Discard day comes frequently at my house, and scones are one of my favorite ways to deal with the bubbly excess from my starters. Although I sometimes make scones with no baking powder or soda added (or try to, with mixed results), I do occasionally resort to baking powder and/or soda to get a scone that's more traditional and biscuit-like. The recipe below for honey, date, and chocolate chip sourdough scones falls into that category. I used a rye-based starter for my discard and a little rye flour for extra whole grains and taste, but you can certainly substitute all-purpose flour discard/extra flour, if you'd prefer. I let my discard batter sit for a couple of hours before adding in the remaining ingredients (to let the sourdough flavor develop a bit more), but it's not necessary if you'd like to bake your scones immediately. The scones bake up soft and have the natural sweetness of honey and dates. I added chocolate chips because I like them and thought they'd go well with the dates, which they do. My husband, who isn't a chocolate fan, prefers the scones without the chocolate chips (strange, but true!). Add them or not depending on your tastes. Or, if you'd prefer, substitute half a cup of chopped nuts instead of the chocolate chips. The scones will be good, whichever way you choose.
Honey, Date, and Chocolate Chip Sourdough Scones -- Makes 10-12
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of low-fat milk
3 tablespoons of honey
1/2 cup of rye flour
1/2 of all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, mix together the starter/discard, oil, milk, and honey. Stir in the flours until well combined. Let the mixture sit, loosely covered, for a couple of hours if you'd like to strengthen the sourdough flavor. When you're ready to bake the scones, add:
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of chopped dates
1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips or nuts (walnuts are good)
1-2 tablespoons of turbinado (raw) sugar (optional)
Mix all of the ingredients except the turbinado sugar until just combined and the dates and chocolate chips/nuts are distributed throughout the batter. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat it with non-stick cooking spray. Drop golf ball-sized mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least an inch apart. With moistened hands, shape the mounds into rounds about 1 - 1 1/2-inches thick. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with a little turbinado sugar, if you'd like. Bake the scones for 12-15 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown on top.
