Basicscones Recipes

BASIC BRITISH SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Sift the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt into a bowl.
• Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and enough milk to mix to a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface, knead lightly and roll out to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with milk to glaze.
• Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 10 minutes then cool on a wire rack. Serve with butter or clotted cream and jam.

BASIC SCONE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse to combine.
• Cut the butter into pieces, and add to the food processor.
• Pulse the food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• With the food processor running on low speed, stream in the cream.
• When the dough has gathered itself into a ball, turn off the food processor and divide the dough into two equal portions.
• Flatten each portion of dough into a disc shape, about 1 1/2-inches thick.
• Score each disc into 6 triangles with a knife, and pull the triangles slightly away from one another (allowing about 1/2-inch in between).
• Bake the scones for 14 to 18 minutes, or until set in the centers and slightly golden on the bottoms.

HOW TO MAKE PERFECT SCONES

Steps:

• Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
• Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the add-ins, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
• Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it's too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges. For smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 wedges. To make 10-12 drop scones: Keep mixing dough in the bowl until it comes together. Drop scones, about 1/4 cup of dough each, 3 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. To make mini (petite) scones, see recipe note.
• Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and for extra crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
• Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s). If making mini or drop scones, use 2 baking sheets. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
• Bake for 18-26 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Larger scones take closer to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Feel free to top with any of the toppings listed in the recipe Note below.
• Leftover scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter. Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

CLASSIC SCONES WITH JAM & CLOTTED CREAM

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the self-raising flour into a large bowl with ¼ tsp salt and the baking powder, then mix.
• Add the butter, then rub in with your fingers until the mix looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the caster sugar.
• Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot. Add the vanilla extract and a squeeze of lemon juice, then set aside for a moment.
• Put a baking tray in the oven. Make a well in the dry mix, then add the liquid and combine it quickly with a cutlery knife - it will seem pretty wet at first.
• Scatter some flour onto the work surface and tip the dough out. Dredge the dough and your hands with a little more flour, then fold the dough over 2-3 times until it's a little smoother. Pat into a round about 4cm deep. Take a 5cm cutter (smooth-edged cutters tend to cut more cleanly, giving a better rise) and dip it into some flour. Plunge into the dough, then repeat until you have four scones. You may need to press what's left of the dough back into a round to cut out another four.
• Brush the tops with a beaten egg, then carefully arrange on the hot baking tray. Bake for 10 mins until risen and golden on the top. Eat just warm or cold on the day of baking, generously topped with jam and clotted cream. If freezing, freeze once cool. Defrost, then put in a low oven (about 160C/140C fan/gas 3) for a few minutes to refresh.

SIMPLE SCONES

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in raisins.
• In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
• Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
• Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

BASIC SCONES

Steps:

• Grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 425 F or 220 degrees C.
• In a bowl, mix the flour and salt together.
• Rub in the butter with your fingertips until no lumps are left and the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
• Stir in the sugar and baking powder.
• Add the milk a little at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to stick together.
• Using one hand, pull the mixture together into a ball and plop onto a floured surface.
• Knead lightly to form a smooth ball.
• Place on a plate and let the dough rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.
• Roll out onto a floured surface until it is about 1/2 inch thick.
• Use a round cookie cutter or a drinking glass, dipped in flour, to cut the dough into circles 2-1/2 to 3 inches across.
• When you lift the cutter from the dough, be careful not to twist it!
• This is important.
• If you twist, you will twist the gluten in the dough and make it hard for the scones to rise straight up when they are baking.
• Place the scones on a baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg.
• Be careful only to brush the top, don't let the wash drip down the sides of the scones.
• Bake for about 10 minutes until golden and well risen.
• Remove to a cooling tray.
• Serve warm with butter or cool, topped with fresh strawberries for a special summer treat.