Sourdough Cheese Scones

ByElien Lewis
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These sourdough cheese scones are tender and cheesy with a hint of fresh chives. They’re a great use for discard sourdough starter.

Scones are so versatile and a basic sourdough scone dough can be used to incorporate all sorts of flavors.

Often scones are sweet but these are savory sourdough scones, a bit like an American biscuit. They’re tender and cheesy with flecks of flavorful green chives.

The dough can be made quickly and kept in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Here’s a version of flaky cheese scones that uses buttermilk instead of sourdough.

Sourdough discard recipes

A sourdough starter that hasn’t been fed in a while, or the excess starter you don’t need when you refresh your starter is the discard starter. It’s often quite acidic and runny.

Sourdough discard is perfect to add to baked goods that can use this acid. In these savory sourdough scones, it helps to create a soft and tender scone base.

Sourdough discard recipes usually only rely on the acid component of the starter, not the yeast for leavening. Here are three other great sourdough discard recipes to try.

The ingredients

The ingredients amounts are listed in the recipe card below but here is a run-through of them with a few extra details. 

  • All purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Butter
  • Sourdough discard starter
  • Cheese
  • Chives

The cheese

You can use whatever cheese you like in these sourdough scones, but those with a stronger flavor are preferable, such as cheddar cheese.

Alternatively use a mixture of different cheeses to bring the flavor, such as mixing a milder Edam cheese with stronger parmesan.

The chives

The chives bring a lovely mild-onion flavor to the dough, as well as a pretty pop of green.

They can be substituted with finely diced onion or shallots, wild garlic, green onions, or onion weed or simply omitted.

The dough

The tricks to flaky, fluffy scones are to keep the butter cold and work the dough as little as possible.

Cold butter is cut into the flour. The pieces become coated in flour and as they bake and the water in the butter evaporates, the scones rise and becomes light and flaky. 

When the liquid is added add only what is needed to create a shaggy dough that just holds together when pressed. There will be some parts that are dryer than others.

The scone dough doesn’t really get kneaded, instead, it’s laminated.

Adding in a few folds achieves extra layers in the dough. Lift up the bottom third of the dough and bring it into the middle. Bring down the top third of the dough and fold this over. Push or use a rolling pin to gently roll the rectangle out to flatten it, then repeat the folding.

Roll it out once more, then cut it into squares.

Step by step

  • Chop the cold butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into pea-sized crumbs, ensuring the pieces stay cold and don’t melt into the flour. You could also grate the cold butter instead of chopping it into pieces, but a pastry cutter is still handy to break up the grated butter further.
  • Stir in the grated cheese and chopped chives
  • Add in the sourdough discard starter and half the milk. Fold it together and add in the rest of the milk, or as much as is needed to create a slightly sticky and shaggy dough.
  • Tip this dough out onto a clean bench and push it into a rectangle of about 7×10 inches (17cm x 25cm).
  • Lift up the bottom third of the dough and bring it into the middle. Bring down the top third of the dough and fold this over, like you’re folding a pamphlet.
  • Turn the dough 90° so it’s lengthwise in front of you, then push or use a rolling pin to gently push it into another 7×10 inches (17cm x 25cm) rectangle. Fold it up once more.
  • Turn the dough 90° so it’s lengthwise in front of you, then push or use a rolling pin to gently push it into another 7×10 inches (17cm x 25cm) rectangle.
  • Cut it into 8 pieces for large scones or 12 pieces for small scones.
  • Place the cut scones into the fridge for at least an hour, but up to 24 hours.
  • Brush the scones with milk and top with grated cheese.
  • Bake until lightly golden brown.

Fermented sourdough scones

To make fermented sourdough scones, you need to give the sourdough starter bacteria time to break down the starches in the flour.

To do this, simply refrigerate the scones for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Serving

Serve the scones hot from the oven with a pat of butter.

Cooled sourdough scones can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to three months. Re-warm them in the microwave.

