Learn how to make tender, flaky homemade sourdough scones (active or discard) with my master recipe and step-by-step instructions. Enjoy now for breakfast, or ferment overnight to maximize flavor. You can even prep-ahead and bake the dough frozen!
Making homemade scones feature several steps: cutting butter into flour, rolling the dough, and shaping. For this recipe, you can skip all that.
Adapted from my first book, The Clever Cookbook, my shortcut, no-roll method is quick, practical and actually doable. In this post, I’ll show you how to make sourdough scones with fresh blueberries, plus variations like pumpkin and cranberry if you want to mix things up.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy-to-find ingredients
- Food processor method quickly cuts butter into the flour- just a few pulses and you’re done!
- A measuring scoop (instead of biscuit cutters) portions out the dough.
- Same-day, prep-ahead & overnight options for baking.
Good To Know:
- Make sure your butter is cold. This will create light, tender and flaky scones.
- The cranberry-orange version uses fresh cranberries, so the taste is tart. Garnish the tops with coarse sparkling sugar (or something similar) to elevate the sweetness. Alternatively, opt for dried sweetened cranberries instead, about 3/4 cup chopped.
- Expect to add more cream if the dough is dry. This all depends on the hydration level of your sourdough starter (flour to water ratio). I use a 100% hydration sourdough starter, which is made from equal parts flour and water by weight. It has a thick, batter-like consistency.
How To Make Sourdough Scones
Here, you’ll find my easy, step by-step instructions. For a printable version of this recipe with storage and prep-ahead options, scroll to the end.
To Start: pulse the dry ingredients to combine. No food processor? A stand mixer with a paddle attachment is fine too. Add the cubed butter and pulse only a few quick times times- you are not making perfectly smooth pasta dough here. Stop when it looks like coarse crumbs (some larger buttery bits are fine). They’ll melt into the dough, giving you that dreamy flaky texture.
Tip: Over mixing will make your scones tough. Think “rough but combined” but not 100% uniform.
- Mix the dough: Whisk together the wet ingredients. Now, add the dry ingredients. Bring everything together with a few gentle folds. The dough should hold together when pinched in between your fingertips. If it feels too dry, trust your gut and drizzle in more cream as needed. Add the blueberries. Do this nicely. Smash them around and you’ll get jam!
- Portion the dough: Use a ½ cup scoop to portion the dough into 8 shaggy rounds. Keep them tall- height gives lift. Line them up on a parchment-lined tray (see tip below).
- To Finish: Bake for 20–24 minutes until golden. Let cool briefly, then move to a wire rack. They’ll firm up as they sit.
Tip: Want to bake tomorrow morning? Cover and chill overnight. Then pop the tray into the oven straight from the fridge.
Sourdough Scone Variations
- Cranberry-Orange: Use 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries & the zest of 1 orange. Alternatively, use dried sweetened cranberries, about 3/4 cup.
- Pumpkin Spice: Add 100 g canned pumpkin purée to the wet ingredients. Add 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp cloves to the dry ingredients. Decrease the heavy cream to 1 tbsp. Note: save leftover pumpkin purée to make my same-day sourdough discard pumpkin bread.
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Easy, No-Roll Sourdough Scones (Overnight Friendly)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 22
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 8 scones 1x
- Category: Sourdough Discard Recipes
- Method: Oven-Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These light and tender sourdough scones can be made with bubbly, active sourdough starer or sourdough discard. Make them now, or ferment overnight to maximize flavor and digestibility. I’ve also included 3 different variations to choose from: lemon blueberry, cranberry orange and pumpkin spice.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 250 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
- 10 g (1 tbsp) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 170 g (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- 50 g (about 1/4 cup) sourdough starter (active sourdough starter or sourdough discard)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Zest of 1 lemon, about 1 tbsp
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Sparkling sugar, for decoration
Variations:
- Cranberry-Orange: Substitute 1 cup fresh/frozen cranberries + 1 tbsp. orange zest. For a less tart taste, substitute 3/4 cup dried, sweetened cranberries instead. Yield: 8 scones.
- Pumpkin Spice: Add 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp nutmeg to the dry ingredients. Add 100 g (appx. 1/2 cup) canned pumpkin purée to the wet ingredients. Decrease the heavy cream to 1 tablespoon, plus a drizzle more as needed. Yield: 6 scones.
Notes & Tips:
- If you don’t have a food processor, a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachments can be used instead.
- Use cold butter for light, tender and flaky scones.
- The cranberry-orange variation uses tart, fresh cranberries. Garnish the tops with coarse sparkling sugar (or something similar) to make it sweeter. Or, use dried cranberries instead.
- Dry dough? Add more cream. This will depend on the hydration level of your sourdough starter. I use a 100% hydration sourdough starter. The texture is thick, like batter.
-
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 F/ 204 C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor: add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Pulse just a few times to combine.
