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These savory Gluten-Free Sourdough Scones are the perfect use for your gluten-free sourdough discard! They’re dairy-free, vegan, and make for a delicious breakfast or snack.
We’ve been in full sourdough land over here, and I know a lot of you have been following along with the gluten-free sourdough bread process as well! Nothing makes me happier than seeing all of your beautiful bubbly gluten-free sourdough starters and golden, crunchy loaves of sourdough bread!
But if you’re a sourdough bread maker, you know that there is maintenance for keeping up your starter! And part of that maintenance is discarding part of your starter with each feeding.
Why waste gluten-free sourdough discard when you can make something great with it?! Whether it’s cinnamon sugar crackers, sourdough chocolate chip cookies, or these gluten-free sourdough scones, you can be sure all of my sourdough discard is going to good use!
See all my favorite ways to use your gluten-free sourdough discard!
What is sourdough discard?
When you’re creating a sourdough starter, whether it’s gluten-free or regular, you must feed it regularly with flour and water. Every time you feed your starter, you discard half of the starter to keep it at a manageable size.
The part of the starter that we take out is referred to as “sourdough discard.” There is nothing wrong with the discard, it’s the same as the starter we’re feeding — we just want to keep our starter manageable, so we get rid of half of it.
But, if you hate wasting food like I do (especially when it’s useable!), you’ll never want to actually discard your sourdough discard. I usually scoop mine into a jar, and bake another treat that day using the “discard”!
What if I don’t want to bake with the sourdough discard that day?
If you’re not baking with your discard that day, you can keep it in the refrigerator, or even the freezer, until you’re ready to use it! No need to throw something away when you can use it to make more delicious goodies…like these fabulous gluten-free sourdough scones!
What ingredients do I need?
- Blanched Almond Flour
- Arrowroot Flour or Tapioca Flour
- Everything Bagel Seasoning & Nutritional Yeast: or your flavor additions of choice! Herbs work well here, or you can go in a sweet direction.
- Baking Powder
- Sea Salt
- Coconut Oil
- Dairy-Free Milk: any kind you like works well here!
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard: I recommend using starter that is around 100% hydration. It does not need to be active!
How do I make sourdough scones?
These gluten-free & vegan sourdough scones are made pretty in a similar way as my other scone recipes, like these chocolate chip scones. However, we make a few adjustments to account for the sourdough starter addition!
To start, you’ll whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Then, you’ll use a pastry cutter or a food processor to cut in the coconut oil, until it’s in small bits.
In a separate bowl, you’ll whisk together the sourdough discard and dairy-free milk. Then, you’ll pour over the dry ingredients and mix gently until the dough comes together.
Once you have your dough prepared, you’ll place it on a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap, form into a thick disc shape, and wrap it up. Into the fridge it goes for at least an hour before slicing into wedges, garnishing, and baking until golden and beautiful!
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What’s the best way to serve gluten-free sourdough scones?
I love toasting these a little bit until warm and adding a little vegan butter. Simple and delicious! My dad loves them with a bit of cream cheese. If you leave out the seasonings, you can make them go sweet or savory with your toppings! A plain version would be fabulous with some jam spread on top.
How do I store them?
At room temperature: They keep well in an airtight container for two days.
To freeze: seal in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months! Reheat in the oven to defrost, or defrost on the counter.
I hope you love these gluten-free and vegan sourdough scones! If you do, let me know your thoughts in the comments down below.
Want more gluten-free sourdough discard recipes?
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Focaccia
- Cinnamon Sugar Sourdough Discard Crackers
- Chocolate Chip Sourdough Discard Scones
- Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard Crackers
- 10+ Ways to Use Gluten-Free Sourdough Discard
Gluten-Free Sourdough Scones
Ingredients
- 1¾ cup (174g) blanched almond flour
- ⅔ cup (85g) arrowroot flour
- 2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning, plus more to garnish (optional)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup (66g) refined coconut oil, firm
- ½ cup (125g) gluten-free sourdough discard, see Notes
- ⅓ cup dairy-free milk
Instructions
For the scones
- In a food processor or large mixing bowl, combine the blanched almond flour, arrowroot flour, everything bagel seasoning, nutritional yeast, baking powder, and salt. Pulse or whisk together.1¾ cup (174g) blanched almond flour, ⅔ cup (85g) arrowroot flour, 2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1¼ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Add in the coconut oil and pulse or use a pastry cutter or fork to work the coconut oil into the dry ingredients until only small chunks of coconut oil remain.⅓ cup (66g) refined coconut oil
- Whisk together the dairy-free milk and starter, and then add to the dry ingredients and stir or pulse until completely combined.½ cup (125g) gluten-free sourdough discard, ⅓ cup dairy-free milk
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and dust with arrowroot flour. Put the dough on top of the parchment, dust with more arrowroot flour, and press into a circle, about 1½” thick and 8” across. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours to chill. If leaving in the refrigerator for more than a few hours, I recommend wrapping the dough in plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the circle into 8 scones and separate from each other so they’re not touching. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the scones with a small amount of dairy-free milk. Sprinkle each scone with more everything bagel seasoning. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm. They’re delicious with a little bit of vegan butter or cream cheese.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Y’all, I completely Frankensteined this recipe with whatever I had and it still turned out fabulous! I used brown rice flour instead of arrowroot, olive oil instead of coconut, left out the savory ingredients and added in 1/2 cup sugar and some blueberries. It was so good!