Try sourdough focaccia, Sour Cream and Chive Rolls, Pumpkin Sourdough Muffins or sourdough pain au chocolat!

a tray of cheese scones

Sourdough Cheese Scones

Yield: 8-12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

These sourdough cheese scones are tender and cheesy with a hint of fresh chives.

Ingredients

  • 350g (2 3/4 cups*) all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 200g (7oz) grated cheese*
  • 100g (1/2 cup) sourdough discard starter
  • 2 Tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
  • 190g-210g (3/4 cup+) cold milk

Topping

  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • Grated cheese

Instructions

    1. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir. Chop the cold butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into pea-sized crumbs, ensuring the pieces stay cold and don’t melt into the flour. Alternatively, use a cheese grater to grate the cold butter.
    2. Stir in the grated cheese and chopped chives.
    3. Add in the sourdough discard starter and half the milk. Fold it together and add in only as much milk as is needed to create a shaggy dough that just holds together when pressed.
    4. Tip this dough out onto a lightly floured bench and push it into a shaggy rectangle of about 7x10 inches (17cm x 25cm).
    5. Lift up the bottom third of the dough and bring it into the middle. Bring down the top third of the dough and fold this over, like you're folding a pamphlet.
    6. Turn the dough 90° so it's lengthwise in front of you, then push or use a rolling pin to gently push it into another 7x10 inches (17cm x 25cm) rectangle. Repeat the folding process once more.
    7. Turn the dough 90° so it's lengthwise in front of you, then push or use a rolling pin to gently push it into another 7x10 inches (17cm x 25cm) rectangle.
    8. Cut it into 8 pieces for large scones or 12 pieces for small scones.
    9. Place the cut scones into the fridge for at least an hour, but up to 24 hours.
    10. Preheat the oven to 428°F/220°C regular oven.
    11. Brush the scones with milk and top with grated cheese.
    12. Bake for approximately 14-20 minutes until golden brown. If you made 12 smaller scones they will need less time than 8 bigger scones.
    13. Serve the scones hot with a pat of butter.

Notes

*the cup sizes given are US-size cups. Note that these are smaller than metric. For best results use a kitchen scale and measure in grams.

**You can use what cheese you like in these sourdough scones, but those with a stronger flavor are preferable, such as cheddar cheese. Alternatively use a mixture of different cheeses to bring the flavor, such as mixing a milder Edam cheese with stronger parmesan.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 274Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 497mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 8g
© Elien
Cuisine: American / Category: Sourdough

I'm Elien, a lover of all things cooking, baking, and butter! I am a self-taught baker, author, and foodie. You will find me spending most of my days either recipe testing in the kitchen, photographing food in my living room, or out in the garden. I'm so happy to have you here!

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51 Comments

  1. Can I use this recipe for raspberry scones? I made this recipe with cheese and bacon and they were !the bomb’!

    Reply

    1. You could but perhaps with a few tweaks. You may want to add in some sugar and maybe substitute some of the milk for an egg for some richness. 🙂

    2. A good recipe – I used less cheese and more flat starter. Very tasty but found the butter leaked out quite a bit. Drained the melted butter back into butter dish. Tried same day bake as well as 20hr fermentation in the fridge. Both equally delicious. Definitely would make again

    1. Yup you can but the more acidic the starter(and the longer it’s left without feeding), the better for this recipe

  3. Just found your website. So happy to see someone reply to questions with actual suggestions and not the typical “uhhh, try it and let me know how it turns out.”

    Reply

  4. Hello! My unfed starter is pretty thick (thicker then pancake batter by a lot). Still produces good sourdough though, so I’ve never changed it. Would a thick starter like that work for this recipe?

    Reply

  5. This looks delicious ! But I don’t have any sourdough discard starter or active starter, can I replace it with something else?

    Reply

    1. Yup you could use buttermilk or yogurt instead. Just adapt the amount of milk added so the dough doesn’t become too wet 🙂

  6. These are the best cheese scones I’ve ever made (and I’ve made a lot in my time) and I even skipped the 1 hour rest so will try that next time. Thank you!

    Reply

  8. I am new to using sourdough discard, I am normally gf but digest sourdough well due to the fermentation process. For the fermentation step for this recipe, how does the dough ferment if put in the fridge?

