Tall, Tender English Scones (and the Cold-Butter Steam Trick)
Sign in to see ingredients
Create a free account to unlock this content
Don't have an account? Sign up free
Per serving
Calculating nutrition...
- 1
Cube the butter and get it cold
Cut the 6 tablespoons of butter into small cubes and stash them in the freezer while you measure everything else. This is the whole game: you want the butter to stay solid right up until it hits the oven. When cold butter finally melts in the heat, it throws off steam, and that steam is what pushes the scone up and leaves tender little pockets behind. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- 2
Whisk the dry ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. There are two leaveners here on purpose: the baking powder does most of the lifting, and the pinch of baking soda reacts with the acidic buttermilk for extra rise and a little browning.
- 3
Cut in the cold butter
Add the frozen butter cubes and work them into the flour with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-size bits of butter still visible. Don't overdo it — those butter chunks are future steam pockets. If your hands run warm, use a fork so you don't melt the butter before it gets to the oven.
- 4
Mix in the buttermilk just until it comes together
Whisk the egg and buttermilk together in a small bowl, then pour it into the crumbs. Stir just until the dough is moistened and shaggy. The moment it holds together, stop. Every extra stir builds more gluten, and too much gluten is what turns a tender scone into a hockey puck.
- 5
Knead exactly 10 times
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it just 10 times — actually count them. Chemical leaveners can't take the abuse that yeast doughs shrug off, so you only want to knead enough to pull the shaggy mess into one piece. The dough won't be smooth, and that is exactly right.
- 6
Shape and cut into wedges
Divide the dough in half and pat each piece into a 5-inch circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Keeping the rounds nice and thick helps the scones bake up tall instead of spreading flat.
- 7
Bake until golden
Set the wedges 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. For extra color, brush the tops with a little buttermilk or heavy cream. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the tops are golden brown. Serve warm, with jam if you like.
Sign in to see all instructions
Create a free account to unlock this content
Don't have an account? Sign up free
Tall, Tender English Scones (and the Cold-Butter Steam Trick)
Created by: TheBreadNerd
Ingredients
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- jam
Instructions
- Cube the butter and get it coldCut the 6 tablespoons of butter into small cubes and stash them in the freezer while you measure everything else. This is the whole game: you want the butter to stay solid right up until it hits the oven. When cold butter finally melts in the heat, it throws off steam, and that steam is what pushes the scone up and leaves tender little pockets behind. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk the dry ingredientsIn a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. There are two leaveners here on purpose: the baking powder does most of the lifting, and the pinch of baking soda reacts with the acidic buttermilk for extra rise and a little browning.
- Cut in the cold butterAdd the frozen butter cubes and work them into the flour with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-size bits of butter still visible. Don't overdo it — those butter chunks are future steam pockets. If your hands run warm, use a fork so you don't melt the butter before it gets to the oven.
- Mix in the buttermilk just until it comes togetherWhisk the egg and buttermilk together in a small bowl, then pour it into the crumbs. Stir just until the dough is moistened and shaggy. The moment it holds together, stop. Every extra stir builds more gluten, and too much gluten is what turns a tender scone into a hockey puck.
- Knead exactly 10 timesTurn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it just 10 times — actually count them. Chemical leaveners can't take the abuse that yeast doughs shrug off, so you only want to knead enough to pull the shaggy mess into one piece. The dough won't be smooth, and that is exactly right.
- Shape and cut into wedgesDivide the dough in half and pat each piece into a 5-inch circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Keeping the rounds nice and thick helps the scones bake up tall instead of spreading flat.
- Bake until goldenSet the wedges 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. For extra color, brush the tops with a little buttermilk or heavy cream. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the tops are golden brown. Serve warm, with jam if you like.