- Add the butter. In short bursts, pulse 3-5 times. The mixture should look sandy and crumbly, with some large chunks of butter throughout.
- In a large bowl: whisk the egg, sourdough starter, vanilla extract, heavy cream and citrus zest together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix gently with a rubber spatula to combine.
- Fold in the fresh blueberries. If the mixture seems dry, add a drizzle of heavy cream. The dough should easily stick when pinched together with your fingertips. Bring the dough together in a large mound.
- Using a 1/2 cup measure, portion the dough onto your lined baking sheet, keeping them rounded for added height when baked. Note: At this point, you can cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill overnight for maximum fermentation. Or, to bake straight away, jump to the next step.
- Sprinkle the tops with coarse sparkling sugar.
- Bake on the center rack for 20-24+ minutes or until golden and set in the center when poked.
- Cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes; then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature for best texture.
Storage Options
- Room Temperature: Scones are best enjoyed fresh, on the same day that they are baked. Once completely cool, transfer to a plate and cover with foil or wrap; the texture will start to become more moist as they sit. Gently reheat in a low oven, if you prefer.
- To Freeze (baked scones): Wrap cooled, baked scones in plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Freeze up to 1-3 months. Uncover and thaw at room temperature. Bake @ 300 F/ 150 C on a parchment-lined tray for 10-15 minutes.
- To Freeze (unbaked scones): After you have portioned the dough into balls, place onto a parchment-lined plate. Freeze until solid. Transfer to an airtight container or zip-top bag. Freeze for 1-3 months. To bake, place the frozen dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet; bake for 28-30 minutes.
Comments
Nicole Bettlach says
Has anyone used an air fryer to reheat these frozen already baked scones?
Angie says
I love these scones. I’ve made them a couple of times. They are light and airy. I followed the recipe exactly except I add an icing at the end after they are cooled off. The scones are similar to drop biscuits.
Nat says
I’ve made these a few times already and they are so delicious and go really fast in my house. Wondering if anybody has played with some healthier substitutions that didn’t negatively effect awesome factor.
Particularly replacing sugar with monk fruit extract / honey / maple syrup – or a combination and if yes how much ?
Using coconut oil instead of butter – does it change the texture ? It would also have to be chilled for sure.
And Greek yogurt instead of the cream ?
Thank you !
lauren says
I want to note that using a 1/2cup measurement to portion the dough would only makes six scones. I’d suggest a 1/3 cup or weigh the total of the dough then divide by 8 portions.
Connie says
I mixed the ingredients yesterday afternoon and baked the scones this morning. The long fermentation is important for me. I knew I should have skipped making these since scones are one of my favorites. I did a little minor altering. Using some of the suggestions mentioned in the comments I used buttermilk cream, dried cranberries and cut the sugar from 1/2 C to 1/3 C. Not a huge difference and the scones were/are delicious. I will either freeze or share the scones. Otherwise I know I will eat too many too quickly! This is a very simple recipe with a great outcome.
Wendy says
These came out delicious!
Cassandra Meed says
Hello! Can I make this dough recipe but shape into little triangles and still bake at same temperature and time!
Charlie says
Didn’t have enough sugar so I substituted slightly less honey. The scones turned out light, fluffy, not too sweet and delicious.
I’ve tried a few oif your very nice recipes
Alyssa says
Everyone I’ve ever made these for absolutely LOVE them! I’m planning on making a few dozen for a baby shower this weekend but would also like to make cinnamon chip of some sort, does anyone have any suggestions on how to best go about that? Thanks in advance!
Sarah says
So easy and delicious!
Leslie says
Hi , I made the cranberry -orange recipe . They are delicious and the texture is wonderful . My only problem is that the bottoms burned . I wonder what I did to cause that ? I use a thermometer to test the temperature and placed the tray in the Center of the oven . Any advice would be appreciated . I adore scones , and except for the burn , in they are the best I have ever tasted .
Carol F says
I made this and it was delicious! I substituted the cream for buttermilk since I didn’t have cream and am lactose intolerant. (I made the buttermilk using lactose free milk).
IRMA SCHOLTZ says
Hi Emilie
Hope all is well with you and your family
I love all your recipes and have been making the Blueberry muffins since ” forever”!
As I am not allowed to use butter I have substituted it with Olive Oil.
It works perfectly and the muffins are still beautifully moist.
Your new recipe for the blueberry scones also uses butter.
Will the “scone texture” still be satisfactory if I substitute the butter with olive oil?
It will be fabulous to get a response from you.
Many thanks
Irma Scholtz
Johannesburg
South Africa
Patricia says
These are delicious and so easy to make. I make a batch and freeze them and then just bake it in the morning for breakfast. Thank you.
Christy says
I just made the pumpkin spice variation of these and they were amazing! Just perfect for fall! Next time, I’ll try to add some pecans or walnuts to the dough and maybe dust with a little cinnamon sugar, but I hesitate to do that because they were just perfect! Thank you for this recipe!!