The Best English Scone 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.)

ENGLISH SCONES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins. Beat milk and egg; add to dry ingredients, stirring lightly. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll to 1-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Bake at 425° until golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Serve warm.

THE BEST ENGLISH SCONE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add butter and rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal. Reserve a small amount of the lightly beaten egg (1 to 2 tbsp) and set aside. Add cream to the remaining eggs and whisk to combine. Add the liquid to the flour mixture slowly, stirring to form a soft dough. When all the liquid has been added, stir rather vigorously until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floored counter and pat into a round about 3/4 inches thick. Cut into rounds with a 3 inch cutter. Gather up the dough and continue to cut rounds until all the dough is used up. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush lightly with reserved egg, sprinkle with sugar and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.

WORLD'S BEST SCONES! FROM SCOTLAND TO THE SAVOY TO THE U.S.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or rubbing between your fingers until it is in pea sized lumps. Stir in the currants. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and sour cream in a measuring cup. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir gently until well blended. Overworking the dough results in terrible scones!
• With floured hands, pat scone dough into balls 2 to 3 inches across, depending on what size you want. Place onto a greased baking sheet, and flatten lightly. Let the scones barely touch each other. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash. Let them rest for about 10 minutes.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown, not deep brown. Break each scone apart, or slice in half. Serve with butter or clotted cream and a selection of jams - or even plain.

ULTIMATE SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7/fan 200C and lightly butter a baking sheet (unless you're using a non-stick sheet). Tip the flour into a mixing bowl with the salt. Shoot in the butter, then rub together with your fingers to make a reasonably fine crumbed mixture, lifting to aerate the mixture as you go. Try not to overrub, as the mixture will be lighter if it's a little bit flaky. Now stir in the sugar.
• Measure the buttermilk, then mix in the milk to slacken it. Make a bit of a well in the middle of the flour mixture with a round-bladed knife, then pour in most of this buttermilk mixture, holding a little bit back in case it's not needed. Using the knife, gently work the mixture together until it forms a soft, almost sticky, dough. Work in any loose dry bits of mixture with the rest of the buttermilk. Don't overwork at this point or you will toughen the dough.
• Lift the ball of soft dough out of the bowl and put it on to a very lightly floured surface. Knead the mixture just 3-4 times to get rid of the cracks.
• Pat the dough gently with your hands to a thickness of no less than 2cm and no more than 2.5cm. Dip a 5.5cm round fluted cutter into a bowl of flour - this helps to stop the dough sticking to it, then cut out the scones by pushing down quickly and firmly on the cutter with the palm of your hand - don't twist it.You will hear the dough give a big sigh as the cutter goes in. Gather the trimmings lightly then pat and cut out a couple more scones.
• Place on the baking sheet and sift over a light dusting of flour or glaze if you wish. Bake for 10-12 minutes until risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack, uncovered if you prefer crisp tops, or covered loosely with a cloth for soft ones.
• Serve with strawberry jam and a generous mound of clotted cream (Cornish people put jam first, then cream, Devonians the other way round). Eat them as fresh as you can.

ENGLISH SCONES RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425˚F (220˚C).
• In a large bowl, rub together the self-raising flour and cubed butter until you form fine crumbs.
• Mix in the sugar, baking powder, and salt, and make a well in the middle.
• Pour in the milk and gently mix together until just combined.
• Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about a minute. Be careful not to over-knead the dough.
• Using a round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut circles into the dough that are about 1-2 inches thick.
• Place onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and coat the tops of the scones with the egg yolk.
• Bake for 12 minutes.
• Serve with clotted cream and jam.
• Enjoy!

CHEF JOHN'S SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Whisk flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Stir together 1/2 cup milk, sour cream, and currants in a small bowl; stir into flour mixture with a fork until just moistened and holding together.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into rectangle.
• Fold the rectangle in thirds. Turn dough a half turn, gather any crumbs, flatten back into a rectangle, and repeat. Cut into eight pieces and place each scone on a silicone baking mat.
• Whisk egg and 1 tablespoon milk together in a small bowl; brush mixture on top of each scone.
• Bake scones in the preheated oven until risen and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and transfer to cooling rack.

OLDE ENGLISH SCONES

Steps:

• Sift flour, salt into mixing bowl.
• Add dry ingredients.
• Combine water and milk and mix into mixture with knife until dough is formed.
• Knead until workable.
• Using hands only, pat into a 1-inch-thick dough.
• Using 6 oz water glass, cut into rounds.
• Mix milk and egg into a liquid and brush on top of scones.
• Place in parchment lined baking tin, lightly touching each other and bake for 15 mins at 425ºF.

PROPER ENGLISH SCONES

Steps:

• 1.Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Tip the flour into a large bowl with the salt and baking powder, then mix. Add the butter, then rub in with your fingers until the mix looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar.
• 2.Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot. Add the vanilla and lemon juice, then set aside for a moment. Put a baking sheet in the oven.
• 3.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.
• 4.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. By this point you'll probably need to press what's left of the dough back into a round to cut out another four. Brush the tops with beaten egg, then carefully place onto the hot baking tray.
• 5.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/fan140C/gas 3) for a few mins to refresh.