One of my favorite pastries is scones and since strawberry season is coming up I decided to incorporate this seasonal fruit into some delicious homemade scones. These delicious strawberry sourdough scones are filled with fresh strawberries and are topped with a sweet vanilla glaze. Light and flaky, slightly sweet and incredibly versatile, scones make the perfect pairing for a warm cup of coffee or tea.

Why You Will Love these Sourdough Strawberry Scones

These strawberry scones make the perfect treat for warmer weather and a great way to use extra sourdough starter discard. They work well for tea parties, Easter, or Mother’s Day brunch but can be enjoyed any time of year. They strike the perfect balance of sweet and slight tangy from the zesty lemon and sourdough discard.

There is a sourdough strawberry scone that is glazed sitting on a plate with some strawberries.

How to Make Tender Scones with Sourdough Starter

They key to making the best scones with sourdough starter is to avoid making them too wet. Fresh strawberries and the sourdough starter add a fair amount of moisture so I limited moisture in other ways. This meant I did not add an egg and I kept the milk to a minimum. If you love scones, also check out my sourdough pumpkin scones, my orange cranberry sourdough scones and my sourdough blueberry scones.

Ingredients and Substitutions

sourdough strawberry scone ingredients in individual measuring cups and bowls.

For the Scones

Flour: I recommend all purpose flour or bread flour. Only use 25% of the total amount of flour if you would like to add some whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour can affect the taste and texture of baked goods so it does not make a good 1:1 substitute.
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Salt
Sugar: We use granulated sugar in this recipe. I do not recommend substituting for other types of sugar, particularly brown sugar, which adds moisture.
Butter: Make sure you use cold butter straight from the fridge. This recipe calls for unsalted butter but you can substitute salted butter if that is all you have on hand. You can reduce the salt in the recipe by 1/8 teaspoon if desired.
Strawberries: We use fresh strawberries in this recipe. I have not tried dried strawberries but I do think they would work just fine. You can also substitute other berries if desired (check out my lemon blueberry sourdough scone recipe). You can also add 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips to the dough if you prefer. White chocolate pairs quite well with strawberries.
Milk: You can use any type of milk in this recipe. I used whole milk but have also made them with oat milk and half and half. If you use a non-dairy milk, I recommend choosing one that is thicker like oat milk, soy milk or Ripple milk. Some vegan milk varieties are quite thin and may not work quite as well.
Sourdough Starter: You can use active starter or sourdough discard straight from the fridge in this recipe. If you are using discard from the fridge, you do not need to bring it to room temperature. Cold ingredients actually work better in scones.
Vanilla: I recommend pure vanilla extract rather than imitation vanilla.
Lemon Zest: Use the zest from about one medium sized lemon.

For the Vanilla Glaze

Melted Butter
Vanilla Extract
Water: If you would prefer a lemon glaze, use lemon juice in place of the water.
Powdered Sugar

How to Make Strawberry Sourdough Scones

Step 1: Whisk together the dry ingredients (including the sugar) in a large bowl.

Step 2: Grate the butter into the dry ingredients. You can also use a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour mixture or use a food processor if you do not have a cheese grater.

grated butter for strawberry sourdough scones in large mixing bowl with flour mixture.

Step 3: Add the strawberries.

chopped strawberries and grated butter coated in bowl of flour mixture for sourdough strawberry scones.

Step 4: Mix together the wet ingredients.

small bowl of wet ingredients for strawberry sourdough discard scones being whisked with a fork.

Step 5: Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients.

rubber spatula mixing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients for strawberry sourdough scones.

Step 6: Mix the dough.

Step 7: One a lightly floured surface, shape and cut the scone dough into 8 wedges.

pastry cutter being used to cut strawberry scones into 8 wedges.

Step 8: Bake.

Step 9: Make the glaze.

Step 10: Drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones.

sourdough strawberry scones that have been drizzled with vanilla glaze on a wire rack.

How to Make Ahead

You can freeze the unbaked scones ahead of time and bake from frozen when ready to use. Add a few minutes to the bake time.
You can also freeze the baked scones ahead of time. I recommend defrosting the scones and then glazing when ready to use so the glaze does not become messy.

How to Store

I recommend storing these scones at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for up to one week for best results. Store the scones in an airtight container or on a plate covered with plastic wrap.

I hope you enjoyed this sourdough strawberry scone recipe. If you love sourdough and discard recipes, check out these other yummy sourdough recipes: