Sourdough Discard Blueberry Scones
Lia Soneson
We’re all about making the most of sourdough starter discard! If you have extra on hand, why not turn it into delicious blueberry scones? And, if sourdough isn’t your thing, don’t worry — you can easily tweak the recipe to work without any sourdough discard. Let's get baking!
Sourdough Discard Blueberry Scones
Makes 8 scones
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons butter, extra cold and grated
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt1 cup fresh blueberries, frozen for 10-15 minutes before mixing
1/4 cup sourdough starter discard
1/2 cup heavy cream (if not using sourdough starter,use 1 cup whole buttermilk in place of starter discard and heavy cream)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream, for brushing
Directions:
1. Grate very cold butter with a coarse cheese grater. Place the grated butter in the freezer to re-chill after grating.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together using a whisk or broad spatula.
3. Incorporate the grated and re-chilled butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender using a quick pressing motion.
4. Add the frozen blueberries to the dry mixture, and lightly stir until evenly distributed.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Mix together the sourdough starter discard, theheavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the liquid all at once to the dry ingredients. Mix together using a folding motion with a large spatula. Do not over mix; the dough will be shaggy and a bit dry in character. Turn the dough and scraps out onto a lightly-floured working surface.
6. Using a light touch, bring the dough and loose scraps together, and gently gather into a single mass. Push the dough around a bit, folding it over 3-4 times. Too much kneading will activate the gluten in the flour and result in a tougher scone.
7. Pat the dough into a circle disk with a thickness of about 3/4-inch to 1-inch. Use a dough cutter to cut the dough into 8 wedges. Brush the scones with a cream wash. Place the scones a few inches apart on a parchment-lined baking pan.
8. Place the scones and pan in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the butter to re-chill. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F.
9. When ready to bake, bake on the middle rack of the oven – if too low, the bottoms may darken; if too high, the tops may brown too quickly. Bake for 13-15 minutes.
10. Enjoy the scones while still warm with a smear of butter.