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
Jen says
This recipe is perfect. So delicious! The only bad thing is they didn’t last long! Double recipe this time!
Anne says
If I want to let them ferment overnight what do I do? I don’t see when to do that anywhere in the recipe? Am I mixing everything and then placing the bowl, covered in the refrigerator? Or am I making the scones and then placing them, covered, in the refrigerator overnight? I’m confused and a newbie to using sourdough starter/discard recipes.
Emilie Raffa says
Hi there! I’ve updated the recipe to clarify. See step #7 in the recipe at the end of the post. In short: portion out the scones, cover the tray with plastic wrap (tight) and chill overnight.
Anne says
Thank you for the quick reply. Do you think I can just mix the batch and leave it in a bowl covered with plastic overnight and portion it out in the morning? Thank you.
Emilie Raffa says
Yes. This will work too!
Judy says
I’m getting ready to make these for the third time because they are so good! Great recipe!
Emilie Raffa says
Yay! This makes me so happy. We love this recipe too. Enjoy :)
dragon draconic says
if you wanted to add peanut butter would you add it to wet or dry ingredients
Emilie Raffa says
This is a great question. And to be honest, I’m unsure! I haven’t tested it, and I’m curious how the extra fat in the peanut butter would effect the rest of the dough. Baking can be very scientific. But if you want to experiment, perhaps add the peanut butter to the wet ingredients for easier mixing? Let me know how it goes.
suzanne hogan says
This was an amazing recipe. I used sourdough disgard not active sourddough and blueberries. I baked 1/2 the scones, the day I made the batter and the other 1/2 the next day. I couldn’t really tell a difference. Except that the warmer ones we liked better. I sprinkled with ginger sugar. I want to try again with cranberries.
Ashley says
I never leave reviews but these are so good I had to! Every time I make these everyone raves about them, and says they’re are the best scones they have ever eaten. We make them often, and just switch up the flavors. Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Deborah says
Thanks for this recipe, Emilie. I’ve used the instructions for the bake-later frozen scones with frozen blueberries. Success! The texture is perfect: slightly crisp exterior and moist interior. The flavor is wonderful, too. I used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 AP, reduced sugar to about 65 g, and had no cream, so used oat milk. Very happy with result :)
Cindy says
Loved the recipe, it was very easy to make and the lemon zest added a nice lemony flavor to the scones. Next time will do the freezer recipe.
One question….it seemed like there was a lot of butter in the recipe??? Have you tried making them with less butter?
Kelly says
I accidentally made them with 8 tablespoons of butter last night and we loved them.
Christen says
I never leave reviews but this is one of the best things I have made EVER. I use strawberries instead of blueberries (personal preference) and they are just divine. The dough was a little tough for me to fully mix so I ended up using my hands a bit, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. My family is a tough critic and even they said these are the best scones they have ever had outside of the UK. I keep dough balls frozen in the fridge and pop em in the oven whenever I want them. *chefs kiss*
Kelly says
These scones are so GOOD I had to comment. I’ve tried other mediocre discard scone recipes in the past and none were even close to scrumptious as these, even with my minor substitutes. I subbed 4T of butter with Earth Balance and since I didn’t have heavy cream, I used a blend of whole milk and a little greek yogurt. I also used a 2″ biscuit cutter for smaller ones yielding more scones and kept an eye on them while baking at a lower 375º. The results were as described… they baked up beautifully golden with an almost crisp exterior yet light and so tender inside. *Thank you Emilie for this fantastic recipe! I’m looking forward to trying your other discard recipes soon.
Jen says
This recipe is really forgiving! I had commited to making it when I realised I only had 70g of butter. I just added more cream. I also wanted to do the overnight version but realised that my mixture was too wet (because of the extra cream) to stay in portions on a flat tray overnight so put it in a muffin pan instead! Whilst this meant that the results looked more like muffins when they came out than scones, they tasted great! I flavoured them with a handfull of frozen cherries which I added to the food processor when I added the butter. I will definately make this recipe again, and next time will even try using the right amount of butter!!!
