Sourdough Cheese Scones (2024)

ByElien

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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 Cheese Scones (1)

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.

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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.

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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.

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Step by step

  • Chop the cold butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients. Use apastry cutterto 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.
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  • 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.
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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.

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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!

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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 apastry cutterto 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: 12Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 274Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 497mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 8g

Sourdough Cheese Scones (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good scones? ›

Baking tips for making the perfect scones

The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too. Use pastry flour: This will create a noticeably lighter scone. However, self-raising flour works just as well and creates a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely.

Why do my cheese scones not rise? ›

The longer you get the dough sit before baking it, the less your scones will rise. Try to bake the dough as soon as you finishing kneading and rolling it out. Letting the mixture sit too long will cause the gas bubbles from the leavening agent to disappear. These gas bubbles are what help the scones rise.

What is the secret to sourdough? ›

6. Just add water for softer sourdough. The secret to sourdough is simple: water. The more water you add to your dough will affect how open the crumb (bigger holes and softer texture) will be once it's baked.

Which type of flour is best for scones? ›

Use all-purpose flour for a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely, both in and out of the oven. To make more delicate, lower-rising, cake-like scones, substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1 to 2 tablespoons, using just enough to bring the dough together.

Is it better to make scones with butter or oil? ›

For example, if you substitute oil for butter or margarine, you can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your baked goods. This streamlined recipe for Light Scones uses just 3 tablespoons of canola oil, which contains a fraction of the saturated fat found in butter or margarine.

Should you chill scone dough before baking? ›

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it's baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you're working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

How do you make scones rise higher? ›

To ensure taller scones, start with a thicker dough disc and place the scones on a tray with sides, allowing them to slightly touch one another. This arrangement encourages the scones to push against the pan and each other, promoting height.

How long should you rest scones before baking? ›

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

What makes sourdough taste better? ›

The key taste compounds include salt, which is directly added to the dough, as well as acetic and lactic acid, produced during fermentation. After these experiments, they applied a technique called “unified flavor quantitation,” which was previously developed by Hofmann's team, to the sourdough bread.

How do you increase sourdough flavor? ›

Longer fermentation

When it comes time to proof your dough, the longer you proof, the more sour the dough will be. As your dough proofs, the good bacteria eats up sugars and starches in the flour. This decreases the sweet undertone and creates a more sour undertone.

How to get a better sourdough rise? ›

One way you can help your sourdough to rise more is by turning on the light in your oven. Preheat the oven just slightly, then turn off the heat and place the dough inside with the light on. The warmth generated by the light helps activate the yeast, which will cause it to rise faster.

Why are my cheese scones grey inside? ›

The grey in the middle is where the dough has become much more dense because the gluten was overdeveloped. This tends to happen when a dough is overworked, handling it/mixing it less should help next time.

Is buttermilk or cream better for scones? ›

Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk.

Why are scones bad for you? ›

They are typically extremely high in calories from the heavy butter and cream. And, although scones with fruit might seem healthier, most are even higher in calories and still high in saturated fat. Steer clear of scones.

Why are my scones not light and fluffy? ›

Some common reasons for dense scones are not using enough baking powder, overworking the dough and not baking with the oven at the correct temperature.

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