Ultimate Scones Food

CRUMBLIEST SCONES

Steps:

• First and foremost, brilliant scones are about having the confidence to do as little as possible, so do what I say and they'll be really great; and the second and third time you make them you'll get the dough into a solid mass even quicker, even better.
• Put the dried fruit into a bowl and pour over just enough orange juice to cover. Ideally, leave it for a couple of hours. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
• Put your butter, flour, baking powder, sugar and a good pinch of sea salt into a mixing bowl and use your thumbs and forefingers to break up the butter and rub it into the flour so you get little cornflake-sized pieces. Make a well in the middle of the dough, add the eggs and milk, and stir it up with a spatula.
• Drain your soaked fruit and add that to the mixture. Add a tiny splash of milk if needed, until you have a soft, dry dough. Move it around as little as possible to get it looking like a scruffy mass - at this point, you're done. Sprinkle over some flour, cover the bowl with clingfilm and pop it into the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 2 to 3cm thick. With a 6cm round cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out circles from the dough and place them upside down on a baking sheet - they will rise better that way (so they say). Re-roll any offcuts to use up the dough.
• Brush the top of each scone with the extra milk or some melted butter and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until risen and golden. At that point, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool down a little.
• Serve with clotted cream and a little jam or lemon curd.

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.

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.

BERRY SCONES WITH ORANGE HONEY BUTTER

Steps:

• You can do this the old fashioned way and add ingredients to a mason jar, cover with the lid and shake vigorously for 10 minutes, or you can use the food processor.
• In a food processor bowl add all the ingredients and turn on high. The liquid will slosh, whip and then separate after about 4 minutes. When the mixture separates, (these are the butter solids and buttermilk), stop processing and strain out the buttermilk - there will be just under a cup. Reserve the buttermilk to make the scones. Strain out the butter and squeeze dry. Work the butter a couple of times to bring it together to form a nice ball. Refrigerate butter until ready to use.
• For the scones:
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a food processor bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add cold butter cubes and pulse until you have the texture of coarse bread crumbs. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, then add 3/4 cup of buttermilk and stir to combine. As it comes together add berries and fold dough to incorporate berries but not break them up too much.
• Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Using a pastry brush, paint the tops of each scone lightly with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake until golden brown, and nice and puffy, about 17 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.
• Serve warm with the Orange Honey Butter.

THE ULTIMATE COCONUT SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 450°F Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
• In a food processor pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture is crumbly. Add the shredded coconut and pulse 2-3 times, just to mix.
• Pour into a large bowl and add the coconut milk; using a spoon mix together until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
• Press into a 9-inch circle and cut into eighths. Place on baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes or until the bottoms are just slightly browned. Serve hot with a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk, with a pat of butter, or just plain!

SCONE RECIPE: THE BEST SCONES EVER

Steps:

• Kick the tires & light the fires to 350 degrees.
• Take your bowl with your cup of sour cream, and mix in the baking soda.
• Whisk together the flour, sugar,baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
• Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives in a criss-cross fashion, until the butter is broken into pea sized morsels in the flour.
• Beat the egg and mix in into the sour cream.
• Add the sour cream mixture into the dry mixture, working it in.
• The dough can be a bit dry, but if you use your hands to combine it, it will be perfect. If needed add milk until it's combined. The secret to a good scone is a drier dough, not gluey.
• When the dough is combined, mix in the fruit. I fold in delicate berries by hand.
• Divide into three equal circles, patting each into a circle that is one inch thick (width ranges from 6-7 inches). Cut each circle into six equal triangles.
• Bake on a well greased or parchment lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are browned nicely on the bottom and slightly on the top. Watch them carefully!
• Serve and enjoy!

THE ULTIMATE SCONE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220*C (425*F) 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.
• 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, then pour in most of this buttermilk mixture, holding some back just in case it's not needed.
• Gently work the mixture together with a knife, until it forms a soft, almost sticky, dough.
• Work in any loose dry bits of the mixture with the rest of the buttermilk.
• Don't overwork at this point or you will toughen the dough.
• Lift out the dough and knead gently 3 to 4 times to get rid of any cracks.
• Pat the dough gently to a thickness of no more than 1 inch.
• Dip a round fluted cutter into bowl of flour and cut out the scones by pusing down quickly and firmly on the cutter with the palm of you hand.
• Don't twist it.
• Gather the trimmings, pat lightly and cut into more scones.
• Place onto a baking sheet and sift over a light dusting of flour or glaze with some milk if you wish.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until risen and golden.
• Cool on a wire rack, uncovered if you prefer crisp tops, covered loosely if you prefer soft ones.
• Serve with strawberry jam and a generous mound of clotted cream.

BLUEBERRY SCONES WITH LEMON GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.
• Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.
• You can make the lemon glaze in a double boiler, or for a simpler alternative, you can zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice with the confectioners' until dissolved in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water for the double-boiler method, or in a microwave-safe bowl. Whisk in the butter and lemon zest. Either nuke the glaze for 30 seconds or continue whisking in the double boiler. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.