Scones

Scones served with clotted cream and jam

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City/Region: United Kingdom

Time Period: 1915

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Does scone rhyme with clone? Or does it rhyme with lawn? Both are correct if you trust the Oxford English Dictionary, which I do, so it really just depends on where you are or where you’re from. This recipe is a combination of several very similar recipes in a British cookbook from 1915.

Though we may not all agree on pronunciation, I think we can all agree that scones are at their best when they’re slathered with as much clotted cream as they can hold.

“Another Way
One pound of flour, one ounce of butter, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, two teaspoonfuls of castor sugar, half a pint of milk, a little salt. Rub the butter in the flour, then add the baking powder, sugar, and salt. To be sent to the table hot.”

— Pot-luck or, The British Home Cookery Book by May Byron, 1915

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Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons (45 g) cold butter
• 4 cups (480 g) flour
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
• 5 teaspoons (20 g) baking powder
• 3 eggs, divided
• 1 cup (235 ml) whole milk, or drained milk from making clotted cream

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
2. Rub the cold butter into the flour until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Doing all of the mixing for the scones by hand helps prevent overworking the dough.
3. Add the sugar and baking powder and mix it together.
4. Add 2 of the eggs and gently mix them in. The dough will be very dry and crumbly.
5. Add about 3/4 of the milk and mix it in. You want the dough to come together and be nice and soft, a little sticky is okay. You may not need all of the milk, but add the rest little by little if needed.
6. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface. Don’t knead like a bread dough, but gently fold and press the dough over on itself to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated. This shouldn't take very long.
7. Form the dough into a ball, adding flour to the work surface if it starts to stick. Flatten the dough a bit, then gently roll the ball into a disc by rolling from the center down and the center up, then turning the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick, adding more flour if necessary. Repeat until it’s about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.
8. Cut the dough into whatever shape you like. The cookbook from 1915 includes diamonds, triangles, and circles, so take your pick. Flour your scone cutter and press straight down to cut out the scones, but don’t twist. If you twist, it seals the edges of the dough together and they won’t rise as well.
9. Place the scones about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on a lined baking sheet and let them sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime, whisk the remaining egg to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash on the tops of the scones. Try not to let any of it drip down the sides.
10. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until nicely browned, then take them out and place on a wire rack to cool.
11. Serve them forth with clotted cream and strawberry jam. I recommend piling on as much clotted cream as the scone can hold.

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