Classic buttermilk scones are the perfect way to start your day.
Well this was an exciting week. It started off on Monday with Foodgawker featuring my Nutella Hazelnut Cake on the top row for a good chunk of the day. I got a ton of traffic on Monday and enjoyed it while it lasted. Tuesday was Ryan’s birthday — I finished up his birthday cake, and it turned out amazing (post on that next week). Then on Thursday evening FeedFeed featured the Nutella cake on their Instagram and Website. That was pretty much the best thing ever. Not only did I get a crap ton of traffic, I also more than doubled my Instagram followers. Instagram is my favorite form of social media, so I was super excited about this! Ok, I had to share that with all of you – now on to the good stuff… Buttermilk Scones!
I never really understood the appeal of scones. All of the ones I’d tried were either dry and crumbly or dense like hockey pucks. Both required substantial amounts of liquid to get down. Not appealing. Didn’t get it. That was until we made scones at school and I had to restrain myself from eating the entire batch. These things are damn good!
No dry crumbliness or hockey puck texture here. These ones are moist, flakey, and delicious. I modified the school recipe slightly, but really, why mess with a good thing?
I kept these simple and free of additions, but you can certainly add a multitude of things to take these to the next level, whether it be berries, chocolate chips, or herbs for a more savory scone.
The key things to remember when making these Buttermilk Scones:
- Make sure your ingredients are COLD — cold butter, cold milk — and don’t handle the dough too much with your hands.
- Don’t overwork the dough either – you want these guys flakey and light.
I paired these with some store bought raspberry jam and some homemade whipped cream, but the possibilities are really endless.
In the recipe below, I’ve included measurements in grams and cups, but know that I haven’t actually made the recipe using cups, as I prefer the more accurate results from my scale. As such, I can only guarantee the results using grams!
Buttermilk Scones
Ingredients
- 200 g Bread Flour * 1 1/2c + 1 Tbsp
- 200 g Pastry Flour * 1 1/2c + 1 Tbsp
- 50 g granulated sugar 1/4c
- 4 g salt 3/4tsp
- 24 g baking powder 5 1/4tsp
- 160 g unsalted butter cold
- 1 large egg cold
- 160 ml buttermilk cold
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Whisk well to combine.
- In a measuring cup, combine egg and buttermilk, set aside.
- Cut cold butter into peanut sized chunks. Try not to handle butter too much so it stays cold.
- Toss butter into your dry ingredients with your hands to coat.
- Squeeze flour and butter with your hands to create large flakes. There will still be a lot of dry flour, but all butter should be flakes and not chunky.
- Pour this mixture onto the counter and make a well in the center.
- Add half of the buttermilk mixture (pour it around the lip) and toss with your hands.
- Add remaining buttermilk and toss until mostly combined. There will be a lot of dry flour still.**
- Using a plastic bowl scraper, gather and fold the dough onto itself and press down. Do this about 4 times or so until the dough mostly comes together. There will still be some flour showing.
- Form into an 8″ disc and place on parchment baking sheet. Chill for 20mins.
- Trim the edges of the disc to allow the scones to rise, cut into 8 wedges.
- Bake in a circle with the edges close together so that the edges stay soft.
- Egg wash only the top of each scone (do not let it drip down the sides).
- Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
- Bake for 15-20mins until golden.
Notes
** If adding berries or chocolate chips add now.
Agata says
I made them with Whole Weat Flour, added some lemon zest when you said to on the recipe, and they turned out perfect! Thanks for sharing your recipe, they are delicious and making them with whole weat makes them feel like a not so bad choice for breakfast! 😛
Olivia says
Thanks Agata! I’m so glad you liked them! I haven’t made these in ages and now I have a craving to! Scones this weekend for sure 🙂
Laura@ Baking in Pyjamas says
You can’t beat a classic scone, my favourite is sliced in half them filled with clotted cream and either jam or fresh strawberries. A classic English pairing. These are making my crave them very much.
Olivia says
I usually slice them and add more butter! Sometimes jam..will have to try clotted cream 🙂
Margaret Anne @ Natural Chow says
These scones look amazing! I’ve only ever made scones a few times in the past, but these look so good, I think I might start making them again. Thanks for the recipe!
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen says
These are absolutely gorgeous! I love a fresh scone with jam. Yummmm!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
First off, congratulations for all the accolades you got for that cake – it is absolutely gorgeous and you deserve it! Second – I freaking love scones. When I was in undergrad, I ate one a day until I realized how much butter is in them (like, 90% butter, 10% sugar). In my horror, I didn’t touch a scone for five years. I haven’t had the best of luck making them either. Your scones look perfect! I’ll let you know how it turns out when I try this recipe.
Oana says
It was funny reading your comments about scones – I’m the same. I’ve tried so many recipes – some are really dry, some spread in the oven too much, some have a weird texture, but God, these look so flaky, just the kind of pastry I like. I’m gonna give these a try asap, thank you for sharing!
Olivia says
Yay! Let me know what you think :-).