Make these scrumptious vegan cranberry sourdough scones with your sourdough discard and whole wheat flour, and breakfast will never be the same again! A soy-free, nut-free recipe.
Scones are often on our weekend breakfast menu, and these vegan cranberry sourdough scones are our current favorites.
I've always loved scones because they are so versatile--perfect for breakfast, brunch or a snack and even dessert. And it's fun to shape them any way you want. Although I usually go with the traditional wedge shape, of late I've been cutting them into squares with my square 3-inch cookie cutter and I just love the look.
-They're delicious, golden, crispy and tender with pockets of chewy sweet-sour cranberries.
-They are lower in fat than your average scone.
-They are part whole-wheat.
-They are certified kid friendly.
-They are a great way to use up the discard portion of your sourdough starter (and using the discard makes them even healthier).
--It takes no more than 10 minutes to mix them up, and another 17 minutes or so to bake them.
-You can make these with all whole wheat pastry flour or just all purpose flour. The version with just whole wheat will be a little more dense and soft but it'll still taste awesome.
-You can substitute any dry berry, or any dry fruit cut into pieces, in this recipe. But you can also use fresh berries. Fresh berries will release some moisture into the dough, so you will want to factor that in as you make your dough and bake it.
-I strongly recommend using vegan butter in this recipe, straight from the refrigerator, for the best texture. But if you don't want to use it for any reason, the only oil you can and should substitute it with is coconut oil. Place the oil in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before making the dough and try to "cut" it into the flour as you would the butter.
-If you don't have sourdough you don't have to use it. Proceed without. You'll need a little more water to bring your dough together.
-You can use either nondairy milk or water to mix your dough. The milk makes the scones a little softer, the water makes them a little crispier. Take your pick.
-Scones are made almost exactly as biscuits are, so if you already know how to make vegan biscuits, this should be a breeze for you.
-You'll start out by putting your dry ingredients--flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt--in a bowl and whisking them.
-Next cut in the vegan butter. This is a process similar to making pie dough or shortcrust pastry, where you use a pastry cutter or a fork to press and "cut" the butter into the dough until it resembles crumbs with some large pieces of butter.
-Add the sourdough discard, if you're using it, only after you've mixed in the butter and stirred in the cranberries. This is important.
-After adding the sourdough to the bowl start mixing it with a fork while drizzling in the liquid.
-Don't get your batter too wet, and the best way to make sure this doesn't happen is by adding a tiny amount of liquid at a time, about a tablespoon, no more, until the dough comes together with no dry bits remaining.
-If you still need to do something after making your scone dough, like prepping your baking sheet or taking a nap, put it in the refrigerator. In fact, you can make your scone dough a day ahead, place the dough, tightly wrapped in cling wrap, in the refrigerator, and cut it and bake it the next day.
-Scones are best eaten warm, so try and eat them right after. If you do end up with leftovers, reheat them in the oven for a couple of minutes.
Vegan Cranberry Breakfast Bread
Vegan Scones
Vegan Strawberry Scones
Vegan Cranberry Sourdough Scones
Vegan Cranberry Sourdough Scones
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (can sub with all purpose flour)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup dry cranberries
- 4 tablespoon vegan butter (cold, from the refrigerator, cut into small cubes)
- ½ cup sourdough discard (optional)
- ½-3/4 cup ice cold water (or nondairy milk, for a softer, cakier scone)
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar (add to the water or nondairy milk)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a bowl and whisk. Stir in the cranberries.
- Cut the butter pieces into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork until you have a crumbly mixture with some large pieces of butter.
- Add the sourdough and stir it in. Drizzle in the water or nondairy milk (with the vinegar added) slowly, mixing with a fork, until the dough comes together in a ball. Try not to handle the dough to keep the butter from melting and try not to overmoisten it. You just need enough liquid so the dough comes together with no visible dry flour.
- At this point you can shape the dough into a disc, wrap tightly in cling wrap, and refrigerate overnight to make the scones the next day (preheat the oven before you bake). Or you can make them rightaway. Roll the dough into a disc about ½ an inch thick. You can roll it thicker for taller but fewer scones.
- If you want wedge-shaped scones, use a knife or pizza cutter to cut eight or 10 wedges, as you would a pizza. Otherwise use a cookie cutter to cut out the scones. Place them on a baking sheet. Preferably line it with parchment or a silpat sheet although they should release quite easily without the lining.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes until lightly golden on top and golden-brown at the bottom. Serve warm with jam, although these are perfectly sweet and great on their own.
