Want to indulge in some potato flake sourdough chocolate chip scones? You’re in the right place! This sourdough scone recipe makes the most tender, golden-brown scones with pockets of rich chocolate chips.
Using a potato flake sourdough starter, this recipe offers a delightful way to use your sourdough discard or active starter to create delicious scones with a tender crumb. These scones are perfect for breakfast, a snack, or even a cozy afternoon tea. Plus, with simple ingredients and easy steps, you’ll be enjoying these in no time!
Why Use a Potato Flake Sourdough Starter?
A potato flake starter is a type of sourdough starter that uses potato flakes, sugar, and warm water to cultivate wild yeast. This method creates a slightly sweeter and more mild-tasting starter, which is a great option for those who may not be fans of the tangier traditional sourdough. Using this type of starter in scone dough adds a subtle depth of flavor, resulting in a perfectly balanced taste that pairs beautifully with chocolate chips.
Whether you’re using an active starter or sourdough discard, this recipe is a great way to put your potato flake starter to good use. It’s also an excellent option for those who are looking for sourdough discard recipes to minimize waste.
Don’t have a potato flake sourdough starter? Don’t let that worry you, I’ve got you! In a separate blog post I teach you step-by-step how to make a potato flake starter from scratch. If you already have a traditional sourdough starter made form flour and water, you can use some of that starter and convert it into a potato flake starter.
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Equipment You’ll Need
- Large mixing bowl
- Fork or pastry cutter
- Plastic wrap
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Bench scraper
- Cheese grater (optional, for grating frozen butter)
- Wire rack
Ingredients for the Dough
- 7 tablespoons frozen unsalted butter (if using salted butter, reduce salt to ¼ teaspoon)
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup potato flake starter (active or discard)
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
For the Glaze
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk (add more to thin out if desired)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare Your Ingredients
To start, ensure that your ingredients are cold, as this is key to achieving tender scones. Begin by grating or finely dicing the frozen butter into pea-sized pieces. This step is crucial because cold butter helps create the flakiness in the scone dough. Once grated, place the butter back in the freezer while you gather and prepare the remaining ingredients.
Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. It is important to mix up the flour mixture separately from the other ingredients first to be sure that all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and won’t clump up when adding the wet ingredients.
Cut in the Butter
Remove the frozen butter from the freezer and add it to the flour mixture. Using a fork or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter pieces are slightly smaller than the size of a pea. The key is to work quickly to keep the butter cold, which will help create those desired flaky layers in your scones.
Incorporate the Wet Ingredients
Next, add the cold potato flake sourdough starter, vanilla extract, and cold heavy cream to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Stir gently until a dough forms, being careful not to overwork it. I find it easier to mix with my hands once most of the liquid is absorbed.
Just before the dough is fully combined, fold in the chocolate chips. The scone dough should come together fairly easily but should not be over-mixed to ensure tender scones.
Chill the Dough
Dust the dough lightly with flour and then wrap the dough ball tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Chilling the dough helps relax the gluten, firms up the butter, and develops the flavors. For optimal flavor development and fermentation benefits, you can refrigerate the dough overnight for 8-12 hours, or even up to 24 hours if desired.
Shape and Cut the Scones
After the dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, and avoid adding additional flour if possible. Flatten the dough into a circle about one inch thick. Using a bench scraper or a knife, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. This step ensures that each scone bakes evenly and achieves the best results.
This recipe makes large scones, if you want smaller scones you can just cut into more pieces to make the scone size you desire.
Freeze and Bake
Transfer the scone wedges to a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each scone.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 5-10 minutes while the oven finishes preheating. This quick freeze helps the scones retain their shape and rise better during baking.
Once the oven is ready, remove the baking sheet from the freezer and bake the scones on the middle oven rack for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown on top.
Prepare the Glaze for the Potato Flake Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones
While the scones are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Adjust the consistency to your preference by adding more or less milk. Aim for a drizzling consistency that will zig-zag over the tops of the scones beautifully.
Glaze the Scones
Once the scones are done baking, transfer them to a wire rack to cool slightly before glazing. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. For those with a sweet tooth, feel free to add more glaze to your liking.
If you don’t like a lot of glaze you will likely have some glaze left over. You can place in a freezer safe bag and freeze the glaze for next time. Use the bag to pipe the glaze on next time and you’ll be one step ahead of the game!
Tips for the Best Chocolate Chip Scones
- Keep Ingredients Cold: Cold butter and cream are essential for flaky, tender scones. Avoid letting the butter reach room temperature, and only remove ingredients from the fridge when you’re ready to use them.
