Perfect scone update – I found it!
Chocolate chip scones have pretty much replaced chocolate chip cookies as the thing my daughter Natalie and I bake together. This is a good thing, I believe, for several reasons. First, less sugar and fat. Second, much quicker and an easier clean up. Third, only one baking time, as opposed to cookies where it’s in and out, in and out, onto the cooling racks, and then we tend to burn half of them because we lose track of the time. Finally, we love to drink tea, and scones are pretty much perfect with tea, although they also pair quite nicely with a tall glass of cold milk.
Still, I am not entirely happy. For, although I have tried at least four different recipes, I have yet to make the perfect chocolate chip scone.
Last Saturday, because Irene and Marvin left behind some buttermilk on their recent visit, Natalie and I decided to try buttermilk scones. Here’s the recipe we used, barely modified from a very nice web site called Baking Sheet. The scones in the picture looked pretty perfect to me, and I liked that the recipe only makes 4-6 small scones. Although they apparently freeze well, scones are best eaten the day they are made, so a smaller quantity seemed better to me.
Buttermilk Scones
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp butter, cold and cut into small pieces
5 tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chocolate chips
For topping:
1 tbsp buttermilk
1 tbsp coarse sugar
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar and whisk to combine.
Rub butter into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles very coarse meal.
Mix vanilla into buttermilk and add to the dry ingredients.
Add chocolate chips. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface, knead a very little and form dough into a disc 1 inch thick. Cut the dough disk into 4-6 wedges using a knife or a pizza cutter.
Brush with 1 tbsp buttermilk
and sprinkle liberally with coarse sugar.
Place on baking sheet and bake at 400F for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.
The end result, shown at the top of this post, was quite tasty. Everyone, including Natalie and her friend, enjoyed them immensely. But I was a bit disappointed in the texture. It wasn’t light enough, I thought. So, I decided to try again.
Most scone recipes I’d seen that originate in the UK called for Castor sugar, which is a very fine sugar. I figured that since scones originated in England, they might be onto something. I didn’t have any superfine sugar, but I read you can make your own using a food processor, so that’s what I did.
I also decided to add an egg to the recipe to see if that made a difference. Some scone recipes have an egg, others don’t. I wasn’t sure why, but I read in Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking that in baking, eggs act as leavening agents because they expand while they cook.
So back I went to the kitchen, and whipped up another batch of scones using these two modifications – the superfine sugar and the egg. Confirming my belief about the superiority of scones over chocolate chip cookies, they were into the oven in less than 10 minutes. And here was the result:
Here are the results of the two recipes side by side (with egg on the left, without on the right):
To be honest, I really couldn’t see or taste much difference. My husband Paul thought the ones with an egg tasted better, but that may have been because they were still warm when he tried them. Don’t get me wrong. Both scones were quite tasty. But they were heavier than I’d like, and a little more cakelike than I expected. I decided to do a little more research into the scone-making process, so that I could better choose a recipe next time.
There are many scone recipes out there. What seems to be common in all of them is flour, leavening (baking powder, soda or both), sugar, butter and a liquid. According to the very well-written Joy of Baking Newletter on scones, the ratio of liquid to dry ingredients is 1:3. The liquid can be cream, milk, or buttermilk. Interestingly, eggs are not a consistent ingredient of scones.
According to the CIA’s The Professional Chef, one makes both scones and biscuits using a “rubbed dough” method, similar to that used in making pie crust. Dry ingredients are well-blended, either by sifting or whisking together. Shortening is chilled and then rubbed into the dry ingredients to create layers. The Professional Chef actually recommends putting the butter back into the fridge after cutting it up, so that it remains hard until you actually use it. It is extremely important not to let the fat melt and mix evenly into the rest of the ingredients; thus the liquid must also be very chilled.
The best results are achieved by working the dough as little as possible. This means that after adding the liquid, you only mix the dough enough so that it is a “shaggy mass”. Some recipes call for rolling and cutting the dough, but the traditional method for scones is to just knead the dough slightly, pat it into a flat circle and cut it into triangles.
