A beautiful easy English scone recipe, made with Buttermilk. Read along as I share what I believe is the secret to a good scone, the difference between an English scone and an American scone, and what makes a bad scone. I will also share my top tips when making scones so you can have success every time.
1. What is the key to a good Scone
What is a good scone? To me, it should have a slight crunch on the outside, and the inside needs to be a bit flaky and crumbly. When you bite into a scone, it should taste buttery and melt in the mouth as you eat it. The best Recipes should be just this.
2. What is the difference between an English and an American scone
From what I have been able to gather, it’s more than just the fact that they are cut into triangles as opposed to using a cookie cutter. The other differences have to do with butter and sugar quantities. American versions tend to have more of each. In the UK, we tend to add additional sweeteners in the form of cream and jam. Personally, I prefer it that way, but maybe I am biased. For the US and Canada, we also have biscuits that look suspiciously like a scone but are in fact savory. Here are a couple of the main differences and really, as long as they taste good who cares.
3. Sifting, Chilling, Resting, Flour….. what is right?
It can be quite overwhelming when you are new to baking, with so many recipes to choose from. Which recipe is the right one? What if I get it wrong? Well, I am afraid getting it right, and knowing what to look for in a recipe is something that comes with practice. You have to start somewhere.
Scones are a great place to start; they are quick and easy to make without the need for lots of fancy tools and ingredients. I mean, you don’t need a rolling pin, you don’t need a mixer. If you’re in a pinch and don’t even have a bowl, you can mix the ingredients together on the worktop. I have done this before; it’s good fun, actually. All I can say is, don’t overthink it.
My Top Tips.
Tip 1: Don’t change the cook time; instead, change your oven temperature. I have found going up or down in increments of 10 works well.
Tip 2: Confession: I never buy buttermilk, and yes, my recipe calls for it. But whenever I buy it, I use it once, then it sits in my fridge and becomes the cliché science experiment. So I make my own cheats version; all you need is milk and either white vinegar or lemon juice. (Disclaimer: If you choose to go with lemon juice, it will affect the flavor of whatever you are making.) The recipe is 1 cup (250ml) milk and 1 tablespoon vinegar/lemon, mix together, then leave for around 5 minutes—it may start to curdle slightly, that’s fine.
Tip 3: Do not overwork the dough. I cannot stress this enough; it’s the biggest culprit of a bad scone. consequently, if you have ever had a tough, chewy, gamey scone, then it has been overworked. NEVER KNEAD IT!!!
Tip 4: You do not need a rolling pin. Use your hands to flatten the dough out.
Tip 5: This one is a Delia tip. If you’re not from the UK, you may want to Google, “Delia Smith“. When you cut out the scones, try not to wiggle the cutter; Otherwise, the scones will come out lopsided.
Tip 6: My final tip is if the bottoms burn, put an empty baking sheet on the rack below or double up on your parchment paper.
This post contains affiliate links, As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full disclaimer
How to make the simple scone recipe
What you will need.
- Bowl
- Small Jug or bowl
- Small whisk or fork
- Basting brush
- Cookie Sheet
- Parchment paper
- Stand mixer, Optional.
Ingredients.
- Flour. I used a white all purpose flour. Wholewheat will change flavour and texture.
- Butter. I tend to use unsalted and then add salt myself
- Salt. Sea salt
- Baking powder
- Sugar. I used granulated. If you want to use caster sugar I would recommend reducing it to around 1/4 a cup instead
- Buttermilk. You can use store bought. I make my own with milk and vinegar, amounts are below.
- 2 medium sized Eggs.
- Vanilla extract. I never use the artificial kind.
Step by Step Easy English Scone Recipe.
Mixing
Pre heat oven to 430F, 220C, Gas mark 7. You can also wait and preheat the oven at the end if you want your dough to rest.
- If you are making your own buttermilk make it now. 1/3 Cup Milk 1Teaspoon Vinegar. Mix together in a small jug or bowl set aside until needed.
- In a bowl add All purpose Flour, baking powder, salt and butter
3. Using your fingers rub butter into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Alternatively you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
4. Add sugar to bowl and mix in thoroughly
5. In a small jug or bowl add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Beat together well
6. Make a well in the flour. Pour the egg milk mixture into the well. Reserving some of the egg, around 1-2 Tablespoons. That will be used as an egg wash for the tops.
Forming the dough
7. Slowly bring the ingredients together with your hands until it forms a rough dough ball. Avoid kneading the dough in any way. If you are using a stand mixer. use on a low setting, being very careful not to over work the dough. This can happen very easily with a mixer.
8. Turn the dough ball out onto a floured surface. using the palms of your hands flatten out the dough into a disc around 1 1/2 inches thick.
9. Using a cookie cutter or what ever you have that could work. Cut out the scones and place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
10. Using the reserved egg mixture brush the tops of the scones
Baking
11. Now you have 2 options either you can place them right into the preheated oven or leave on the counter and turn the oven on now to preheat. Once the oven has preheated place in Scones.
12. Bake for 14 Minutes. Then remove and carefully place the scones onto a cooling rack.
13. Once they have cooled enjoy with Jam, Cream and a cup of tea.
Well, I hope that you find these tips helpful and you go on to make some beautiful scones. Please leave me a comment below letting me know how you got on making this simple scone recipe. If you have more tips, I’d love to hear them.
Enjoy your easy English scone Recipe.
Easy English Scone Recipe
Buttery, flaky, melt in your mouth rich buttermilk scone recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups (470g) All purpose flour
- 1/3 Cup (70g) Sugar
- 3/4 Cup (160g) Butter
- 4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 medium eggs
- 1/3 Cup Buttermilk
- 1tsp Vanilla
- 1/2 Cup Dried Fruit (eg. raisins, currants) (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 430F, 220C, gas mark 7.
1. If you making cheats buttermilk make it now (see note).
2. In a large bowl of the bowl of a stand mixer add Flour, baking powder and butter, rub in using fingers or the paddle attachment on your mixer, until it resembles bread crumbs.
3. Add sugar and salt and mix in well.
4. In a separate small bowl beat together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla
5. Add the egg mixture (reserving a small amount to use as an egg wash) to the dry ingredients again either using your hands or a stand mixture bring together to form a dough ball. do not overwork stop the moment it comes together.
(Optional. Add any dried fruit now.)
6. Turn out onto a floured work top and using your hands flatten out to 1 ½ inch thick disk. Using a cookie cutter cut out as , many scones as you can, placing them onto a lined baking sheet. Bring dough together and flatten again, cut out scones repeat until all dough has been used up.
7. Brush tops with the remaining egg mixture.
8. Bake for 14 minutes
9. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack to cool before eating
Serve with jam and cream and a cup of tea.
Notes
Cheats buttermilk 1/3 Cup milk 1tsp white vinegar mix and leave for around 5 minutes before using.
Make sure butter is cold and still fairly firm
Some nice fruit additions include, Raisins, Sultanas and Currants
If you do not have a cookie cutter you could use a jar lid, or divide the dough into two or three balls, and cut into triangles after you flatten out into a disc.
Leave a Comment