Why are scones so simple and delicious… but somehow still so easy to mess up?
They only need a handful of ingredients, but great scones are all about technique. The difference between dry and dense vs. tender and flaky usually comes down to just a few small details.
Here are a few tips to better scones:
1. Keep everything cold, especially the butter, milk, and egg
2. Be careful not to over mix! Too much mixing makes them tough. You should still see small pieces of butter in the dough.
3. Make sure to let them cool before baking, even popping them into the freezer before baking.
4. They bake in a higher oven temperature than a cookie - this is what gives them their signature golden edges and fluffy layers.
5. They’re a great make ahead recipe. The dough can keep for a couple days in the fridge before baking or kept in the freezer for a couple months before baking.
Below is the recipe!
Scones
By Amara Yamamoto
Makes 6 large scones
Ingredients
2.5 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2.5 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
⅔ cup cold butter, chopped into small cubes
¾ cup buttermilk
1 egg
Optional topping
Heavy cream to brush on top
Demerara sugar
Instructions
Place the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix together well.
Add in the butter and using a pastry cutter, cut the butter in until it becomes the texture of a crumble topping. There should still be some pieces of butter. Alternatively this can be done in a mixer or by hand using a pinching like motion.
Place the buttermilk and the egg in a bowl and mix together well.
If you are wanting to make a flavoured scone, such as a cheese and herb scone or a fruit flavoured scone with frozen fruit, add in the flavours into the dry ingredients. Toss well until everything is coated.
Once the butter has been incorporated, add in the wet ingredients and mix by hand until just combined. You do not want to over mix the dough as it will become a dense scone instead of something light in texture.
Shape the dough into a disc that is about two inches thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge overnight.
This will allow for the butter to be able to cool and the gluten in the flour to relax. This also allows any potential dry flour time to absorb some of the liquid. If you want to speed it up a bit, you can let them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes and then place in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
Preheat your oven to 400ºf and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper
Cut the disc into 6 equal wedges. Place them onto the prepared baking sheet. To ensure a nice shiny top, you can brush on heavy cream onto the scones. If you have a fruit filling, you can also top the cream with some demerara sugar to add an extra crunch.
Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom.
Let cool slightly and then enjoy!