The key to any good baked dessert is using the best ingredients available to you. When I use the sourdough discard, I actually use the surplus sourdough. The term “sourdough discard” is widely used within the baking community, although most bakers regard this as a surplus sourdough. This is normally the same active sourdough you use for making bread.
This is the picture of the sourdough surplus (discard) that I used for these scones.
I refresh my sourdough regularly and do not let it become dormant for a long time. That is why I need to use it many times throughout the week not just for bread baking.
There many recipes for sourdough deserts and sourdough scones are among my family favorites. Sourdough scones with dried currants and refreshing lemon glaze pair wonderfully with a cup of espresso to cheer you up on a cold winter morning.
Sourdough Scones with Dried Currants
Ingredients
- 400 grams all-purpose flour
- 75 grams sugar or coconut sugar
- 200 grams sourdough surplus, active (About 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
- 160 grams nut milk, milk or heavy cream 3/4 cup
- 113 grams cold butter or Ghee 1/2 cup, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- zest of one lemon
- 160 grams dried currants (About 2 cups)
Instructions
- Combine together all-purpose flour, coconut sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and the zest of one lemon. I use whisk to mix them together.
- Mix your cold butter with your dry ingredients. You could use a food processor. I prefer to use a pastry cutter.
- Now combine all your dry and wet ingredients together. You may whisk together your sourdough and milk first, and then add it to the dry ingredients. I omitted that step and added my sourdough and milk directly to the bowl. After that, I mixed everything well with my hands.
- The dough is ready for the ingredients of your choice. I added dried currants. You may use other dried berries and/or your favorite nuts.
- Carefully mix in the berries. I would not advise you to use a food processor at this step. Currants are rather small. You want to preserve your berries intact. Use your hands to distribute the berries all over the dough. if you have larger berries, use your best judgment on how to handle them.
- Refrigerate your dough for an hour or so. Refrigeration makes it slightly easier to divide the dough into pieces. I used a simple plastic dough cutter for both cutting the dough and placing the pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Baking
- I bake my scones at 400°F or 204°C for 20 minutes. Then I lower the temperature to 375°F or 190°C and bake for 5-7 minutes.
Glazing
- It is best to enjoy these scones with a simple lemon glaze. You will need 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Whisk everything together and garnish your scones with it.
