These scones are just right for using up a cup of your sourdough discard. The scones are light, gently flavored with grated orange zest, and bursting with sweet-tart berries. For convenience, lower cost, and ease of mixing into the dough, I use frozen berries rather than fresh ones (it is February). The frozen berries hold their shape better than fresh berries and have the added advantage of keeping the dough cold. These are not fussy scones. You simply mix them up, drop them onto sheets of baking parchment, and sprinkle them with a little sugar. The sourdough provides a bit more tang and lift than you'd get with "regular" scones, but the recipe does include baking powder, so you can bake the scones immediately. We love these simple scones for breakfast, and they also are great with tea and coffee as snacks. Enjoy!
Sourdough Orange and Berry Scones -- Makes 12
1 cup of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of sugar
4 tablespoons of butter cut into smallish bits
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1 tablespoon of milk or buttermilk (optional if needed)
1 teaspoon of grated orange zest
1 cup of mixed frozen berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc.)
Sugar to sprinkle (1 tablespoon or so)
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until some small pieces form and the mixture is sort of sandy looking. Sprinkle in the canola oil, one tablespoon at a time, and work it into the flour mixture with a fork (more smallish pieces should form). Stir in the starter/discard until a rough dough forms. You can add a tablespoon or so of milk or buttermilk if the mixture seems dry. Stir/knead in the grated orange zest and frozen berries until mixed. If you're using your air fryer to make the scones, cut small pieces of baking parchment to fit in your air fryer basket. Using an ice cream scoop drop two or three mounds of dough onto each parchment sheet, spacing the mounds as far apart as possible. Sprinkle the tops of the dough mounds with a little sugar. Place one dough-topped parchment sheet in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the scones at 320 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Remove the scones from the basket to cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining dough. If you are using the regular oven for the scones, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and drop the dough (using an ice cream scoop) onto a parchment-covered baking sheet, spacing the dough mounds at least an inch and a half apart. Sprinkle the tops of the mounds with sugar. Bake the scones for 16-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Comments