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.
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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.
- sourdough banana bread
- sourdough puff pastry
- Pizza dough with discard starter
- pancakes with sourdough discard
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 7x10 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 7x10 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 7x10 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.
Related recipes
Try sourdough focaccia or sourdough pain au chocolat!
Full Recipe
Sourdough Cheese Scones
These sourdough cheese scones are tender and cheesy with a hint of fresh chives.
Ingredients
- 350g (2 ¾ cups*) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 113g (½ cup) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 200g (7oz) grated cheese*
- 100g (½ cup) sourdough discard starter
- 2 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
- 190g-210g (¾ cup+) cold milk
Topping
- 2 tablespoon milk
- Grated cheese
Instructions
- 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.
- Stir in the grated cheese and chopped chives.
- 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.
- Tip this dough out onto a lightly floured bench and push it into a shaggy rectangle of about 7x10 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 7x10 inches (17cm x 25cm) rectangle. Repeat the folding process 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 7x10 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.
- Preheat the oven to 428°F/220°C regular oven.
- Brush the scones with milk and top with grated cheese.
- Bake for approximately 14-20 minutes until golden brown. If you made 12 smaller scones they will need less time than 8 bigger scones.
- 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: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 274Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 497mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 8g
Cindy says
Can I use this recipe for raspberry scones? I made this recipe with cheese and bacon and they were !the bomb’!
Elien says
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. 🙂
Merel says
Can I make this using active sourdough as well?
Elien says
Yup you can but the more acidic the starter(and the longer it’s left without feeding), the better for this recipe
Debbie says
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."
Elien says
Happy to have you here Debbie! 🙂
M says
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?
Elien says
Hey yeah for sure, you can just adapt the amount of milk as needed 🙂
Anne says
This looks delicious ! But I don’t have any sourdough discard starter or active starter, can I replace it with something else?
Elien says
Yup you could use buttermilk or yogurt instead. Just adapt the amount of milk added so the dough doesn't become too wet 🙂
Tui says
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!
Elien says
Yay so happy to read this!
Judy says
Can I use whole whipping cream instead of milk?
Elien says
Yes you could 🙂
Sara says
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?
Elien says
Hey during the fridge stage the bacteria get to work and break down the starches in the flour 🙂
Janet says
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).
Marilyn says
Has anyone made and frozen before the fermentation? I’d like to make during week and takeout Saturday night for a Sunday bake? Thoughts?
Elien says
Hey Marilyn, I've frozen the unbaked scones before with great results 🙂
Autumn W says
Phenomenal!!!!!! These are excellent scones that blew me away. These are in my permanent rotation.
Elien says
yaay! So happy you loved them!
Ben says
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.
Elien says
Thanks for the awesome feedback, Ben! I'm so happy you love them! Thanks a lot for recommending it further 🙂
Rebekah says
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.
Elien says
Hey you can ferment these for up to 3 days in the fridge, just ensure they’re tightly covered 🙂
Becca says
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 🙂
Elien says
So happy you loved them Becca! Thanks for the wonderful feedback 🙂