Sourdough Scones with Blueberries and Lemon
These sourdough blueberry scones are soft and tender. They’re filled with juicy plump blueberries, and lemon zest and topped with a lemon glaze.
This is a sourdough starter discard recipe and the sourdough starter helps give them an extra tender crumb. They are light and soft with beautiful bursts of juicy blueberries. They use an easy recipe for tender scones that can be adapted to other flavors too. Simply swap out the blueberries and lemon and add your favorite add-ins!
Sourdough scones
A sourdough scone recipe is a great way to use discarded sourdough starter. This sourdough starter is unfed, quite runny, and acidic. It’s the acid component in the starter we want in this recipe.
The acid helps break down the flour gluten to make them tender scones. Often scone recipes use buttermilk, which is also acidic, to give this tenderness. In this sourdough scones recipe, a sourdough starter is the buttermilk substitute. Acid is often used in pastry dough too to help keep things flaky and tender and the perfect texture!
The discard starter is not used for the leavening process in the scones. The scones use baking powder for the leavening part (NOT baking soda!)
For another delicious discard recipe, try these sourdough strawberry muffins.
The ingredients
The ingredient amounts for this simple recipe are in the recipe card below but here is an overview of what you need for these delicious sourdough scones.
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter – this can be salted butter or unsalted
- Blueberries, fresh or frozen
- Lemon zest
- Discard sourdough starter
- Egg
- Heavy cream or whole milk, or buttermilk. Heavy cream or pouring cream will give a richer flavor than milk.
The glaze
- Lemon juice
- Powdered sugar
Method
- In a large mixing bowl combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Cut the butter into the flour until it resembles chunky bread crumbs, with a few pieces the size of peas throughout it.
- Don’t let the butter melt as the pieces of butter will give the scones their flakiness.
- Add in the blueberries and lemon zest and stir them throughout the flour to coat them.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the discarded starter, egg, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Whisk until well combined.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
Shaping
- Use a fork or rubber spatula to gently combine the mixture together, until it clumps together in a crumbly and shaggy dough.
- Don’t over-mix the dough, or your scones will be tough. It should stick together easily with pressed but not be wet.
- Tip it into a lightly floured surface and gently fold it together with your fingers until it is combined into a mound.
- Try not to pop the blueberries or you’ll add extra liquid to the dough.
- Form the dough into an 8-inch circle (20cm).
- Use a knife or a bench scraper to cut the circle into 8 wedge pieces.
- Place the cut scones on some parchment paper.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the scones with a little heavy cream or milk.
- Place them into the fridge while the oven preheats.
Baking
- Bake the scones in the oven for around 20-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges and top.
- Let the scones cool on a wire rack before glazing.
The glaze
- In a small bowl add the lemon juice and enough powdered sugar until it makes a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle it over the cooled scones. Alternatively, they can simply be dusted with powdered sugar.
Making scones in advance
The unbaked scones can be chilled in the fridge 12 hours in advance. Place them in an airtight container or cover them with plastic wrap. The unbaked scones can also be frozen in an airtight container.
Bake them from frozen or let them thaw first in the refrigerator. If baking from frozen, add 2-3 minutes of baking time as needed.
Storing
Any leftover scones can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days. They can be reheated in the microwave or in a low-temperature oven until warmed through.
Baked scones can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator. They can be reheated in the microwave or in a low-temperature oven until warm.
Variations
These blueberry sourdough scones use a basic scone recipe with basic ingredients that can be adapted to other flavors too. Instead of blueberry and lemon, you could try:
- Dried cranberries (or other dried fruit) and citrus zest
- Chocolate chips (chocolate chip sourdough scones are so yum!).
- Orange scones, with a little orange zest and a pinch of ground cardamom or ground cinnamon
- Whole or chopped berries like strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries, with a little vanilla extract
- Other seasonal fruits
If you’re after a savory version, here are some flaky and cheesy sourdough cheese scones that use a similar recipe.
More discard recipes
Sourdough Scones with Blueberry and Lemon
These scones are soft and tender, filled with juicy plump blueberries, lemon zest and topped with lemon glaze. They use sourdough discard starter which helps give them an extra tender crumb.
Ingredients
- 250g (2 cups*) all-purpose flour
- 100g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 100g (7 Tbsp) butter, cold
- One heaped cup of blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 ½Tbsp lemon zest
- 100g (½ cup) discard sourdough starter
- 1 large egg
- 2-3 Tbsp milk or pouring cream, plus more for brushing
Lemon Glaze
- 1 ½Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 90g (¾ cup) powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder and mix them well together. Cut the cold butter into cubes and add it to the flour. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into small pea-sized pieces. Alternatively, use a food processor to cut the butter into the flour.