As for the leavening agent, most recipes call for baking powder. When buttermilk is used, however, baking soda is also added. I did a little reading in McGee on the difference between baking powder and baking soda. Without getting too much into the chemistry, the acidity in the buttermilk causes the baking soda to react and start bubbling right away (I felt it as I was working the dough). The problem with baking soda is that the reaction is short-lived, and if you don’t work quickly enough after adding the liquid, is over before the real baking starts. Baking powder, especially double acting baking powder, has two different ingredients that have different rising reaction times. The first reaction occurs on addition of the baking powder to the batter, the other later on at higher temperatures that occur in the baking process. I also found that you can test your baking powder and soda for freshness. I did both, and mine were fine, so that wasn’t my problem.
So, now that I am an expert on scones and baking, I have the following insights into why the scones I made last Saturday were still a little far from perfect (though not that far…):
1. We didn’t have the butter or the buttermilk cold enough
2. We worked the dough just a little too much (I thought the “shaggy mass” was a shaggy mess and kept working the dough. Now I know that a shaggy mass is just what I am aiming for.)
3. I think we cut up our dough into too many scones, so they may have overcooked due to the higher ratio of surface area to middle.
4. I think more baking powder is called for. I’ve checked dozens of scone recipes. The ratios of flour to leavener vary greatly, but some definitely call for more that what I used.
I found a recipe that claims to be an “authentic” scone from Devon, England, and that calls for a full tbsp of baking powder plus 1/2 tsp soda per cup of flour! It will be the next recipe I try. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
In the meantime, if anyone has any better insights, or can help me out in finding the perfect recipe, please feel free to comment. Because I am definitely on a mission here.
Next : Still Searching for the Perfect Scone…
Caegory: Food
I use
8oz plain flour (I think you call this all-purpose flour in the USA),
2 teaspoons of baking powder,
2oz butter,
1oz sugar,
1 egg, whisked and made up to 5 fluid ounces with milk.
Add some raisins or sultanas if liked.
(If you want cheese scones, and these are the best scones, in my opinion, leave out the sugar, and add half a teaspoon of mustard powder, and ‘some grated or crumbled cheese’ – can’t say how much, because it depends on the type of cheese. a good strong Cheddar’s nice – then you’d only need around 1 1/2 to 2oz, perhaps a bit more on top.)
I’m not from Devon, but the scones from our NHS hospital canteen are very similar to the cheese ones, and very popular.
Can I also recommend the BBC ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ website? I find it very useful for inspiration (as I do your blog!), and I’ve just looked amd there are over 20 different scone recipes, ranging from the slightly strange, to the much more conventional – but I bet they all work, because the chefs on Ready, Steady Cook are phenomenal.
Lovely, lovely photography!
I haven’t tried scones yet, but my friends who have also complain that they haven’t quite found the recipe they are looking for.
Some thoughts from the land where biscuits make a gal’s rep, even if she is chief of cardiac anesthesia:
Pastry (cake) flour rather than all purpose. Definitely NOT bread flour! Too much gluten. At least try Martha White’s bicuit flour, if you can get it.
Also, European butter has a higher fat content than American. Get some at Dean and Delucas.
I’ll check my back issues of Cook’s Illustrated–I think they addressed this situation in the past.
By the way, let’s not kid ourselves here about these being more “healthful” than a cookie–that flour is just another form of sugar, doctor, and the fat isn’t too different in the end– plus, the amount you eat of the scone is larger than a cookie.
But as Julia always said, Bon appetite! (All things in moderation.)
Have you forgotten about my “Rolling in the Dough” baking class at the Geechee Girl Rice Cafe last year? Do I have a scone recipe for you! I add variations like chocolate chips or raisins or dried cherries and pecans, etc etc. The scone dough is basically biscuit dough with sugar added and half and half instead of buttermilk. They come out beautifully every time. I will forward the recipe.
Love, Ro
OK, here’s what Cook’s Illustrate has to say.