Emilie Raffa says
Love this. Great tips and I’m SO glad you were able to modify the recipe to suit your needs :)
Kristine says
These were so easy and so delicious! I made them dairy-free by using Country Crock plant butter and plant cream and they came out perfect. The overnight option is so handy!! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Anonymous says
Atlanta says
hi! excited to find this recipe. wondering, though… for those of us with egg allergies, do you recommend flax egg as a replacement? chia egg?
Emilie Raffa says
Great question. I haven’t tested it so I’m unable to advise with specifics. But it’s definitely worth a shot. If you experiment, please let me know and I’ll update the notes here if anyone else is interested!
Kelle says
We make this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer and they turn out great! I’ve never made them with an actual egg to compare (Egg allergies in our house)
Cindy says
I absolutely love this recipe! I used frozen blueberries, thawed them and almond milk. They were so good, can’t wait to make again!
Cindy says
Audrey says
So. Good.
I didn’t have heavy cream or fresh fruit. Used frozen mixed berries instead, thawing them first.
Using the Pumpkin recipe as a guide, I substituted 100g of Greek yogurt for the heavy cream – delicious!!!
Really appreciated the measurements in weight – soooooo much easier to measure!!
Looking forward to trying the other flavour versions!
Emilie Raffa says
Fantastic, super helpful tips. Thanks for sharing! PS: love the Greek yogurt substitution.
Lisa says
The orange cranberry were amazing!! Better than any you could buy!
Emilie Raffa says
Wonderful! So great to hear! Thank you, Lisa :)
Charlotte says
Serious question: Why make “sourdough” scones (or anything else really) when baking powder and/or baking soda is also added? Isn’t the point to not use any rising agents when using sourdough as it’s healthier? Why not just use a regular recipe? Or is it just for taste reasons to add some sourness?
Emilie Raffa says
There are a few key points to consider. First, when using sourdough discard (as opposed to active sourdough starter), it might not be strong enough to boost the rise. This will vary from baker to baker, so think of baking soda/powder as active insurance. Additionally, baking soda tends to neutralize any “sour” notes in sourdough discard recipes. This is desirable for sweet recipes like cookies, cakes etc. Finally: in terms of health benefits and flavor, fermenting the dough overnight maximizes this and creates a unique texture. With that said, you can always experiment too- make one version with rising agents and one version without, keeping in mind the quality and strength of your sourdough starter.
Molly says
To freeze – are we freezing the dough then baking for 28-30 minutes, or freezing the baked scones?
Emilie Raffa says
You can do both. I just updated the instructions in the “Storage Options” section for further clarification. In short: bake frozen (raw dough) for 28-30 minutes. Or, freeze already baked scones and reheat for appx. 20-24+ minutes.
Carly says
What temperature do you bake the unbaked frozen scones?
Linda says
I made these and I loved them! I would like to experiment with a less cake-like texture (more of a dense, traditional texture) on my second batch. Do you know how I could change this recipe slightly to try a different texture? I believe I may have read somewhere that it’s the cream that gives scones the lighter, fluffier texture as opposed to not using cream in the recipe?
Emilie Raffa says
To start, try reducing the baking powder to 2 tsp and perhaps the cream as well, but only slightly. And then consider the traditional shaping method of rolling and cutting (instead of the scoop and drop method here). This should change the texture. However, baking is a science. Trial and error will be involved for sure!
Linda says
Thank you so much for responding. I’m sure you are very busy so I appreciate your time. I will try your suggestions.
I’m a little worried about overworking the dough if I roll them and cut them, but I will look on YouTube to see if I can watch someone rolling scones so I can get an idea of how much rolling is okay, and how much is too much.
Again, thank you!
Linda
Austin Peterson says
For being brand new to the world of sourdough, this recipe was so easy and delicious, and helped me have more confidence to continue baking with my starter.
I made the lemon blueberry scones, then drizzled a simple glaze made of powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and milk over top. The scones are delicious with or without the glaze!
Thanks for maintaining this site with recipes, tips, tricks, and encouragement!
Emilie Raffa says
Austin, this is wonderful to hear. Sourdough discard recipes are an excellent intro to sourdough. They have a high success rate. Plus, the process simultaneously teaches you how to care and maintain you starter in a more relaxed way.
Ciska says
Hi just wanted to know if you can take out the sugar and replace with stevia or brown rice malt syrup?
