Quick Scones - 100% Authentic Taste of Britain
I studied in the UK before, and scones are my favorite snacks—no doubt about it, haha! British people tend to make everything too sweet... which was a bit of a struggle for someone like me who isn't into overly sweet treats. That was until I discovered scones at a café. The traditional way Brits eat scones is by slicing them horizontally, adding clotted cream (my friends and I particularly like the cream from PAUL’s; it’s rich and feels like a mix of cream, butter, and cheese—smooth like butter but not overwhelmingly greasy) and then spreading strawberry jam. The scone itself isn’t very sweet. Since then, every time I visited a café or museum, I’d always order a scone. While on maternity leave at home, I took the rare opportunity to learn how to bake. Huge thanks to Teacher Xiao Guo for her detailed explanations! I’ve organized the steps here to share. I’m delivering my favorite taste of Britain to you all. This recipe comes very close to the scones you’d find at Harrods! PS: They taste amazing when warm. Update on 2020.03.07: The recent wave of bookmarks might be because of the pandemic—thank you all in advance! Regarding questions in the comments, I referred to other people’s methods: 1. The 1.5g sugar comment—I dislike overly sweet flavors, and 5g works fine for me as an inspiration, haha. Anyone who loves sweet can add more, around 20g for a texture similar to store-bought loaf bread. Pairing scones with cream and jam works well since the jam itself is already sweet. 2. Baking powder—please remember to include it. If you want a fluffier texture, first avoid oversized scones, and second, seal them properly after baking to retain moisture, or else they may dry out. 3. Someone mentioned their scones weren’t crisp—after checking the photos, it seems the butter may have melted during the mixing process. Make sure to rub the butter into granules and bake them immediately to use the melted butter granules for that fluffy texture. Avoid melting the butter entirely! 4. Best enjoyed fresh out of the oven or stored in the fridge; otherwise, they can harden once water evaporates. Update on 2020.04.26: Some have reported 180°C leading to burned tops and undercooked centers. A few gentle reminders: I used an oven slightly over 30 Liters, which is typical for home use. Mini oven users should lower the temperature by 10-20°C and check color during the last 5 minutes—cover with foil if browning too much. As for larger ovens, adjust accordingly by increasing the heat or extending baking duration.
Ingredients
Steps
First, weigh the flour and prepare 240g of cake flour.
Add 5g of baking powder (Oops, from the photo it seems my mom’s baking powder was expired...).
Add 2g of salt.
Add 5g of sugar and mix well.
Add 60g of butter, cutting it into small cubes for easier granular mixing later. Do NOT let the butter melt at this point!!!
Use both hands to rub the butter into the flour until it’s fully mixed and granular.
Add 120g of milk (the second time I accidentally poured 140g, and the result wasn’t much different—just slightly softer dough during shaping).
Form into a dough—kneading slightly longer helps distribute the butter evenly.
You’ll notice the dough isn’t perfectly smooth due to the intentionally granular butter, which helps create bubbles while baking.
Weigh out 30g of dried cranberries or nuts. This time, I made cranberry and sesame+chia seed flavors.
Mix the nuts evenly into the dough. Wrap in cling film.
Do the same with cranberries; since I bought whole cranberries, I chopped them first and then mixed them into the dough. Let the wrapped dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to help with shaping.
Take out the dough and roll it out to a thickness of 2cm. Work quickly so shaping can be done promptly before baking. I used cookie molds to make heart shapes, but you could form rounds or other shapes to your preference.
Place the scone shapes onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving some space between them for expanding during baking.
Preheat the oven to 175°C on both top and bottom heat. For regular home ovens, adjust to 180-190°C if necessary. Commercial and built-in smart ovens usually handle temperature better, so 175°C should suffice. Prepare an egg yolk—I used an enriched yolk for a brighter color.
Evenly brush the egg yolk over the surface of the scones.
Once preheated, place the baking tray in the middle rack of the oven.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes. Home ovens might require a few minutes longer. The scones are ready when they rise, form bubbles and layers on the edges, and turn a golden color on the surface.
After baking, let the scones cool slightly before removing to avoid breaking. Let them cool on a rack—or if you’re like me, enjoy them warm right away. And voilà, your scones are done!