard to make these the best scones ever. Buttermilk substitutes will work, but the real thing gives the best flavor.
- Mix the dough by hand. Mixing by hand ensures that you won’t over mix the dough and form too much gluten.
- Pat the dough by hand instead of using a rolling pin. This also ensures that the dough won’t be over worked.
- To work ahead, mix the recipe until the point where you add the buttermilk. Later you can mix the dough, roll, cut and bake.
Storage
Scones are best the day they are baked. Leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost and then warm in the oven to get the best texture. Do not refrigerate scones.
I know you hate to throw away that sourdough discard. Check out these recipes that use sourdough discard.
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Sourdough Scone Recipe
Ingredients
- 22 ½ oz unbleached all purpose flour ( 4 ½ cups, see note)
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 4 oz granulated sugar (½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 oz unsalted butter (cold, cut into 1″ chunks)
- 8 oz buttermilk (1 cup)
- 8 oz sourdough discard (1 cup)
- 2 eggs
- Demerara Sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Line two ½ sheet pans with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 22 ½ oz unbleached all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons baking powder, 4 oz granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Toss in 6 oz unsalted butter chunks. Mix in the butter until the bits are the size of a pea.
- Whisk together 8 oz buttermilk, 8 oz sourdough discard and 2 eggs. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients all at once and mix until just barely combined. Some loose flour may remain at the bottom of the bowl. DON'T OVER MIX.
- Dump the dough onto a floured surface and finish kneading by hand just until all the loose flour is absorbed. Use your hands to pat the dough until it is ¾" thick. Use a 2½"-3" biscuit cutter to cut scones. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting until all the dough is used.
- Line the scones onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1" space between. Brush the tops of the scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with Demerara or granulated sugar.
- Bake on the middle racks of the oven, flipping the trays after 10 minutes (see note). The scones are ready when they are golden brown and sound hollow when the bottom is tapped. Total baking time 15-20 minutes.
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Made these for the first time this morning, wow were they great!! The only modification I made was I halved the sugar, just so they wouldn’t be too sweet with strawberry jam. They’re delicious, my toddlers are devouring (and crumbing) all over the house! Wondering how I could modify this to make savoury scones too, maybe cheddar? Love a recipe to use up my sourdough discard. Thanks so much for sharing!
Here’s a recipe for Cheddar Scones. To make this recipe for Sourdough Scones savory you could reduce the sugar down to about 1/4 cup or even 2 tablespoons. The sugar does help tenderize the scone so I would at least add 2 tablespoons or the scones might become chewy. Add little cubes of cheddar at the stage when you turn the dough out of the bowl for kneading.
Delicious recipe. I always substitute buttermilk with regular milk and 2 TBSP of cider vinegar. I also put the butter and dry ingredients in my food processor and pulse- perfect pea size every time 😉
Good morning. making your recipe for the umpteenth time, it has become a favorite. I precube the butter the night before, sizes are generally pea size and smaller. I did reduce the butter to 10 tbsp. Today I noticed your page recommends a dry buttermilk ad at the bottom, do you ever go that route?
I have tested my recipes with dry buttermilk and it’s a great substitute for fresh buttermilk. Just reconstitute is according to the directions and do the recipe as written.
@Eileen Gray, I don’t know if it makes a difference, but whenever I use dry buttermilk, instead of reconstituting it first, I sift it in with the other dry ingredients and just add the correct amount of water with the other liquids.
Sure, that’s works fine too.
@Eileen Gray, I use powdered buttermilk and I whisk the powder in with my dry ingredients and then just add the water in as if it was buttermilk. No reconstituting necessary.
Is melted butter on the pans indicate something. i switched from cutting with knives to cubing the butter beforehand, a bit tedious but keeps the butter temp lower. I also pre coat the butter as I cube it,
Are you saying that when you bake the scones you have butter leaking out onto the pan? If so, I would guess that perhaps you didn’t break down the butter enough. Work the butter into the flour until the bits are no larger than a pea.
I am confused. Whipping cream is mentioned twice in the directions, but only a scant quantity in ingredient list.
There aren’t any mentions of whipping cream at all. In fact, I never refer to it as “whipping” cream, but always “heavy” cream. Not sure if you were looking at a different recipe.