- Add in the blueberries and lemon zest and toss to combine.
- Whisk together the sourdough starter, egg, and two tablespoons of milk or cream in a separate bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then pour in the sourdough mixture. Use a fork to combine it into a shaggy dough that sticks together easily when pressed. If the mixture isn't coming together well, add a tablespoon of milk or cream if necessary, but the dough shouldn't be wet.
- Tip the shaggy dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently push it with your fingers until it is combined into a dough mound. Don’t over-knead the dough, or it will become tough. Press this into an 8-inch circle.
- Cut the circle into eight wedge pieces using a knife or dough scraper. Place the pieces on baking paper and pop them into the fridge while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
- Brush the tops of the scones with a bit of heavy cream or milk.
- Bake the scones in the oven for around 20-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges. This timing depends on your oven. Some need longer; some need less. Once baked, leave the scones to cool before glazing.
Lemon glaze
- Add the lemon juice and enough powdered sugar until it makes a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle it over the cooled scones.
Notes
*The cup sizes given are for US-sized cups, which are smaller than metric cups, for best results, use a scale and measure in grams.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 338Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 308mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 5g
I didn’t have enough blueberries, so i did a lemon poppyseed scone and froze them to have during the week. Without a glaze, there is not enough lemon flavor for my taste.
Lovely. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these the first time with lemon, my husband said they needed more lemon. Second time I did with the zest of a whole orange. They were great.I only put sparkling sugar on them so I can freeze. Definitely don’t want the dough to be to wet or they will spread.
Excellent use of sourdough discard! It is actually one of my favorite things to do with my discard. Thank you so much for the delicious recipe! At first my fiance had groaned, scones, why are you making those? There always so dry. Well, guess who is begging me to make the only moistest scones he’s ever had! Sourdough, it’s good for a whole lot more than just 1bread!
Excellent use of sourdough discard! It is actually one of my favorite things to do with my discard. Thank you so much for the delicious recipe! At first my fiance had groaned, scones, why are you making those? They are always so dry. Well, guess who is begging me to make the only moistest scones he’s ever had! Sourdough, it’s good for a whole lot more than just bread!
So happy you enjoyed the scones Jennifer!
Can I freeze these?
Yup the baked scones can be frozen without the glaze
Melt in your mouth delicious! Thankyou for the recipe.
Thank you Viv! So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
I just made these, minus the glaze, because they are so great they don’t need this extra sugar. This will now be my go-to scone recipe, my go-to use of sourdough discard. They had a great crumb and were so moist and light!
I’ve made this 4 times in the past 3 weeks for special occasions and everyone has loved them! I make them without blueberries inside and without the glaze on top for more of a tea scone type of scone, and also have used as low as 60g of sugar depending on who I’m making them for. I’ve found that I only need about 2-3 tbsp of milk total or else the dough becomes too sticky/soft to work with! These also freeze really well which is a huge plus.
Do you separate the wedges before baking?
Yup, space them an inch or 2 apart on a baking sheet 🙂
When do you add the egg????
See step 4 🙂
Great sounding recipe, but I don’t know how to cook with gram measurements…could you give the measurements in cups, etc?
Hey Carol 🙂 there are websites that will convert to cups for you if just type in the gram amount, however this can be quite unreliable as cup sizes differ per country and so does how people fill their cups. I always recommend a scale for consistency
I tried this recipe today, found the 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder made the whole batch bitter. Texture is quite nice though. Any suggestions on re-using this too-much-baking-soda bitter scones for other things, ie pie crust, crumble or …?
Hey Pauline, did you use baking soda? (since you stated “Any suggestions on re-using this too-much-baking-soda bitter scones for other things, ie pie crust, crumble or…”)
The recipe calls for baking powder not baking soda, and I can definitely see that so much baking soda made it bitter!
As for uses for bitter scones, I’m not sure sorry!
Loved this! They came out soooo yummy. Thank you!
So happy to hear that Della!
Crisp, sweet delicious way to use discard
These came out perfectly. Definitely my go-to scone recipe from here on out. Thanks!
Baked these for first time, big hit! Can I refrigerate or freeze them, in my scone pan ready to bake, for 12-24 hours prior to putting them in the oven? Need to relieve the pressure in the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning!
So glad you enjoyed them! Yup you can refrigerate them overnight or freeze them unbaked 🙂
Do you have measurements in cups for the flour, sugar and butter?
US cup measurements is 2 cups + 1 Tablespoon flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 7 Tablespoons butter.
Absolutely wonderful!
Thank you Marie!