Nutrition
Beth
Made a double batch of the dough yesterday and baked today. So yummy! I do love vanilla in my sweet bakes so I added vanilla with the liquids. Also added slivered almonds with the cranberries. Half a batch is going to my Mom who has a hankering for anything sourdough. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us.
Vicki
Thank you for this awesome recipe these scones are wonderful!! I found them easy to prep before breakfast and they have kept well eating them throughout the week as there is just myself and my husband at home now. Looking forward to making these again :)!!
Wendy
Love these... just made two batched (cranberry for one, and cinnamon and raisins for the other). Super easy and I had a ton of starter to use. Now, here's a question: The dough was super sticky and we tried rolling it between wax paper (nope) and parchment (didn't work either). How do you manage to roll them out for cutting? We tried adding a little flour but I didn't want the dough to get too flour-y. We did one batch in wedges and one in rounds.... but very rustic with the sticky dough. Any ideas?
Anonymous
i think this persons starter is not 100% hydration so more like 1 cup flour to 3/4 water so if your starter is 1:1 it might need a bit more flour??
Anonymous
Thanks for the suggestion... My starter is very hydated.... 100 gm flour and 100 gm water with each feed. I think its the whole wheat pastry flour. The next time I did it, the dough was very manageable with AP flour.
Wendy
Good suggestion but my starter is very well hydrated. 100 gm water to 100 gm flour each feed (on the advice of an artisan baker). I think the whole wheat pastry flour was the problem. I made another batch later with AP and the dough was perfect. Have a batch in the fridge now with lemon zest, poppy seeds, and lemon juice in the water.
Swadeeka
These are delicious and really rise well. so many scones i've made are just flat. Note I added zest of half a lemon to bump up the flavour. Orange zest would have been delicious too. also added teaspoon of vanilla to the water.
Vaishali
So happy you enjoyed the scones, Swadeeka! Thanks for sharing the lemon zest tip--great idea.
Chrystene
How would you change this recipe for fresh fruit, like rhubarb or apples? I've got so much rhubarb (and so much sourdough discard) and haven't found a vegan sourdough rhubarb scone recipe yet! Looks great, can't wait to try!
Vaishali
I love the idea of sourdough rhubarb scones. You can't just replace the cranberries here with rhubarb, as the rhubarb would express too much liquid. You could try reducing the rhubarb to remove the excess liquid, but that would make it too jammy to add to the scones. Let me think on this a bit--always thrilled to make more rhubarb recipes!
Meanwhile, have you checked out the many rhubarb recipes and many vegan sourdough recipes on the blog? I also have tons of ideas for using sourdough discard.
Chris Freeman
How about roasting the rhubarb a bit? I've seen bakers on GBB use fresh rhubarb in bakes where they don't want excess moisture roast and chop rhubarb before adding it to the mix. 🙂
BARBARA LEVINE
I made the scones. They were excellent. I added turbinado sugar to the tops for an extra crunch. My duaghter's non vegan boyfriend said they were the best scones he has ever had. They really are deliscious.
Vaishali
Barbara, so great to hear! Happy you enjoyed them.
Dianna McKay
Great to have another recipe for sour dough discard. I had trouble with my first go at the starter, but then our weather warmed up here on the Westcoast, to at least 75-77 F., and my starter took off in a day.
Vaishali
That's awesome! I do hope you will try these--they really are a great way to use up that discard.
Mary
My heart is breaking because my sourdough starter doesn’t start. I’ve followed you instructions. Only one time did I even have hopes for it. It did kind of bubble up so I can’t use the discard in anything but crackers or something.
Any suggestions for me?
Vaishali
Hi, I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with your starter. It could be that you are keeping it in temps that are colder than desired. Try keeping the starter in a warm spot, like inside the oven with the light on (don't turn the oven on). And feed it twice a day.
Jenni Billings
hi Vaishali, These look and sound delicious. I'm assuming you'd add the sourdough discard in when you are adding the milk? or possibly after the butter. I'm going to give these a try. My go to scone recipe uses orange juice for the liquid. I might try this with your cranberry for a nice combo!!
Vaishali
Hi Jenni, yes, in step 4. I love the idea of adding orange juice to the scones.
Anthony Reidler
I baked up a batch this morning for the first time & they are awesome!! I added orange zest as well. Great to have this recipe to use with my sourdough discard. 🙂
Vaishali
Great idea to add zest! So happy you enjoyed these.
Barbara
I love your recipes and want to make the scones. When do you add the starter to he recipe?
Vaishali
Step 4!