They tried all three flours: all purpose was best. Tough and heavy with bread flour,doughy in center when they used cake flour.
Butter over lard.
Didn’t like the egg recipes.
They did NOT like commercial baking powder–feel it gives a soapy taste– so they make their own—1 teaspoon of cream of tartar to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and that amount to 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup fat, 3/4 cup liquid, which they prefer as whole milk.
only 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
They prefer to smear with jam rather than have them be sweet.
Following on from my earlier post, it strikes me that perhaps we’re meaning different scones in different coutries: here in England, the following website has a good picture of what we expect to see when we’re looking for a scone (and a recipe for them, too):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/scones_1285.shtml
So you can use pastry cutters on them, making a crinkle-crankle edge on them.
And serve them in a cream tea (with a good strong cup of tea, sliced, and spread with butter, a large dollop of clotted cream, and strawberry jam)
But it looks as though scones in the USA are flatter. Is that true, would you say?
You could get more cream, butter and jam on them then, so I could certainly see an advantage to the flatter shape!!!
Scones are notoriously difficult. The British Good Housekeeping magazine did one of their cooking investigations on the best way to make scones so you might try one of their cookery books.
I would try cutting them out with a round cookie cutter rather than into wedges. I know it sounds ridiculous but I’ve a feeling that it helps them rise.
Hello from London. May I suggest you find Delia Smith’s recipe and follow it exactly. I think it’s available on line. She is extremely reliable. You do it, it happens.
Good luck and happy baking.
I can’t claim to be an expert on scones, but the recipe I use is very similar to the recipe I use for biscuits, the main difference being an egg. The scones are consistently softer than the biscuits, so I think the egg does make a difference.
I’ve really got interested in this – I’ve now seen several sources which suggest that
an American biscuit = a UK scone (but without the sugar).
(As everyone knows, the UK biscuit = an American cookie, though.)
So what an American scone is equivalent to in the UK, I’m not entirely sure.
The look of it from your beautiful photographs reminds me of a UK regional teacake, but I can’t think which one it is. I have a feeling it may be from Wales.
Some great comments, thanks!
I think Waynetta is right, that UK scones and American scones may be two different things. I think what I am looking for is comething more akin to the American biscuit, which I think is the English scone. My sisters spent some time in Ireland, and tell me that the heavier scones may be more the Irish soda bread. Their memories of them are that tney are heavy and filling and delicious, but that they sit in your tummy like lead, holding you quite nicely till lunch. SO that may be these wedge-shapes I have been rying.
I think I will go for rounder, lighter version, more like a biscuit with sugar and egg that Maya describes.
A good British scone should be light, crumbly and delicious, particularly when spread with butter and jam (jelly to you, tbtam). Though filling, they most certainly should not sit like a stone, but like a scone in your stomach.
I have only just discovered your blog, both informative and entertaining. Could you please publish your Ma-in-law’s recipe for meatloaf. I am curious how she incorporates cheese and matzo meal. BTW the only time I have eaten American meatloaf was in a diner on Broadway at Canal. It tasted exactly like my English/Jewish Mother’s did.
If you’re looking for the classic English scone, I second Chairman of the Bored’s suggestion and try Delia’s online –
http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/how-to/how-to-make-scones,24,AR.html
with pictures (but not as nicely lit as yours!)
(Delia Smith is an enormously famous cookery writer in the UK – you may know of her. Delia’s not my cup of tea s a cookery writer, not enough reader intuition required in the recipes, but she writes recipes like a standard operating protocol, so that you WILL get a consistent result every time and that it WILL work! She’s also got some recipes online for buttermilk scones and so on.)
I like the scientific nature of your investigation; that’s why I’ve got so interested in this, as a scientist in (re-)training!
I am also a Brit with a Delia Smith fixation – I tried her buttermilk scones and they came out perfectly, despite the fact that I had no buttermilk and had to use low-fat Greek-style yogurt instead.
