Sourdough Strawberry Pistachio Scones
Pockets of sweet strawberry chunks, flaky layers, an almost caramelized crust speckled with salty pistachios, and 100 g less sourdough discard for you to worry about wasting.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: when baking scones, I always have the Humble Lion ones in my head as the blueprint. I mean, just look at those crispy edges and craggly crust. If you're ever in Montreal, I implore you to visit this café.
For most of last semester, Humble Lion was basically my unofficial office. My friend Fabio and I would be there almost right when they opened so we could fuel up on cortados and scones to get started on our schoolwork. Fabio called this recipe an "instant banger" and claimed I "nailed" the texture, which is the ultimate compliment and testimony to these babies. It took everything in me not to title this recipe "Instant Banger Sourdough Scones." A soy cortado on the side is optional, but highly recommended.
Recipe
1 cup finely diced strawberries (about 1/2 a pound/punnet)
50 g + 2 tsp sugar, divided
250 g flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (increase to 1/2 tsp if using unsalted pistachios)
100 g butter
100 g sourdough starter/discard ****see notes before starting****
Up to 100 g milk + 1 tsp lemon juice ****see notes before starting****
1/4 cup crushed pistachios
For topping: heavy cream, turbinado sugar, additional crushed pistachios
Instructions
Start by cubing your butter into very small pieces, then put it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Finely dice your strawberries and toss them with 2 tsp of sugar, then let them sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes as well. This will draw some of the additional moisture out so that you don't end up with soggy scones.
After your butter and strawberries have chilled, mix together the flour, remaining (50 g of) sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mix together the milk and lemon juice (essentially creating a makeshift buttermilk).
Using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, smash the butter into the flour mixture until there is a mixture of breadcrumb texture and pea-sized chunks.
Strain the liquid out of the now-macerated strawberries, then toss the strawberry chunks into the flour mixture until all the pieces are coated in the dry ingredients. This will help the strawberries distribute through the dough more evenly, and will prevent streaks of strawberry juice.
Toss the crushed pistachios through the flour mixture as well.
Slowly drizzle the starter into the flour mixture, stirring constantly. If the dough is still too dry to stick together, add milk and lemon juice mixture, a tablespoon at a time, until large clumps form. You should still be able to see streaks of flour, and the dough should be slightly sticky but not wet. I ended up adding 75 g milk total. How much milk you need will depend on the hydration level of your sourdough discard. Try not to over-mix.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and dump the dough onto it.
Pat the dough into a circle (around 10 inches in diameter), then freeze for at least 1 hour (preferably 2).
Toward the end of the freezing time, preheat your oven to 400 F.
Take the dough out of the freezer and use a very sharp knife to cut it into 8 pieces/triangles.
Brush the tops with cream, then sprinkle on turbinado sugar and more crushed pistachios.
Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 F and bake for around 10 more minutes (check on the scones after 5 minutes).
Notes
Sourdough discard & milk: I have a fairly "dry" sourdough starter. If yours is more liquid-y, you may not need any milk at all. The best way to determine this is based on the texture of the dough; it should be ever-so-slightly sticky (enough to hold together in a clump if you squeeze your hand together) but not wet, and there should be visible streaks of flour as well as small chunks of butter.
Vegan-ize it: I tried this recipe using this vegan butter and oat milk, brushing the scones with additional oat milk instead of heavy cream.
Substitutions/other mix-ins: I put a poll up on my Instagram asking what you'd like to see mixed in to these scones, and pistachios won by a landslide, but runners-up were/possible other additions include dark chocolate chunks, a pinch of black pepper, cardamom, lemon zest, and almonds. If you're allergic to nuts but want the crunch from the pistachio topping, sprinkle on additional turbinado sugar – this will help create a crackly, almost caramelized "crust."
Mmmmmm~