Cheesy Sourdough Discard Scones (Easy 35-Minute Recipe)

Buttery, flaky, and packed with tangy sourdough and melty cheese, these scones are pure comfort! Perfect for breakfast or a cozy snack, they’re easy to make and impossible to resist.

It seems like everyone is getting into the sourdough craze these days, and that excites me more than you will ever know. We are huge fans in this house and I want that for you too.

Baking with sourdough doesn’t have to be hard or even take all day! We talk you through the steps for this recipe so you can be a pro in no time! And when you are ready for something new, be sure to try our family favorites sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies and baked sourdough donut recipes!

Why You’ll Love Using Sourdough Discard in Recipes

If you, like me, dislike throwing away good sourdough starter, you will love using it in our easy recipes. These recipes are quick and less complicated. They let you enjoy the benefits of sourdough without the long wait for good bread. We still make the sourdough bread of course, but discard recipes give us something to make while we wait. And we waste less. That’s got to be a good thing.

Ingredients for Sourdough Cheese Scones

All of the ingredients are listed on the recipe, but I wanted to share a couple of important notes here.

Salted Butter adds moisture and is the key ingredient for a flaky scone. We prefer the higher fat content of European butter. However, you can use a substitute.

Sourdough Discard. Before you feed your sourdough each day, you need to discard some. This keeps the starter healthy and strong. It also makes room in your jar for expansion. But that unfed discard is still strong enough to make amazing baked goods. Why not use it for something tasty when you don’t have time to make bread?

Sugar. Strange as this may sound, you do actually need the granulated sugar. In this case it actually improves the texture of the scone and keeps them from becoming chewy.

Colby Jack Cheese. I’ve found that this cheese melts beautifully like mozzarella and has a great flavor like cheddar. It’s the perfect compromise between the two. You can absolutely use cheddar, pepper jack, or a different cheese if preferred.

Unbleached All-Purpose Flour. The living organisms in sourdough prefer unbleached flour for food.

How To Make Sourdough Cheese Scones

Please note, that the printable recipe card has the full list of ingredients, quantities, complete instructions, and nutritional information. The following is a quick overview of the recipe.

Note: We shred the butter. It really does mix into the scones more beautifully if you shred it like cheese. I like to shred the butter the night before and then freeze it. This is especially valuable if you live in a warm climate. Ultimately, you can use refrigerated butter. Keep it cold until you’re ready to use it.

First, you’ll want to preheat your oven and prepare your pans. Then you can whisk flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

Toss cubed colby jack in the flour mixture to coat it thoroughly. Mixing in this order will help keep the cheese suspended in your scones so every bite is cheesy and delicious.

Mix in the butter with forks or a pastry cutter until your flour mixture is a pea-sized consistency and the butter is fully incorporated.

Next, mix 1 cup of milk, sourdough discard, and the eggs until smooth. Take this egg mixture and add it to the flour. Mix until incorporated, but do not overmix.

Knead for three or four minutes until all of the flour is incorporated.

Roll the dough into a circle about 3/4″ thick, and cut with a 2 1/2″ biscuit cutter to form your scones. Place them two inches apart on a baking sheet lined with silicone mat orparchment paper.

Bake your scones for 15 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown.

Hostess Tips and Variations

You can change up these scones by adding fun ingredients like herbs, diced olives, diced jalapenos, other cheeses, bacon, or ham.

If you need to make two batches to feed your family, put the unbaked cut scones onto a plate in the fridge while waiting for the second batch to be ready.

Depending on where you are located you may need to add some flour. When baking in Florida, for instance, I know I usually need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour beyond what the recipe calls for. However, adding excess flour will make a dense scone, so make sure to follow all of the other steps before adding extra.

Don’t overbake. Ovens are different so check on them at 10 minutes to gage their progress.

How to Serve Cheesy Scones

Cheese scones make an amazing egg sandwich for breakfast. They are equally at home as bread at the dinner table or in a picnic basket. Light, flaky, cheesy, delicous.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between sourdough starter and sourdough discard in a recipe?

Some recipes, like bread or pizza dough, call for an active, bubbly, recently fed starter. This means that five or so hours before you want to make that recipe, you need to feed your starter and get it happy. Other recipes call for sourdough discard. Right before you feed your starter, you sometimes need to remove excess starter to make room in the jar or keep your cultures healthy and strong. This “discard” is still great for baking certain things (like these scones) but it usually hasn’t been fed for 24 hours.

I don’t have a sourdough starter. What are my options?

First, you can ask a friend for starter. It’s an easy ask — all your friend has to do is feed her starter, and then split it into two portions about five hours later. This is the fastest and easiest and if you know a sourdough enthusiast they will be happy to help.

Second, you can make your own starter. I provide detailed instructions for making your own sourdough starter, but it does take several days.

Third, you can get a sourdough starter kit and follow the instructions. This guarantees healthy cultures and takes a little less time, but still takes days.

What is the secret of making good scones?

Do not overmix the dough when combining the liquids and dry ingredients. Mixing hard with a dough hook or by hand will toughen the scones. Kneading is a more gentle and effective process. Besides that, the secret ingredient in this recipe is the sugar, which keeps the scones from turning chewy.

Can this be made ahead of time?

Yes. You can make and keep cheese scones for several days so if you need to make them a day or two in advance of your brunch or dinner, you can do so.

How To Reheat & Store Sourdough Cheese Scones

Best way to store scones?

Keep you scones in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Can I freeze cheese scones?

Yes, they freeze beautifully. Place them on a baking sheet, and once frozen, move them to an airtight container. Then you can remove exactly the number you need and thaw or reheat them a few at time.

How to reheat sourdough cheese scones?

To thaw a single scone quickly takes only about thirty seconds in a microwave. If you want it warm it may take ten or fifteen more seconds. Play with this timing because every microwave is different.

If you enjoyed sourdough cheese scones, we have more ways to use that discard!

Start your Saturday morning with some tasty pancakes. You could also try making delicious sourdough focaccia bread! Make dinner even more amazing with these tasty sourdough cloverleaf rolls. Another fantastic option for breakfast, brunch, or dessert is this sourdough blueberry muffin recipe.

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Don’t forget to pin it for later and follow me on Pinterest for more delicious recipes like this one!