Mrs. Scarpulla said…
My daughter owns a national tea party company called Tealightful Treasures. She created the companies unique scone mix. The mixes are prepared with yogurt and come out perfectly everytime.
I’m from Scotland were scones are a tradition! Some of our Scottish relatives came for a visit and also agreed that the scones were excellent!
Visit her website: http://www.tealightfultreasures.com
My favorite is the Chocolate Chip.
The mixes are about to be featured in the Tea Experience Digest holiday edition!
Happy Scone Baking!
Mrs. Scarpulla
Hello! My name is Mary Ann and I’m one of the owners of The Ruby Pear Tea Parlor in Noblesville, Indiana. If I send you one of each of our scones, will you do a review of them for us? We are fast becoming very well known for our trio of scones that we offer. We have White Chocolate Cashew, Cinnamon Chip and Dark Chocolate Orange. Check us out at http://www.therubypear.com or our blog at http://www.therubypear.blogspot.com. Thanks so much and have a great day!
Mary Ann
This is a great recipe page, and the "what went wrong tips" are worth their weight in gold.
One thing we've found with more than a hundred scone varieties is that the filling (chocolate chip / fruit / cheese / whatever) mustn't have a high moisture content – if it does, the scones end up more like pancakes!
Hi. I too, am in search of the perfect scone recipe. I recently found a vendor who makes the scone mixes that have made me a scone addict! But I want to be able to make them on my own. They are the most moist and delicious scones and until I tasted them, I wasn't a scone fan.
I recently tried Paula Deen's recipe, but mistakenly combined it with another recipe. The biggest factor I have found in scones is sour cream and heavy whipping cream. They are the crucial ingredients that have left me wanting more!
Check out Paula's recipe at:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/sour-cream-scones-recipe/index.html
And just in case you want to analyze the original European scone mix that got me so interested in all of this…
http://www.paparaysmarketplace.com
And no, I don't work for either one. I am just seriously in search of a good scone recipe and haven't found anything that compares to his mixes!!!
What's a girl to do?
I am Papa Ray and I am excited to see the comment and response to our wonderful European Scone mixes. We also make European cake, cookie and pancake mixes like no others available. These all originated from my wife's side of the family in Germany. They are incredible and unique. I invite anyone wanting a quality product to look at our web site at all the availble goodies. Thanks again for the wonderful comment. Click here to go straight to our web page. http://www.paparaysmarketplace.com
I don't know where else to post this, but I think it's appropriate as an answer to Mrs. Scarpulla . The website at http://www.tealightfultreasures.com is down, but I purchased a Decadent Dessert Creme and paid quite an exorbitant amount for it only to find that it was delivered in tissue paper packaging and the ingredients were not much more than Sugar and Citric Acid. I was Very disappointed in this company– I'm glad I didn't order more!
Hi Dr.P,
I just found the perfect scone recipe and thought I would share it with you. As you know American ingredients are not the same as European. As you mentioned before the butter is not the same nor is the baking powder. I was discussing this with my mother and she told me that a scone is almost like an American biscuit and she had the same problem making biscuits in England. She modified the recipe for England. She also said that this type of bread is better made in larger batches. So I went home and tried it out. What I got was the perfect scone. Tender and flaky on the inside and toasty brown on the tops and bottoms. I will try to half the recipe on the next batch or maybe not.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
1 lg. egg
3/4 cup milk, butter milk, or cream.
I used butter milk and only used what was needed to hold dough together. Also the less you kneed the dough the more the scone rises.
Peace,
Sheila
[…] our first attempt at making the perfect scone, my daughter Natalie and I made some pretty tasty scones, but the texture was not as light as […]
[…] recipe is the culmination of a year long search for that elusive pastry, and was well worth the journey. I want to thank those who commented on my […]
From Indonesia’s outer islands. Must use Dutch Wiseman canned butter. Reg all purpose flour. Milk is milk powder mixed in water. That’s all there is. Plus 1tsp vinegar to simulate buttermilk. (An option). Double acting bak powder. Amen. Result: really really good w mango jam or chutney.