Sourdough discard scones are loaded with chocolate chips, with a light and flaky texture. They have a rich buttery crumb, a crisp exterior, notes of molasses from brown sugar, and a bit of tanginess from the discard. These versatile and healthy sourdough scones can be made ahead of time, and enjoyed for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea.
I love making sourdough discard recipes like sourdough discard focaccia with rosemary, sourdough cornbread, and sourdough naan. Not only is it a great way to use your sourdough starter discard, but it lends so much complex flavor to baked goods.
In these sourdough discard scones, discard takes the place of buttermilk, providing acidity and tenderizing our dough. Sourdough discard also includes vitamins, minerals, and probiotics that improve digestion and gut health.
Tender on the inside with rich bites of chocolate chips, and a golden brown and crisp exterior, serve your homemade scones for breakfast or afternoon tea, and put some in the freezer for later.
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⭐️ Why These Scones are the Best
- Light and flaky scones with a rich and buttery element. They fall somewhere between a cookie and cake with a crisp exterior.
- Brown sugar adds deep molasses notes, sourdough discard provides slight tanginess, and chocolate chips add rich chocolate flavor.
- Easy sourdough scone recipe that uses simple ingredients and is freezer-friendly.
- Make ahead instructions provided so you can bake later
- Versatile scone recipe that can be made a variety of ways, like these cinnamon raisin scones.
- Excellent way to use your extra sourdough starter discard, which helps to tenderize the scones.
- Healthy scones that incorporate whole wheat flour and sourdough discard.
🍫 Ingredient Notes
- Whole wheat flour - Adds a subtle nutty flavor and added nutrition
- Light brown sugar - Provides warm molasses flavor
- Baking powder - Acts as the leavener in this recipe (because we're not using active sourdough starter, we still need to use leavener to help our scones rise).
- Unsalted butter - Gives our scones a flaky texture and using unsalted butter helps us control the amount of salt used.
- Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips - Use your favorite brand of chocolate chips
- Sourdough starter discard - Adds a tangy and more nuanced flavor and provides health benefits
- Heavy cream - Makes our scones much more tender
- Coarse or granulated sugar - Adds a sweet finishing crunch
📝 Variations & Substitutions
- Make dairy-free: Substitute plant-based/vegan butter and cream or milk.
- Spice: Add a pinch of ground cinnamon or cardamom for warm spice.
- Nuts: Add ½ cup of chopped walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds for some crunch.
- Make gluten-free: Substitute total flour amount (2 cups) for all-purpose gluten-free flour. I don't recommend using almond flour or coconut flour, as they contain added moisture and will throw off the texture of the scones.
- Cream: Use milk or half & half in place of heavy cream.
- Dried fruit: Add ½ cup of raisins, figs, apricots, or dates for added sweetness and a chewy bite.
- Savory: Leave out brown sugar and vanilla extract, and add your favorite savory flavoring, like ½ cup of shredded cheese, 2 tablespoons of diced jalapeño, and/or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme.
🔪 How to Make Sourdough Discard Scones with Chocolate Chips
In a medium bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder together. Cube the cold butter or use a box grater to grate the butter into the bowl.
Use a fork or pastry cutter to squish the butter pieces into flour mixture until pea-sized crumbs are formed. Add chocolate chips and stir.
In a separate bowl, whisk the sourdough starter, egg, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream until well combined and smooth. Pour into the flour mixture and use a fork or wooden spoon to gently mix together (the dough will be crumbly).
Place a piece of parchment on the counter and lightly dust with flour. Turn the dough out onto the parchment-lined counter and use your hands to bring it together, pressing and shaping into an 8" disc.
Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 wedges. Arrange the wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced out evenly. Place baking sheet in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill dough.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tops of scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the scones are golden brown. Transfer scones to a cooling rack.
👩🏼🍳 Expert Tips
- Storage: Place in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- How to freeze: After completely cooled, wrap individual scones in foil, place in a freezer-safe container, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Make ahead: Assemble scones the night before and store (covered) in the fridge to bake the next morning.
- Freeze unbaked scones: Place scone wedges on parchment-lined baking sheet and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Transfer frozen wedges to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake the scones directly from freezer but add 2-3 minutes to baking time.
- Roll out your dough on parchment paper. This prevents your dough from sticking to the counter and also makes for easy clean up.
- Use cold butter. This helps to create that lovely flaky texture in your scones.
- Don't overwork the dough. Mix it just enough to bring it together (it will still look a bit shaggy). If your dough is overworked, your scones will be tough instead of tender.
- Serve with cheesy spinach and mushroom quiche or goat cheese frittata with asparagus and tomatoes for a festive brunch.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Using sourdough discard in baking provides acidity and acts a lot like buttermilk, which tenderizes the dough and adds a tangy flavor.
You can add sourdough discard to so many baking recipes, including cornbread, naan, focaccia, and whole wheat bread.
Sourdough discard includes vitamins, minerals, and probiotics that improve digestion and gut health, making it a healthy option.
Although it takes a very long time for sourdough discard to spoil, in general, if you see signs of mold on the surface of your discard, you should throw it away. You can prevent your sourdough discard from spoiling by storing it in the refrigerator, feeding it once a week, and stirring the separated water - also known as "hooch" - back into the discard.
🍽 Related Recipes
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Sourdough Discard Scones with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled or frozen
- 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup sourdough starter discard
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, divided
- 2 Tablespoons coarse or granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder together.
- Cube the cold butter or use a box grater to grate the butter into the bowl. Use a fork or pastry cutter to squish the butter pieces into flour mixture until pea-sized crumbs are formed. Add chocolate chips and stir.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the sourdough starter, egg, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream until well combined and smooth. Pour into the flour mixture and use a fork or wooden spoon to gently mix together (the dough will be crumbly).
- Place a piece of parchment on the counter and lightly dust with flour. Turn the dough out onto the parchment-lined counter and use your hands to bring it together, pressing and shaping into an 8" disc.
- Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 wedges. Arrange the wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced out evenly. Place baking sheet in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill dough.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tops of scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the scones are golden brown. Transfer scones to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Storage: Place in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- How to freeze: After completely cooled, wrap individual scones in foil and place in a freezer-safe container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Make ahead: Assemble scones the night before and store (covered) in the fridge to bake the next morning.
- Freeze unbaked scones: Place scone wedges on parchment-lined baking sheet and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Transfer frozen wedges to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake the scones directly from freezer but add 2-3 minutes to baking time.
- Roll out your dough on parchment paper. This prevents your dough from sticking to the counter and also makes for easy clean up.
- Use cold butter. This helps to create that lovely flaky texture in your scones.
- Don't overwork the dough. Mix it just enough to bring it together (it will still look a bit shaggy). If your dough is overworked, your scones will be tough instead of tender.
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