Not Your Coffee Shop Scones Food

THE BEST SCONES RECIPE

Steps:

• Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine 2 and 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar**, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons baking powder.
• Wet ingredients: In another medium bowl, add 1 egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla (omit for savory scones), 1/3 cup cream and 1/3 cup sour cream. Whisk it together. Set aside.
• Cut in butter: Now back to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the COLD or frozen butter. You can also grate the butter using a cheese grater and mix it in that way. Cut the butter in until it is incorporated and there are still pieces of butter about the size of a pea. Don't overdo it! See photos.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir it together until it forms a shaggy dough.
• Coat your hands with flour and finish kneading the dough in as few strokes as possible. (Overworking the dough makes for a tough scone.) Use your hands to fold the dough on top of itself, creating more and more layers until it has come together and all the flour is incorporated. You can add a tablespoon or two of ice cold water if you think it's necessary. I try to get the dough to come together in 5-8 folds. Do your best and remember that you will get better with practice!
• Mix-ins: At this point add in any mix ins you plan to use. (If you want to add cream cheese like you can see in the photos, chop an 8 ounce block of cream cheese into 1/2 inch chunks. Coat with 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, making sure all the cream cheese is coated. Carefully fold into the dough.)
• Prepare a work space with plenty of flour. I like to use a pastry cloth. Transfer the dough to the work place and use your hands to shape the dough into a 6 to 8 inch circle. I like really thick, tall scones. The thicker your circle of dough is, the taller your scones will be. If you added mix ins, your circle will be a bit larger.
• Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the circle in half. Cut each half into 3 equal triangles.
• Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Place the scones at least 3 inches apart from each other.
• Freeze for 30 minutes.*** If you don't have room in your freezer, you can put them in the fridge for 45 minutes. If you don't have room to chill a whole baking sheet, place the scones on a plate and then transfer to the baking sheet when they are frozen/cold.
• 15 minutes before the scones are done freezing, turn your oven on to 400 degrees F.
• Place the cold scones on a baking sheet if you haven't done so yet.
• Brush the top of each scone with cream. This will make the scones get nice and brown. Top each scone with coarse sugar if you like, or a bit of salt if you are doing savory scones.
• Bake: Put the scones in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
• Turn the heat down to 375 without opening the oven.**** Bake for another 8-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. DO NOT OVER BAKE. This is where the magic happens, so stay nearby. If you over bake your scones, they will be dry even if you did everything else right. If you are not sure, use a spatula to lift up one of the scones. If they are a nice golden brown on the bottom, they are done.
• Remove from the oven and let set up on the pan for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk or use an electric beater to cream 2 tablespoons of very soft butter. Add 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon milk. Whisk together and add more milk until you have a consistency you like. Drizzle over the tops of the scones and let harden (it usually takes 20-30 minutes.)
• Top your scones with butter and jam! They are great reheated in the microwave.
• Store scones covered on the counter for 2-4 days. They are best eaten on day 1 so that you can get those crispy edges. After storing for a while it's hard to avoid a bit of sogginess. (Starbucks solves this problem but leaving them out in the air, but then eventually the center gets dried out. So, pick your poison. Or just eat all 6 scones single handedly on day 1. No judgment here.)

NOT-YOUR-COFFEE-SHOP SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter or line 2 rimmed baking sheets.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another large bowl, beat together the buttermilk, egg, and sugar.
• Stir two thirds of the flour mixture into the buttermilk mixture. Gradually add the melted butter, incorporating it thoroughly into the mixture. Stir in the remaining flour mixture and the currants. The dough should be slightly stiff. Add a little more flour if needed.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean, well-floured surface and gently knead for under a minute. (Overkneading the dough will make it tough.) Separate the dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each part into a thick 5-inch circle. With a sharp knife, cut the circles into quarters. Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about an inch apart. Brush with some melted butter and generously sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan / convection).
• Place flour in food processor, then butter. Blitz on high for 8 seconds until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Pour milk all over the flour (don't pour in one place). Blitz for 6 to 8 seconds on high until the crumbs turn into ball(s).
• Transfer dough onto work surface, scrape out residual bits in the food processor.
• Knead lightly no more than 10 times just to bring the dough together into one smooth ball, then pat down into a 2 cm / 4/5" thick disc. Dust with extra flour if necessary (I don't need it).
• Optional: Lightly roll across the top with a rolling pin to smooth the top.
• Dip a 5 cm / 2" round cutter into Extra Flour.
• Plunge cutter straight down and back out into dough - do not twist. Repeat all over disc.
• Remove excess dough from around scones, then carefully transfer scones onto baking tray, taking care not to smear / press the cut sides. (Note 4)
• Gather together dough scraps and repeat. I get 10 scones in total.
• Brush tops lightly with milk. (Optional)
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the top is golden and it sounds hollow when tapped.
• Remove from oven, then transfer onto dish towel and wrap loosely (makes top soft).
• Once cooled to warm (10 - 15 minutes), serve warm.
• Tradition is to split the scone with hands (no knife!), slather with jam and dollop on cream.