British Scones

Ingredients

• 500 grams all-purpose flour (4 cups)

• A pinch of salt

• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cubed and cold

• 3 eggs

• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Preparation

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl or a food processor, mix together 500 grams all-purpose flour, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Once combined, add in your stick of cubed and cold unsalted butter. Mix in with your fingers (or in a food processor) until the butter pieces have broken down to the size of peas.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together 2 eggs and 3/4 cup of buttermilk. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Using your hands slowly mix everything together. Be careful to not over mix but to mix just until everything is combined. Once it reaches that point, pour the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Roll it out with a rolling pin to be about 1 inch thick. Then using a circle cookie cutter (I recommend about 2 inches in diameter but use the size you want for the size of scone you want) cut out as many scones as you can. Place them on the prepared baking sheets.

4. Refrigerate the baking sheets for 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 º F (205 ºC).

5. Whisk your remaining egg into an egg wash in a small bowl. Once your scones have rested, use a pastry brush to brush on the egg wash.

6. Bake your scones until the tops are golden brown (for about 10 - 15 minutes). Remove from the oven. After 2 minutes of cooling on the baking sheets, transfer the scones to a wire cooling rack. Serve slightly warm with jam, lemon curd, butter, and clotted cream. I recommend serving these for afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, mini quiches, cheese crisps, madeleines, petit fours, and fruit.

Notes

• Yield: ~ 24 scones