This is a de-lish sourdough (good for your gut), lightly sweetened (= less sugar), extremely customizable (any flavor) scone recipe that is quick and easy to make. They are more like a British scone, than a highly sweetened American bakery scone. That means sumptuous jam and butter are a good match! You can use this as a base recipe to make practically any flavor. I have included fresh milled flour instructions (along with store-bought flour) to make these sourdough scones.
Let’s dive into everything you need to know about making sourdough scones.
Flour for Sourdough Scones
First things first, let’s talk flour. You are welcome to use store-bought all-purpose flour. The scones will turn out lovely and exactly as you expect.
If you want to go hardcore, throw in some fresh milled flour for a rustic vibe. Fresh milled flour is packed full of nutrition and fiber. I will awkwardly mention … if you have ever been constipated, please consider fresh milled flour.
I make my scones with fresh milled flour. Soft white wheat berries are a great choice (#ad). Although, any wheat berry (soft white, hard white, red fife, etc.) will produce a fantastic scone. One note, fresh milled wheat berries do NOT weigh the same amount as store-bought flour.
- Store-bought all-purpose flour weighs 120 grams per cup.
- Soft white fresh milled wheat berries weigh about 100 grams per cup.
- Hard white fresh milled wheat berries weigh about 110 grams per cup.
- I often bake with a mixture of hard red, hard white, and einkorn berries, which usually weigh about 120 grams per cup.
The moral of the story is if you use fresh milled flour, you will want to weigh your flour. Here is an article if you want to know more about how to mill wheat berries.
Options for Mixing the Sourdough Scones
As I wrote this blog, I realized this recipe is like a choose-your-own-adventure book. At this point, you will want to decide if your adventure will include a food processor, a pastry cutter, or bowl/hands. All of them are dandy. I never know which adventure I am going to choose until I start making the recipe.
Whichever adventure you choose, incorporate the butter into the mixture of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. You will know you are done when the mixture does not have any butter chunks left. You will have produced a very fine crumb.
Time for the Wet Ingredients
Let’s begin with the heart and soul (and sometimes bane) of this recipe: your sourdough starter. If you’ve managed to keep your starter alive for more than a few weeks – congratulations! Talk to it, tell it it’s doing great and promise that you won’t forget it at the back of the fridge again (even though you totally will).
You are going to add a half of a cup of your gurgling goop (translation: sourdough starter), along with your eggs, heavy cream and extract/zest to your flour mixture. Stir (or pulse if using a food processor) until everything is nicely incorporated. Make sure there are no dry pieces of flour, but don’t get too crazy stirring. There is no need to take your bad day out on the flour. Overworking the dough can result in tough scones. If your dough is sticky and looks like a shaggy mess, congratulations – you’re doing it right!
Flavor Flavor Flavor
If you already have your mixture in a bowl, then you are good to go. If you decided to use a food processor, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
Now, you get to choose your own adventure again. What would you like to put in these delicious scones?
Cranberry Orange: My Family’s Favorite! 2 tablespoons of orange zest and 1 cup of dried or fresh cranberries. If using fresh cranberries, chop up the cranberries before adding to the dough. My family likes it when I top with cream and coarse sugar before baking. Once cooled, I mix powdered sugar with fresh squeezed orange juice (from the zested orange) and any extra orange zest together. Drizzle on top of scones.
Berries: Fresh or frozen are great! Use one cup. Maybe even 1 tablespoon of lemon zest?
Apples: Use one cup of diced up apples. Consider adding one teaspoon of cinnamon or ½ cup of butterscotch chips.
Rhubarb: 1 cup of rhubarb cut in small dices, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg.
Almonds: 1 teaspoon of almond extract, 7 ounces of almond paste cut into little bits and pushed into the top before cooking, and ¼ cup of sliced almonds for the top.
Pumpkin: 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, and ½ cup pumpkin puree.
Chocolate Chip: 1 cup of mini semisweet chocolate chips.
Nutella: ¼ cup of nutella spread on top of the circle. Then fold the circle a few times to enclose the nutella. Reshape into a circle.
Coffee: 2-3 tablespoons of instant coffee mixed in with the wet ingredients. Once cooled, drizzle with chocolate.
Cheese and Bacon: Reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon. Add ¾ teaspoon of garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper, ⅔ cup diced bacon, and ¾ cup of shredded cheese.
Gingerbread: ¾ teaspoon of ginger, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of cloves. You could substitute half of the sugar for molasses and then add a dash more flour.
Your idea: Go crazy!
Fold in your flavor. Make sure the flavor is evenly distributed without overworking the dough.
Form and Cut your Sourdough Scones
Time to get your hands dirty! Flour your hands, flour your rolling pin, and flour your countertop (don’t be stingy). Dump the dough onto the countertop and knead it into a ball.
Use your rolling pin to form your dough into a 3/4” thick circle.
You can score your circle into 12 wedges (or more or less – the adventure is up to you). To do this use a well floured knife or dough scraper and make a cut through the dough.
A dough scraper is a great tool for this. I drag my dough scraper in the extra flour on the counter between each cut. Bonus: Since your dough scraper is already out, you can use it to clean off your countertop at the end.
Would you like a circle scone adventure instead? You can also use a round cutter to make circle shaped scones. Don’t twist the round cutter as you cut – press straight down. Collect your scraps, make them into a ball, roll them out and cut more circles.
Place your scones on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2” apart. Precut parchment paper is a treat! Indulge!
Ferment Sourdough Scones in the Frig
Cover your little baby scones and put them in your refrigerator. Here is another opportunity to choose your own adventure. How long would you like to leave them in the refrigerator?