It’s the first discard recipe I’ve made with my starter, “Betsy.” Betsy Blueberry Scones are getting added to my recipe box.
So glad to hear that!! Sounds so good. Hope Betsy helps you make a ton of delicious things!
These are SO good. I made the following changes: 120g almond flour, 50g teff, potato starch instead of arrowroot. Reduced milk to 50g (I used very thick soy milk) and oil to 60g. I had around 220g discard and added it all. My coconut oil was liquid, but the scones still came out flaky and the crumb inside was moist, ‘buttery’, and hearty.
I drizzled the coconut oil over the dry ingredients and rubbed it in. It was very oily and when I added the cold discard + milk, the mixture looked too wet. However, as soon as I started mixing, the dry ingredients absorbed the liquid and the mixture ‘seized’ and firmed up, probably because the coconut oil had solidified with the cold liquid.
In the end the ratio of liquid was just right. They didn’t rise much but i had done a few folds with the dough, so they still had those layers.
Super tasty and so easy to make! New favorite way of using up discard
Thanks for sharing your feedback and changes, Emilye! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I’ve made these scones three weeks in a row, they are absolutely delicious!! They have become a new tradition in our house and I make these and the chocolate chip scones weekly for my kid’s and mom playgroup that I host. Everyone loves them! These really are flaky and deliciously savory. Thank you!!
These are really wonderful. My husband says I’ve finally found a recipe he thinks is great. I’ve made them 3 times now in 3 days. The 1st time was exactly following the recipe. I thought it a bit salty for us, so I would either cut back on the sea salt, or the bagel seasoning or I might leave them in per the recipe and maybe just put sesame/poppy seeds on top. Other than that, I thought the ‘scone’ was too big; so I would cut them in 16th or make dough in an oblong and cut into smaller oblong pieces. Great recipe–everyone should try this one.
Then, I wanted to make this a ‘sweeter’ version so followed comments/answers and I used 1/2C sugar / vanilla and cinnamon / blueberries. I pressed the blueberries into the circle of dough (I made mine oblong dough) before placing in the refrigerator. Just before baking, I cut into 1″+ squares and topped with a little turbinado sugar. Oh, these are so good but I would prefer them to be less sweet. AND, I think due to the sugar, they cook quicker. And, they spread out. 20 minutes was too long.
So, I made a 3rd time and I DOUBLED — I love a challenge! Since the sweeter 1/2C sugar dough spread out too much, I reduced the liquid and I reduced the sugar. So, for the doubled recipe, I used a total of 1/2C sugar. Also, for the doubled recipe, I used more sourdough starter than the recipe called for (since I have so much). I used 1C sourdough + 1/4C sourdough and 1/4C milk. This seems to work the best for me. Instead of pressing into a circle, I put on parchment on a regular sized cookie sheet, with dusting of arrowroot flour, and spread it into an oblong pattern (which pretty much filled the whole cookie sheet. I again pressed blueberries into the flattened dough, 1/2″ apart. AND, since I ran out of blueberries, I cut up crystallized ginger into small chunks and pressed those into the flattened dough. I cut these into 1″+ squares to bake, till just a very light brown. This recipe worked great. Next time, I think I’ll add the small chunks of crystallized ginger into the batter before it goes into the refrigerator and I have to buy more blueberries (they are nonnegotiable). The cook time for my sweeter version was 18 minutes (probably because they were cut smaller).
Sorry, I failed to rate these scones!!! They are awesome.
Hi! Is there a sub for dairy-free milk that is not dairy? Could I use water, juice, tea…?
Yes, any of the above liquids should work just fine to bring the dough together.
I love how flexible your recipes are! I made a few modifications and the result was still delicious. I ran out of almond flour and replaced about half with gf all purpose flour and, instead of using everything bagel seasoning, I added about 3 TBSP vegan pesto to the wet ingredients. I used earth balance butter in place of coconut oil and added a drizzle of olive oil to the dough. I also added another drizzle of olive oil before baking. SO good! And they smell divine! Thank you!
This makes me so happy to hear! Pesto sounds so delicious. Thanks for sharing your delicious pesto scone adjustments!