These Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Scones are perfect for a spring or summer breakfast or brunch! They're packed with lemon flavor and the crunch of poppy seeds, and drizzled with a lemon glaze.
Looking for a good base scone recipe? Try my Sourdough Discard Scones to add your favorite mix-ins!
Why you'll love this recipe
- These scones don't need any rise time, so you'll have a delicious treat ready in under an hour.
- Looking for other no-rise recipes? Try this Sourdough Lemon Loaf Cake and these Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.
- These scones are packed with lemon flavor and the crunch of poppy seeds!
- Looking for other scone recipes? Try these Sourdough Lemon Blueberry Scones and these Sourdough Discard Scones.
- You can modify this recipe to use active sourdough starter instead of sourdough discard, if you prefer.
- Scones freeze well, so you can enjoy some now and freeze the rest for later!
Jump to:
Ingredients
There are only a few key ingredients you'll need to bring these scones together.
- Sourdough discard: The sourdough discard should be unfed and at room temperature for this recipe. This recipe is designed for a sourdough starter with a 1:1 ratio (when you feed your starter, it's with 1 part flour and 1 part water). If your starter uses a different ratio, you may need to adjust some of the ingredients in this recipe.
- Learn more about how to make a sourdough starter.
- Lemon juice and zest: This gives these scones their citrus kick!
- In a lemon mood? You might also like this Sourdough Lemon Blackberry Cake or these Sourdough Discard Lemon Cookie Bars.
- Poppy seeds: The star of the show! Don't skimp on these!
See full recipe below for detailed directions.
Substitutions & Variations
This is a very adaptable recipe and below are a few easy substitutions and variations you can try.
- Use active sourdough starter - If you'd like to make this recipe with active sourdough starter, you can! To do so, omit the yeast and replace the sourdough discard with active starter (200g). You will also need to increase the rise times.
- Use different citrus - Mix it up and try a version with orange juice and orange zest instead of lemon.
- Try these Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, too!
How to Make Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
There are only a few key steps to bring this recipe together. The full recipe with detailed directions is at the bottom of this post.
- Step 1: Combine the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl. Place this in the refrigerator while you prepare the next steps.
- Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Step 3: Grate the frozen butter. Be careful of your fingers! Use a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Step 4: Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until a rough dough forms.
- Step 5: Gather the dough, lightly kneading until it comes together. Press the dough into a disk.
- Step 6: Cut into 8 roughly equal-sized pieces and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 20 minutes.
- Step 7: Brush the scones with an egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until set and browning at the edges.
- Step 8: While the scones cool, whisk together the glaze. Drizzle on top of the scones and serve!
Expert Baking Tips
- Use metric measurements for at least the flour and sourdough discard. These are two ingredients where there can be a huge variation in using cups vs. metric measurements. Using a kitchen scale for metric measurements for at least these two ingredients will set you on the right path!
- Keep the liquid ingredients as cold as possible. Use sourdough discard straight from the refrigerator (instead of room temperature), cold eggs, and cold milk.
- Freeze your butter and use a box grater to grate it. BE CAREFUL. While I find this is the best way to grate butter, it's slippery, and the grater is unforgiving for your fingers (speaking from experience!).
- Incorporate the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter, forks, or your hands. It's more than just tossing the butter with the flour mixture. You want to end up with fairly uniform pea-size (or smaller) pieces of butter throughout.
- This is a similar technique to making Sourdough Discard Pie Crust.
- When cutting the scones, make your cuts as straight as possible and avoid twisting motions with your knife. This will help the scones stay upright (rather than falling over) while baking.
- Freeze the scones for 20 minutes before baking to help prevent spreading too much in the oven.
Common Scone Challenges
There are a few common challenges that can come up with scones. Below are a few ways to help work through those:
- Scones are spreading too much: If your scones are spreading too much while baking, make sure your ingredients are as cold as possible, and your butter is frozen. Also, don't skip the freezer step for 20 minutes before baking!
- Scones are falling over: If your scones are rising, but then falling over in the oven, make sure the cuts you're making are as straight as possible. If you're making any twisting motions with your knife, or cutting unevenly, that can cause your scone to be uneven and fall over. They'll still be delicious, though!
Storage
Room Temperature Storage: Once cooled, store the scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. You can reheat the scones in the microwave for about 30 seconds to make them warm and soft again.
Freezer Storage: You can freeze the scones before or after baking.
- Freezing after baking: Once cooled, transfer the scones to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave for about 60 seconds to make warm and soft again.
- Freezing before baking: If you want to bake the scones later, you can freeze the dough. After cutting the scones to shape, place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and let them freeze until firm. Then transfer the frozen dough into a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 weeks. When you're ready to bake, place the frozen scones on a baking sheet and bake as directed, adding 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
Recipe FAQs
Are your metric measurements accurate, or are they auto-populated?
They're accurate! I use the metric measurements for my own baking, especially with the flour and sourdough discard, so I recommend you do the same! There can be such a huge variation in cups measurements, particularly for those two ingredients.
Can you use different citrus?
Yes! This recipe uses lemon, but you could easily do this with orange or grapefruit as well!
More Sourdough Discard Breakfast Recipes
If you tried these Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Scones or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you! Happy Baking!
Sourdough Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
These scones are packed with lemon flavor and the crunch of poppy seeds, and drizzled with a lemon glaze. Perfect for a spring or summer breakfast or brunch!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 200 grams (about ¾ cup) sourdough discard cold, straight from the refrigerator
- 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon milk non-dairy or regular dairy
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter frozen
For Topping
- 1 egg whisked with 1 Tablespoon water for egg wash
- 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar
For the Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons milk non-dairy or regular dairy
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cold sourdough discard, egg, lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and milk until smooth. Place the bowl in the refrigerator (we want to keep ingredients as cold as possible!).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater. Be careful with your fingers as you're doing this!Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and incorporate using a pastry cutter, forks, or your hands. Press the butter into the flour until you have a coarse mixture with approximately pea-sized butter pieces.
- Pour the cold liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Use a large spatula to stir until a rough dough forms. It will seem really dry, but resist adding more liquid at this point.Transfer the dough to a work surface, then gather and press it together, lightly kneading until the dough comes together and no dry spots remain. The dough may feel slightly sticky. If the dough seems too dry and is not coming together, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
- Flatten the dough into a disk about 8 inches in diameter. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 roughly equal-sized pieces. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheet with the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).
- After freezing, brush the scones with egg wash, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until set and browning at the edges (the internal temperature of the baked scones should be 200℉).
- While the scones cool, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, and milk. Drizzle over the cooled scones and serve.
Notes
1 serving = 1 scone.
To make this recipe with active sourdough starter, replace the sourdough discard with active starter (200g). You do not need to change any other ingredients.
Nutrition
Calories: 339kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 199mgPotassium: 86mgFiber: 2gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 421IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 2mg
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Jessica Vogl says
Packed with flavor and not too sweet! Love these for an easy breakfast or brunch!