Emilie Raffa says
Hi there! I’ve haven’t tested this recipe with sugar substitutes. If you experiment, please let me know! Off the top of my head: malt syrup will change the structure/texture of the scones.
Mary Windeknecht says
I’ve made these twice now. They are excellent! I plan to make them again when my family is in town later this month. I make mine a bit smaller so I can get ten or eleven scones instead of eight. They are absolutely delicious and easy to make. I use the overnight option so we have warm scones in the morning.
Emilie Raffa says
Ooo love the idea of smaller scones! Thanks for sharing!
Gisele says
Could you put the whole dough (in the bowl) in the fridge overnight and make the scones the next day instead of putting a cookie sheet in the fridge? I don’t have room for that. Thank you.
Emilie Raffa says
Yes absolutely. Just make sure the bowl is tightly covered in plastic wrap.
Gisele says
Thank you so much!
Kassy says
All I can say is wow! These are incredible! I used raspberries since that’s what I had and man are these delicious!!!
Emilie Raffa says
Sounds delicious! Yum!
Lauralee R says
These are the best sourdough scones I have ever made. I long fermented them overnight in the fridge and baked them from cold. I made a double batch (luckily cause they are so good) so I put them close together on the baking sheet to ferment. The next morning I moved some of them to a room temp baking sheet to bake. I noticed that the scones that were baked on the cold cookie sheet that spent the night in the fridge were more rounded. So the cold seemed to help them retain a pleasing shape. ( I used 1 or 2 T more cream than the recipe called for so that probably contributed to the spread. I will omit the extra cream the next time.)
Emilie Raffa says
Ahh… excellent tips! Thank you for sharing. I like that the cold dough + sheet pan produced a more rounded look. And yes: more cream = more spread.
Margaret says
Made the blueberry ones for New Year, I followed the recipe exactly as written. Everyone loved them. I got many complements, it was a hit. Very simple easy to follow directions.
Emilie Raffa says
Thrilled to hear this Margaret! Thank you for taking the time to comment :)
agnes says
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I can’t believe this is so easy to make with the food processor! I freezed mine and baked one — tastes so good! Now I have know how i can use my SD discard! thanks again
Emilie Raffa says
You are very welcome! I’m so glad you liked the recipe! xx
Kay says
Thank you these are delicious! (Made the pumpkin version so far) When using frozen fruit is it still possible to ferment overnight? I’m a bit worried they’ll add too much moisture to the dough as they defrost.
Emilie Raffa says
Great question. You can definitely use frozen fruit. But to your point, they might add extra moisture when they defrost on the overnight. Perhaps cut back on the heavy cream to compensate.
Lori in ND says
Wow! These turned out so good. I loved the texture and flavor combo of the lemon and blueberry. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Emilie Raffa says
You are very welcome! I love that flavor combo too, especially with the vanilla :)
Lori in ND says
Cathy Seaver says
These are the best scones! Bri flaky and light.
I did two things differently from the recipe.
1. I added the blueberries to the dry ingredients after incorporating the butter. The blueberries got coated by flour which helps them stay evenly distributed in the scones during baking.
2. I flattened and folded the dough a few times, then shaped into one large circle. Then I placed the whole thing into a cast iron skillet, divided it into 8 triangles and baked. The bake time was a little longer this way, but I like how they turned out.
Emilie Raffa says
Cathy, I love these tips. Thank you. Tossing the blueberries in the flour is an excellent idea. I’ve never baked scones in a cast iron skillet before. I imagine the texture was incredible.
Annette says
I made the cranberry orange scones with a combination of fresh and dried cranberries for a post thanksgiving brunch. Absolutely delicious. Another outstanding recipe.
Emilie Raffa says
Great idea! I’ve never tried using a combo of fresh and dried before. Perfectly tart and sweet. Yum.
Jeff Newman says
Best scones ever IMO
Emilie Raffa says
Thank you Jeff!
Christina says
Looking forward to making these! For the bake from frozen, is that for scones that have been baked already and then cooled and frozen, or can you freeze them unbaked and then bake from frozen (or both)? Also, any thoughts/ideas for how to make a gingerbread flavored scone? Thank you for all your yummy and tempting recipes!
