Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Scones

Lemon and blueberry are two flavors that just go together. Tart and sweet, they remind me of picking blueberries with my kids and making homemade lemonade from the lemon trees in my childhood backyard. Toss them together in a sourdough scone and you have a match made in heaven! Scones are flaky like a biscuit but a little more dense and sweet. These lemon blueberry sourdough scones are filled with blueberries, fresh lemon zest and sourdough discard, making the perfect afternoon snack or morning breakfast.

Important Ingredients in Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Scones

• Sourdough Discard: In order to avoid a stronger sourdough flavor, use sourdough discard that is fresh or no more than a day or two old. I always use 100% hydration sourdough discard. If your discard is very runny, you may need a little extra flour in this recipe. Using cold discard from the fridge is best because it keeps the butter chilled, resulting in a flakier scone.
• Baking Powder: Baking powder is what gives the scones their beautiful rise. It is activated by the moisture and heat when baked.
• All-Purpose Flour: Scones work best with an all-purpose flour or flour with a lower protein content. In a scone recipe, the less gluten that develops, the better. This results in a more tender scone.
• Unsalted Butter:  I always use unsalted butter in baking. You can control the flavor much better when you use unsalted butter. Salt content varies between brands of salted butter, and your baked goods may come out too salty when using salted butter. If you choose to use salted butter, decrease the salt a little bit in the recipe. Use cold, chilled butter for best results.
• Sugar: White, granulated sugar is used to sweeten the scone dough, but the scones themselves are not overly sweet. The sweetness comes through from the glaze, which uses powdered sugar.
• Heavy Cream and Milk: Heavy cream and milk are both used in this recipe in the scone dough. In combination they make the scones tender. Don’t substitute milk for heavy cream because it reduces the fat content in the scones, which makes the scones taste more “bready.” You can substitute more heavy cream for the milk in the recipe.
• Eggs: Eggs make the scone dough rich and delicious. I have not left them out before.
• Blueberries: This recipe works best with fresh blueberries. If you use frozen berries, do not let them thaw. Add them directly to the flour mixture and mix before adding in the liquid ingredients.
• Lemon: We use lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice in these scones. Zest goes in the actual scone dough giving a sweet lemon flavor, and the scone is covered in a lemon glaze with freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest.

Mixing Sourdough Scone Ingredients

Dry Ingredients: Whisk together flour with sugar, baking powder, and salt. Grate in cold butter and toss everything together with a fork. Add blueberries. Fluff again until blueberries are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Liquid Ingredients: Whisk together the cold sourdough discard (straight from the fridge) with the eggs, cream, milk and vanilla extract. The key to a really good sourdough scone is in whisking until the discard has broken down and combined with the other liquid ingredients. Once the ingredients are incorporated, add in the zest from one lemon. Whisk again until combined.

Mix Together: Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. Use a fork to combine until the dough is moistened throughout. Knead the dough a couple of times, being careful to avoid smushing blueberries or overworking the gluten. As you smush blueberries during this process, the juices will run out making the dough a little bit more wet. Add a little extra flour if needed and combine in one big ball. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. If it’s too dry, add a splash of milk or cream.

Shaping Scone Dough

Pat the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Shape into a round disc, about 8 inches in diameter. Use a bench knife and cut the disc into quarters. Then cut each quarter again until you have 8 large scones. Separate the scones, spreading them out on the parchment paper, and place the parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Note: If you prefer making 16 scones instead of 8, shape the dough into a square and cut scones into 16 smaller squares. Baking time will stay about the same, maybe a few minutes less for smaller scones.

Baking Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Scones

Baking scones at a high heat activates the baking powder for a beautiful rise and turns chilled butter into steamy air pockets that make the scone light and airy. Preheat the oven to 425ºF before baking these scones. Bake for 15 minutes until puffed up, flaky and baked all the way through. If you notice the scones are browning too quickly on the bottom, decrease the heat or place a baking stone on the rack below the scones.

Mix up Lemon Glaze for Sourdough Scones

While the scones are baking, whisk up a quick lemon glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, heavy cream, lemon juice from the lemon and lemon zest. The zest is what gives it the bright lemon flavor that makes these scones tart and oh so delicious! After the scones have cooled about 5 minutes, drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones, being sure to completely cover each scone with glaze. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Looking for more recipes like these Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Scones? Check out: Cranberry Orange Sourdough Scones / Flaky Sourdough Biscuits / Triple Chocolate Sourdough Scones / King Cake Scones / Fresh Strawberry Scones