Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

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If you asked me what my perfect breakfast is, I would say that it’s something so simple. I love to sit down in the morning under a blanket with a cup of black coffee and a tender scone. I never really knew what a scone was until I happened upon them in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook and was curious. After making them for the first time, I remember wondering why they weren’t a MUCH bigger part of our lives and since then I have worked hard to make them so! 

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My love for sourdough has had me thinking about this recipe for a long time. A tender, flakey perfect scone with the benefits and added flavor profile of sourdough is a winning combination and an obvious addition to the kitchen of any sourdough baker.

Sourdough Discard Scones are the Perfect Breakfast

Sourdough discard scones are a great way to use up extra sourdough starter. The fall flavors of pumpkin chocolate chip with a warm maple glaze make them the perfect breakfast of afternoon snack for when the days start to turn cool. Whether you’re looking to stock up on a grab and go breakfast, add some variety to your micro-bakery, or you just want a quick and satisfying project, these scones deserve to be in the front of your recipe box to be made on repeat.

Best of Both Worlds

My love for sourdough has had me thinking about this recipe for a long time. A tender, flakey perfect scone with the benefits and added flavor profile of sourdough. A winning combination and an obvious addition to the kitchen of any sourdough baker.

A scone should be moist without being cakey. Sourdough scones should be tender and buttery without just falling apart when you bite into them. They should never be too sweet but should be finished with the perfect glaze that brings the whole thing together. These sourdough discard scones are all of these things with the added advantage of slow fermentation and all the best flavors of fall! This easy recipe is sure to become a go to, as all good recipes should be. Keep a batch on hand for a quick breakfast or an afternoon coffee break. Before long, you’ll start to see them as a little luxury that you can no longer do without!

What You’ll Love About Sourdough Scones

This easy recipe combines the technique for making perfect scones with the benefits of consuming fermented grains. With the addition of sourdough, you will end up with more flavorful and tender scones and your gut will be happier! After mixing the dough, we store it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to allow the starter to ferment the dough. 

This easy sourdough scone is also a great way to use up extra discard that you have building up. I recommend using discard that has been setting no more than 24 hours at room temperature. Or no more than one week in the refrigerator. Otherwise, the cobbler dough can become overly strong tasting and sour. As long as your starter is fresh, the sweetness from the other ingredients will likely mask the flavor of the sourdough.

Ingredients

Flour: Sugar: You’ll want to use your granulated white sugar of choice. I don’t recommend substituting the sugar for honey or maple syrup as this will make the dough to wet. 

Baking Soda: Although this is a sourdough discard recipe, the scones are actually getting their rise from baking powder just like a biscuit would.

Salt: Use your favorite! 

Butter: Scones should be made with cold butter right from the fridge. Cold butter helps to give the scones their distinctive tenderness that is so important. The butter should be added in small pieces so that it gets distributed evenly. 

Chocolate Chips: Any chocolate chip will work here, but these are my absolute favorite. Good quality chocolate can really elevate a pastry, and this chocolate walks the line between semi-sweet and dark, which is truly the sweet spot! 

Heavy Whipping Cream: So important! All of the beautiful fat in cream helps to give the scones their distinct tenderness and crumb and sets them apart from a biscuit. 

Sourdough Starter: This is a sourdough discard recipe because the sourdough starter is not being used to leaven the scones. We want the sourdough starter to give the benefits of slow fermentation, but the rise comes from the baking soda. 

Pumpkin Puree: Canned or homemade is just fine, just stay away from pumpkin pie filling.

Spices: I use cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg in this recipe to create the perfect fall flavor. If you’ve never tried freshly ground nutmeg, I can’t recommend it enough. It will instantly make your baked goods taste fresher and will add a depth of flavor that can’t be beat. All you have to do is buy whole nutmegs and use a micro plane grater to add a few swipes! 

Making Sourdough Discard Scones with a Food Processor

The best way to get a scone that’s tender without being crumbly, and moist without being cakey, is to use a food processor. This magical machine makes for such a quick and easy recipe to throw together. Start by throwing all of the dry ingredients, including the sugar, into the bowl of your food processor. Go ahead and add in the cubed butter and start pulsing everything together until the butter is well dispersed and about pea sized. In my food processor, I usually pulse the mixture about ten times. It really doesn’t take very long, and you DO NOT want to over mix. If you over-incorporate the butter you end up with cakey scones so go slow and steady!

Making Sourdough Discard Scones without a Food Processor

If you don’t have a food processor, no worries! You can still make awesome, delicious scones. Once again, you’ll start with your dry ingredients, including the sugar, and add them all into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together so everything is evenly dispersed (I usually use a fork). Use a cheese grater to grate your cold butter right into the bowl. Next, I’ll take that same fork (or a pastry cutter) and toss the grated butter with the flour mixture. 

Mixing It all Together

After you mix your butter and dry ingredients, dump the mixture into a large bowl and use a fork to stir in the chocolate chips. In a small bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, sourdough starter, and pumpkin puree. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour in the cream mixture. Use your fork to stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, working from the center out. We want all of the dry ingredients to be fully hydrated and well combined. Again, we don’t want to overwork the dough so if you are having difficulty incorporating all of the dry ingredients, just add a splash or two of heavy cream. You should end up with a shaggy dough and maybe some dry bits at the bottom of the bowl. 

Dump your dough out onto a floured surface and gently pat it into an eight-inch disk. I’ll usually dust the top of the dough with a little bit of flour so that my hands don’t stick. Place the disk in plastic wrap or an airtight container and store it the fridge for 4-24 hours, depending on how long you want the dough to ferment. 

Baking your sourdough scones

After your dough has fermented in the fridge, it’s ready to bake! Now, ask yourself if you want eight regular sized scones or six large scones. If you want my personal opinion, choose the large scones 🙂 Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the scone dough into 6-8 pie slices and transfer them to a prepared baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. You could go ahead and pop these in the oven, but for best results I recommend placing them in the freezer for at least thirty minutes before baking them. 

Tips for Better Scones

1. At the bakery, we always bake our scones right out of the freezer. This gives the scones a better texture and ensures that they hold their shape well.
2. Use cold butter, straight from the fridge and make sure you don’t work the butter in too far by pulsing with your food processor 6-10 times, or simply tossing grated butter into the flour with a fork if not using a food processor. These pockets of butter will melt as the scones bake, creating a tender and flaky crumb.
3. Cut your scones as evenly as possible to ensure even baking.
4. Don’t overbake! Your scones are done when they are set on the very center top. This means when you use your finger to lightly press on the top of the scone, it should no longer feel doughy. If you have a Thermapen, scones are done when they reach an internal temperature of 205 degrees.

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