You need to let the scones chill for a minimum of one hour (cold butter is king). This will make them cold again to help give them a pillowy and flaky texture.
If you want your sourdough to really do its job, then leave the scones in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will help produce a softer scone with extra yummy flavors. Although, there is a chance your scone will loose some of its shape and be a little more blob-ish once it is cooked. A benefit of a long fermentation, is that the scones will be more digestible. Your body will also be able to access more of the nutrients, prebiotics, vitamins, and minerals. Caution: Don’t let your scones over ferment because they will lose their shape and become a gloppy mess.
Did you realize something special about these scones? You can make these sourdough scones the night before and cook them in the morning. Perfect for Saturday morning, serving to guests or even Christmas morning!
Bake and Pray
Here is the second to last choose-your-own-adventure decision. Would you like to put something yummy on top of the scones? Before I pop them in the oven, I often brush them with cream and sprinkle coarse sugar on top (for a shiny crunchy top – who doesn’t love that). Maybe you want some almonds on top of yours?
You will want to bake your beauties at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. This is the part where you hover near the oven, peeking through the glass door like a nervous parent at a dance recital. Will they rise? Will they be flaky? Did you overwork the dough? The suspense is real.
Take them out of the oven when they are browned on the edges.
Transfer them to a wire rack. Cool them for 10 minutes.
Alert: Last chance to choose your own adventure! Would you like to glaze them? My favorite glaze is ¾ cup of powdered sugar with lemon juice stirred into it. Would you like to serve them with butter? Do you have any homemade jam?
Storing and Reheating Sourdough Scones
Sourdough scones are best eaten the day they’re baked, but they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. If you want to enjoy them later, you can warm them up in the oven at 350°F for about 5-10 minutes. You can also put them in the microwave for 15 seconds (this is my son’s preferred method).
Do scones freeze well? Yes they do! You can freeze baked or unbaked scones. If you want to freeze unbaked scones … after shaping, place them on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Whether your scones turned out picture-perfect or you’ve added to your collection of “learning experiences,” you can proudly say you faced the sourdough challenge head-on. And remember, the true joy of baking isn’t in the perfect outcome—it’s in the delicious mess along the way.
Happy baking, fellow dough adventurers! May your butter stay cold, your starter stay lively, and your scones always rise (at least a little).
OK … one more choose-your-own-adventure decision … are you going to share?
I would love to hear about your creative flavors. Leave me a comment below regarding what you added to your scones … I just might give them a try. Thanks!
Winnie
Easiest Sourdough Scones - Any Flavor!
This is a de-lish sourdough (good for your gut), lightly sweetened (= less sugar), extremely customizable (any flavor) scone recipe that is quick and easy to make. They are more like a British scone, than a highly sweetened American bakery scone. That means sumptuous jam and butter are a good match! You can use this as a base recipe to make practically any flavor. I have included fresh milled flour instructions (along with store-bought flour)!
Ingredients
- 4 cups (480 grams) all-purpose flour OR fresh milled soft white wheat (grind about 3 cups of wheat berries)
- ⅓ cup (66 grams) of sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons (two sticks/226 grams) butter, diced
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup (130 grams) heavy cream
- ½ cup (140 grams) sourdough (Great way to use up discard!)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla OR 1 teaspoon almond extract OR 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1 cup of ... cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, chocolate chips, cheese, almonds, apricots ... or anything else you can think of!
Optional: Topping
- Cream or egg wash (one egg with one teaspoon of water, beaten together)
- 3 tablespoons of coarse sugar
Optional: Glaze
- ¾ cup of powdered sugar
- a few tablespoons of liquid, until desired consistency (milk, lemon juice, orange juice, etc.)
Instructions
- Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combined (about 7 pulses). OR It works just as well to mix the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like very fine crumbs with no visible butter (about 25 pulses). OR If you use a large bowl, use a pastry cutter or your hands to mix.
- Add the eggs, heavy cream, sourdough, and extract/zest (if using) to the flour mixture. Pulse until it just comes together. OR if you are using a large bowl, fold it with a spatula. The dough will be wet.
- Put the scone mixture in a large bowl (unless it already is in a bowl) and add a cup of flavor (blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chips or ???). Gently fold with a spatula.
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface. With floured hands, gently knead into a ball. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a ¾" thick circle.
- Cut into 12 wedges (coat knife with flour if it begins to stick). OR use a round cutter and cut circles of dough. Collect the scraps, roll them out, and cut more circles.
- Place scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 2" apart.
- Cover and put in the frig for 1 hour or up to 3 days (for a longer ferment).
- Optional: Brush the top of the scones with cream or egg wash and then sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake in a 400° oven for 20-25 minutes until the tops are browned.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.
- Optional: Top with glaze once they are out of the oven.
- Optional: Serve with butter and scrumptious jam.
Notes
Freeze: Scones freeze fully baked very nicely. To freeze unbaked - shape, put on a baking sheet to freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes.
Storage: 2 days in an airtight container.
Reheat: 350° for 5-10 minutes or in the microwave for 15 seconds (that's my son's preferred method).
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 330Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 347mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 4gSugar: 15gProtein: 10g
Please note that I did help calculate this nutritional information. I used a third party program.
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten’s Cranberry Orange Scone recipe. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cranberry-orange-scones-recipe-1917131
Some sentences or ideas may be from chatgpt.
2 responses to “Easy Sourdough Scones (any flavor!)”
Tried my hand at these scones today – flaky and totally delicious.
Yum! Sourdough scones are next-level good … so glad you made them!