    Reply

    2. Sara,
      I normally eat GF as well and can tolerate sourdough, just not too much. I make sourdough with GF flour, usually use Organic Brown Rice Flour. I use as regular sourdough bread and add baking soda and Xantham Gum, using a GF flour blend to bake (Better Batter works best for bread).

    3. These are by far the best scones I’ve ever eaten or made. Holy hell they’re delicious! I used a sharp cheddar and they’re like heaven!

  9. Has anyone made and frozen before the fermentation? I’d like to make during week and takeout Saturday night for a Sunday bake? Thoughts?

    Reply

    2. Ok so if I want a citrus scone could I do that by using like a thin marmalade instead of portion of milk? And I guess a tiny bit of sugar? Or maybe for lemon, part juice/part milk and obviously some zest? I’ve looked at other recipes but I like your proportions and don’t want to mess with those.☺️

  11. These are a keeper!!! Thank you for a fantastic recipe. I hate throwing sourdough discard away, and I am LOVING having these perfect crispy-edged, fluffy-middled savory scones in the freezer. I freeze them after shaping- we’re a family of three so I’ve been shaping a square and cutting into nine pieces- and pull out a few at a time to bake from frozen right before dinner, 18-20 minutes at 430F. No more emergency Pillsbury biscuits!
    Rave reviews all around here. I will definitely share this recipe with anyone I meet who uses sourdough.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the awesome feedback, Ben! I’m so happy you love them! Thanks a lot for recommending it further 🙂

    2. Thank you! 😊 I’m going to batch make these & was hoping they baked well from frozen.

  12. Hi, I’m new to sourdough and want to try these out. Would it be possible to do a longer ferment on these? I tried to research “how to long ferment any recipe”, but got no real answers.

    Reply

  13. I found this site through pinterest – looking for ways to use up sourdough discard. I made these on Thursday and ate 3 for dinner! Mind you, that’s all I ate, but I just couldn’t stop! They, by far, are the best savory scones I’ve made. I have another batch chilling in the fridge. Thanks so much for sharing! I like the looks of triangle scones so I shaped the dough into 2 circles and got a total of 12 scones 🙂

    Reply

    2. I get 16-18 baby triangles from making a real long rectangle, cut in half lengthwise then zigzag cuts. Feeds more of us and crust is my favorite part of everything.

  14. I made these today and cooked them tonight – and they are so amazing! They are the perfect texture and flavor, and I love being able to use sourdough discard in them, too. Thank you for the recipe and all of the tips. I did 18 small scones, cooked a few and froze the rest for using soon. I’ll be making these often!!

    Reply

  15. Made these yesterday, they were amazing! Next time I need to leave them in the oven slightly longer though as they were still slightly too moist in the centre. Will definitely make again! Lovely with some pickle, or chilli jam on top.

    Reply

  16. Made these yesterday and they are so good. I’m very new to anything baking and they still came out light and fluffy. One question, I would have preferred that my batch have more of a sourdough flavor to it. Would it have developed more of that flavor if I had let it rest for longer? I used discard, but I went with the minimum of 1 hour resting time.

    Reply

  17. This is my favorite absolute discard! I’ve used several different cheeses (Asiago is so good in this) and have even added finely chopped meats (pepperoni and bacon). I’ve done the minimum 1 hr rest and have rested them for 24 hrs. It doesn’t matter what I do, they always turn out amazing.

    Reply

  20. Would using bread flour make too much of a difference, that’s all I have on hand at the moment; but, I want to try these today!

    Reply

  23. Does the milk need to be dairy based? I only have flax milk plus protein – would that be an acceptable substitution?

    Reply

    1. I haven’t tried this myself but I think flax milk should work, though your scones may be a bit less tender and won’t brown as much because they won’t have as much fat in them

  24. These are some of the most ah-mazing scones I’ve had. It had a bit of butter running down in my air fryer basket so next time I’ll add a little bit less. These scones are very addictive!! Thank you so much

    Reply

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