These are simple, mildly sweet, not-to-bad-for you scones. Made with a little whole-wheat flour as well as all-purpose flour, the scones are full of dried fruit. Raisins provide sweetness, and freeze dried apples, although a little unusual in a scone, provide concentrated apple flavor and keep the scone from becoming soggy (which is often what happens when you use fresh apples, but I'm working on the issue). Admittedly, apples are a pretty mild fruit, but you do want your "apple scone" to taste at least a little like apples. These do. The sourdough tang also is there as well as sweet spices cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. If your starter isn't mature, not to worry. The scones include baking powder, so they'll rise when you bake them. The benefit of using the sourdough starter is in the flavor department (as well as not wasting the discard/starter).
Sourdough Apple-Raisin Scones -- Makes 8+
1 cup of sourdough starter (I use a whole-wheat starter)
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of raisins
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2-1 cup of freeze dried apple pieces, broken/crushed into smallish bits
Sugar for sprinkling (white sugar or turbinado/raw), optional
In a large bowl, mix the starter, oil, egg, 1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour, sugar, and raisins. Let them sit at least an hour if you want a stronger sourdough flavor for your scones. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. To the starter mixture, add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and freeze dried apple pieces, stirring everything, then kneading the mixture a little bring everything together. Dump the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and pat it into a circle about an inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 (or more, if you want smaller scones) wedges. Separate the wedges, placing them at least an inch or two apart. If you'd like, dampen the tops of the wedges with a little water or milk and sprinkle on some sugar. Bake the scones for about 20 minutes or until golden and mostly firm to the touch.