- Handle the Dough Gently: Overworking the dough can lead to tough scones. Mix just until the ingredients are combined to maintain a light and tender crumb.
- Chill the Dough: Refrigerating the dough before baking relaxes the gluten and firms up the butter, leading to better texture and rise in the oven.
- Customize the Glaze: Adjust the glaze consistency to your liking by varying the amount of milk. A thicker glaze will be more like frosting, while a thinner glaze will provide a delicate drizzle.
Storing and Serving Your Potato Flake Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones
These chocolate chip sourdough scones are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven. However, if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. For longer storage, wrap the scones tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them. When you’re ready to enjoy them again, a quick warm-up in the oven will bring back that freshly baked flavor.
Make a double batch and freeze half of your dough. Freeze the whole dough ball or freeze the individual scone and bake one at a time. Just allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight and it should be ready to bake the next day!
So, the next time you find yourself with some extra sourdough discard, don’t hesitate to whip up a batch of these chocolate chip sourdough scones. They’re sure to become a family favorite, and you’ll love having a new way to enjoy your sourdough starter beyond the usual loaf pans and cinnamon rolls.
If you give this recipe a try, I would greatly appreciate if you came back and gave it a 5-star review! It helps me out so much!
I also love seeing all of the delicious creations you make! Share your photo over on instagram and give me a tag @littletennesseehome
More potato flake sourdough recipes from Little Tennessee Home:
- Homemade Potato Flake Sourdough Croissants Recipe
- How to Freeze Potato Flake Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Potato Flake Sourdough Pumpkin Muffins With Streusel
- How to Make Potato Flake Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
- Potato Flake Sourdough Lemon Blueberry Scones Recipe
Pin for later and share with a friend:
The next time you want to have some fresh, bakery style scones, remember this potato flake sourdough chocolate chip scone recipe!
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Potato Flake Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Fork or pastry cutter
- Plastic wrap
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Bench scraper
- Cheese grater (optional, for grating frozen butter)
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons frozen unsalted butter if using salted butter, reduce salt to ¼ teaspoon
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup potato flake starter active or discard
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
For the Glaze
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk add more to thin out if desired
Instructions
- To start, ensure that your ingredients are cold, as this is key to achieving tender scones. Begin by grating or finely dicing the frozen butter into pea-sized pieces. This step is crucial because cold butter helps create the flakiness in the scone dough. Once grated, place the butter back in the freezer while you gather and prepare the remaining ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. It is important to mix up the flour mixture separately from the other ingredients first to be sure that all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and won’t clump up when adding the wet ingredients.
- Remove the frozen butter from the freezer and add it to the flour mixture. Using a fork or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter pieces are slightly smaller than the size of a pea. The key is to work quickly to keep the butter cold, which will help create those desired flaky layers in your scones.
- Next, add the cold potato flake sourdough starter, vanilla extract, and cold heavy cream to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Stir gently until a dough forms, being careful not to overwork it. Just before the dough is fully combined, fold in the chocolate chips. The scone dough should come together fairly easily but should not be over-mixed to ensure tender scones.
- Dust the dough lightly with flour and then wrap the dough ball tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Chilling the dough helps relax the gluten, firms up the butter, and develops the flavors. For optimal flavor development and fermentation benefits, you can refrigerate the dough overnight for 8-12 hours, or even up to 24 hours if desired.
- After the dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, and avoid adding additional flour if possible. Flatten the dough into a circle about one inch thick. Using a bench scraper or a knife, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. This step ensures that each scone bakes evenly and achieves the best results. This recipe makes large scones, if you want smaller scones you can just cut into more pieces to make the scone size you desire.
- Transfer the scone wedges to a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each scone. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 5-10 minutes while the oven finishes preheating. This quick freeze helps the scones retain their shape and rise better during baking. Once the oven is ready, remove the baking sheet from the freezer and bake the scones on the middle oven rack for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown on top.
- While the scones are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Adjust the consistency to your preference by adding more or less milk. Aim for a drizzling consistency that will zig-zag over the tops of the scones beautifully.
- Once the scones are done baking, transfer them to a wire rack to cool slightly before glazing. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. For those with a sweet tooth, feel free to add more glaze to your liking.
Notes
If you don’t like a lot of glaze you will likely have some glaze left over. You can place in a freezer safe bag and freeze the glaze for next time. Use the bag to pipe the glaze on next time and you’ll be one step ahead of the game!
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