Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Scones – Easy Discard Recipe

Craving the flavors of summer? These tender lemon blueberry sourdough scones are the perfect way to enjoy the flavors of the season for breakfast, brunch, or even dessert. They’ve been a favorite at our house, and I’m sure you’ll love them as well!

Made with either active or discard starter, they are an easy way to use up extra sourdough starter, and can be baked up the same day or long fermented.

Whether you need something for a Mother’s Day brunch, Easter breakfast, or just because, these lemon blueberry sourdough scones are an easy discard recipe you’ll love!

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Ingredients to Note for Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Scones

• Unsalted , frozen butter – Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in the recipe. However, I have tested this recipe with salted butter, and it did taste just fine; it just may depend on which salted butter you use. Using frozen butter helps keep the scones from spreading as much.
• Sourdough starter – I like using active starter and allowing the lemon blueberry sourdough scone dough to ferment for better nutrition; however, you can use discard in this recipe, as there is baking powder to assist in the leavening. (See my tip below regarding chilling if you use discard starter.)
• Heavy cream – You can also substitute for whole milk, but the cream is delicious!
• Blueberries – I used fresh, but you can use frozen as well (just don’t thaw them first.) You can also easily switch these out for some other variety of berries, or even experiment with other add-ins to mix things up! I’ve included a list of substitute ideas below.
• Lemon zest – I used fresh lemon zest for that delicious hint of citrus.

Tips for Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Scones

• Add the blueberries and lemon zest before the wet ingredients – Adding the blueberries and lemon zest before adding the wet ingredients allows you to disperse the berries more evenly in the dough, and with much less mixing to the dough. Believe me, I made the mistake of not putting them in till the very end of mixing the ingredients, and it was much more difficult to evenly incorporate them.
• Don’t overmix the dough – Overmixing scone dough can develop more gluten than you need, resulting in a tough or dense scone.
• Chill before baking – This really applies if you decide to try this recipe with discard, as your dough won’t have been fermenting in the refrigerator. Chilling helps the butter in the dough harden up, helping your scones not spread as much when baked.
• Add milk if needed – Depending on the moisture content of your sourdough starter, you may need to add a little milk. If the scone dough appears too dry, just add milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Storage Instructions for Sourdough Scones

To store these lemon blueberry sourdough scones, place in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Flavor Variations for Sourdough Scones

Instead of adding blueberries and lemon zest, try adding one (or more) of these ingredients to mix things up:

• Chocolate chips
• Chopped pecans
• Blackberries
• Cranberries
• Orange zest
• Peach chunks (small)
• Raisins