Keeping this recipe for good. They are wonderful
So happy you loved them Senly!
Have you tried leaving the dough over night in the fridge to ferment?
I don’t usually but I know others that have and had success 🙂
Made these tonight and added 1tbsp dried thyme and OMG! Never trying another recipe, this is IT. So easy and turned out perfect. Thank you!!
Ooh dried thyme sounds like an interesting and awesome addition!
The time never works for me. I always have to bake it like double the time. Am I doing something wrong?
Hey sounds like your oven is running a bit cooler than mine, or if your heating element is only at the bottom then it would take a little longer to bake, though I would say an extra 5 minutes or so, not double the time! Maybe turning up the heat a little will help 🙂
I have been baking these discard scones (a double batch – one never lasts long in our family of 5!) every couple of weeks for about 12 months now. I usually follow the recipe and method exactly (I substitute gluten-free flour in one batch I can eat, as I am gluten sensitive) and sometimes reduce the sugar in both by 1/4 (any less than this and I have found they aren’t as balanced). I always have to bake mine for at least double the time (until the skewer comes out clean and they’re nicely browned). But every time these are just SO, SO good – an absolute favourite. The lemon tang with the sweetness and texture are always perfection. They freeze well too and are great for lunchboxes. Thank you SO much for sharing. 😊
Thank you for your comment Jaye! So happy you’ve been enjoying them! So interesting about the timing in the oven for yours! After 22 minutes mine are more than ready. Does your oven heat from the bottom or top element, or both?
Every time I make these scones everyone loves them. I only use about 1/4 of the sugar but people don’t seem to mind. Where can I find more of your sourdough starter recipes?
So happy to hear that Don! Here are all my
sourdough recipes
Do any changes need to be made for high altitude?
Starter newbie here. Third recipe with using discard and oh my goodness these are yummy!! I am sold! No more store bought baked goods for us!
Yay so happy to read this!
My favorite discard recipe hands down! I used huge blueberries for the first time since they were in season and it made them even better! Bought a bunch to freeze and I have perfected the icing to be thick instead of runny and these taste better than any scones I have ever purchased 🙌
Thank you for sharing the recipe and I love how there is not a ton of butter in them. Approx 1 TBSP per scone is not that much compared to some other recipes I have made w no discard, but with flour and sugar. I love everything about these and get asked regularly how I make them.
Yay Kari I’m so happy to read you love them!! 😁 thank you
How do these freeze? (dough, before baking) I’m trying to pre-make as much as possible for hosting and have things easily on hand for guests.
THANK YOU!!
You can freeze the unbaked scones for up to 3 weeks and bake them from frozen 🙂
The last 2 times I made these, they spread like crazy. I had the air conditioner on because it was warm outside. The dough was refrigerated about 4 hours before cutting and baking. Any suggestions!
Hey Audrey, try reducing the added liquid a bit and see if that helps 🙂
My blueberries did not cooperate and most of them exploded (used thawed blueberries-mistake), can I salvage it by baking them as muffins??
I’ve been making these with wild foraged blackberries and love them a lot. The most challenging part of the whole recipe is definitely ‘leave the scones to cool before glazing.’
Absolute favorite! Make it often now. Everyone loves it!
Made these and loved them! How would bake time be adjusted if I wanted to make these into mini scones (yield 24)?
I see you’ve got a few pastry recipes that use only fermented sourdough starter as the leavening agent, instead of baking powder/soda. I’m looking for a scone recipe with this method, but haven’t had much luck. Have you experimented with this? I’m curious what will happen with fermenting something that has butter, sugar, and potentially fruit/nuts in it, and at what stage I should add these ingredients.
Hey! I’ve never made a yeasted scone like that so I’m not sure sorry! Sounds like an interesting concept though, if you try it I’d love to hear your results
I feel like my blueberries end up mashed and then make
My dough discolored, any tips?
I’ve made these multiple times now as they became a family favourite after the first batch! I followed the recipe to a T and they turn out fabulous every time. They never last more than a day, granted there are 7 of us and it’s a fight to get the last one. My kids like them a little more moist so I’ve been adding a tablespoon or more of milk. Definitely not necessary as they are fine and moist as is. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
So happy you love them! Thank you for the lovely feedback!! 😀
Am I able to freeze the dough and bake later ?
Yup! 🙂
Has anyone used half and half instead of milk or cream? Seems like it should be fine?
This recipe is absolutely wonderful! I won’t pay $5.00 for a scone again! I used half and half, it’s what I had in my fridge. I zested a whole lemon, I like the extra lemony taste. I did put the round in the fridge overnight and cut them in the morning. I am so excited to make these again😊