Here’s a structure of savory scones where you can substitute different flours, cheeses, herbs, and even meats like diced ham or peppers. Since the recipe uses an egg, they are scones and not biscuits, but you’re free to call them whatever you like. This batch was made with red fife wholemeal flour, which is fragrant and flavorful and also pairs with the sharp cheddar cheese and fresh dill. They’re great plain, with more butter, or try a delicious sweet and savory combination with a little strawberry jam.
Ready ingredients
Ingredient recommendations
The leavening of the yeast in this recipe is enhanced by the acidity of 100 grams of yeast sourdough waste. If you don’t have sourdough scraps, use it milk butterwhich is acidic, instead of heavy cream. Also, add 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water or milk to the ingredient list to make up for the missing starter.
For less absorbent flour choices like all-purpose or high-extraction flours and einkorn flour, you can keep about 3 tablespoons/45 grams of cream to use only as needed.
Grate the frozen butter and put it back in the freezer until you’re ready to use it. This takes less time than you might think and makes mixing the dough easier in the long run. Plus your scones will be very tender and crumbly.
See the recipe Notes section for details on the quantities of salt and cheese.
Perfect pats of butter
Tender and full of flavor
Take a look at Photo gallery after the recipe for photos of the process.
Sourdough Cheddar Dill Scones
These brown cheddar and dill scones with sourdough scraps are flaky, flavorful, tender and moist; everything a homemade scone should be. Enjoy them freshly baked or reheated in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. They make a delicious savory snack, breakfast or meal accompaniment.
ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups red fife wholemeal flour (230 grams)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (14 grams)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (4 grams)
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt (2-5 grams) *
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper or cayenne pepper if you want spiciness (0.5 grams)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen and grated (85 grams)
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (16 grams)
- 1 beaten egg
- 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons heavy cream, divided (165 grams)
- 1/3 cup sourdough waste (100 grams)
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (90-135 grams) **
- milk to brush the surface of the scones before baking them
Instructions
- Grate the frozen butter and place it back in the freezer until ready to use, no need to cover it.
- Wash, dry and chop the dill. Set it aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper.
- Add the grated butter and dill to the flour mixture and mix with a spatula.
- In a second bowl, retaining about 3 tablespoons of cream, beat 1/2 cup of cream (120 g) with the sourdough starter and egg.
- Drizzle this mixture while stirring. If necessary, add the reserved cream to incorporate the flour.
- Incorporate the grated cheese with your hands. Transfer the dough to a flat surface, flatten it a little, fold it into layers and flatten it again into a disc shape. If instead of using a cookie cutter you intend to make wedge-shaped scones, make two discs of equal size.
- Wrap with plastic and chill the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes while the oven preheats to 400°F.
- Grease or line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Remove the dough from the freezer, unwrap it and place it on a lightly floured work surface. With a rolling pin or your hands, flatten the disk to about 9 inches in diameter and use a 2.5-inch cookie cutter to cut out the circles. Dip the mold in flour if the dough starts to stick. Reformulate the scraps to cut more for a total of about 12 biscuits. If you made two scone discs, roll them to about 3/4 inch thick and cut 4 or 6 wedges per disc for 8 or 12 scones total.
- Transfer the scones to a baking tray, brush the tops with diluted milk or cream and bake for 16 minutes until the cheese on top begins to toast. Increase cooking time for larger scones.
- Serve hot or reheat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Store in a closed container for about 4 days or wrap well and freeze.
Notes
*Salt is listed as a range and should be adjusted based on the variety/quantity of cheese. 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt worked well with 90 grams of sharp cheddar in this batch. I would use less salt if I increased the amount of cheddar or if I used parmesan or cured meats.
** Even though 90 grams of cheddar seemed like a lot of cheese, the end result wasn’t very shabby. If you’re looking for an intense cheesy flavor, try the higher end of the listed range.