Emilie Raffa says
Hello! You can do both. Previously baked & cooled scones can be frozen, defrosted at room temperature, and reheated in a low oven, to serve. Alternatively, you can freeze unbaked scone dough (in balls). Place the frozen dough balls onto a sheet pan and bake directly from frozen. Hope this helps!
Christina says
Great, thank you!
Jen says
The instructions are unclear in the recipe for freezing unbaked scones and baking from frozen. This reply helped but you may want to clarify the instructions.
Also how/at what point do you set aside the dough overnight?
Excited to make these today!
Bill says
Aside from sourdough baking, I try my hand at baking other things from time to time and these looked easy enough. I made the blueberry, then the pumpkin scones. I intended to freeze some of the dough but my family ate them so fast they wanted me to make more! When no one is home, I plan on making the dough and freeze for the holidays!
Emilie Raffa says
Ahh, this is so great. Thanks for the feedback, Bill. Glad you liked them. The frozen dough tip is fantastic.
doug jones says
mine expanded quite a bit and flattened out some. Still fluffy and moist inside but bigger than I wanted.
Emilie Raffa says
Hi Dough! It’s possible there was too much liquid in the dough (perhaps from your starter) which is why they spread. This is normal since we all work with different starters ranging in various thicknesses and flour types. Next time, add less cream to balance out the texture of starter and/or shape the dough into tighter balls and chill for 10 minutes before baking.
doug jones says
That was spot on. I did add a little more cream which probably resulted in the spread. I used a 100% starter and used frozen Blueberries which also could have affected it. The good news is they were gone so fast that I should make another batch (:
Emilie Raffa says
Doug, thanks so much for reporting back. Appreciate it! Makes total sense, too. And now you know for next time ☺️
RYB says
Made the pumpkin scones yesterday, they are beginner friendly and delicious. The spices are perfect and I added a maple glaze. Definitely making again and will freeze half prior to making.
Emilie Raffa says
Ooo maple glaze! Sounds so good! Yum.
Melanie C. says
Hello Emilie. I just made the pumpkin version of these. I saw your email this morning and got to work, if you could call it work. These are easy and so delicious! It saves so much trouble when you don’t have to roll out the dough and cut. What a clever redesign of scone preparation!
Thank you so much. I’ll probably make these the night before Thanksgiving and Christmas as an easy addition to breakfast. Love it!
Emilie Raffa says
Hi Melanie! Yay! I’m so glad you liked them. Isn’t the “no-roll” method fun? In addition to convenience, I love how it produces golden, craggy tops. I literally pick off the crunchy bits first ;) PS: I just updated the recipe to include baking instructions from frozen, which would be perfect for the holidays or anytime make-ahead breakfasts. They come out great.
Melanie C. says
Hi Emilie,
Yes, the craggy tops are the best! My family loved these. And I am thrilled with the ease of preparation.
As a person who gets quite flustered around the holidays, even with a tiny family, it will be great to be able to bake these from frozen. Thank you so much for this and all your delicous recipes!
Liz says
Hi, I want to roll/cut them out do you think the recipe will work if I do that?
Emilie Raffa says
Hi Liz! Yes, absolutely. After mixing the dough, let it rest for a few minutes. It will be easier to work with. Roll the dough in between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment paper to prevent sticking. Try to aim for 1- 1 1/2 inches in thickness. Then cut out the dough with a biscuit cutter in the shape/size of your choice and bake (the bake time will depend on your cutter selection- just keep an eye on them while in the oven). And that’s it!
Vicki Sanders says
I can’t wait to try this scone recipe! Your recipes are always amazing. I just made my second loaf of your recent pumpkin bread recipe because the first loaf was the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had. Perfection!
Any plans for a second book in the near future?
Emilie Raffa says
Oooo yay! Thank you so much. So glad to hear this Vicki! You will like this scone recipe too- try the pumpkin version if you have any leftover pumpkin puree from the pumpkin bread. And yes to another book! They take ages… ;)
Deborah says
Thanks, Emilie. Can’t wait to try these! Any advice for using frozen blueberries?
Emilie Raffa says
You’re welcome! Use the same amount for frozen blueberries; no need to defrost first. Just throw them in. Heads up- frozen blueberries might stain the dough with some purple streaks, but it doesn’t change the flavor or final outcome one bit. Enjoy!