Scones made with the best scone recipe piled up on a plate

The best scones

Name: The best scones
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting; 50g unsalted butter, chilled and diced; 150ml whole milk

8 Reviews

Portion size: Serves 8
Takes 15 minutes to make, 15 minutes to cook
Difficulty: easy

Vegetarian

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This is the best scone recipe – the only one you need. This traditional, old-fashioned method is quick, easy and use just three ingredients. Serve with jam and clotted cream for afternoon tea. It’s ready in just 30 minutes.

Take your scones to the next level with these pistachio and rosewater scones, made with buttermilk.

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Ingredients

225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
50g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
150ml whole milk

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Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan200°C/gas 7. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until it forms fine crumbs.
Make a well in the centre of the crumbs and pour in the milk. Using a palette or table knife, quickly bring the mixture together into a soft dough. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface until smooth, then pat out to a thickness of 2cm.
Dust a 5cm plain metal cutter with flour and use to stamp out rounds. Push the cutter down firmly but take care not to twist it, or the scones may rise unevenly.
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Transfer the scones to a non-stick baking sheet, dust lightly with flour and bake for 15 minutes until well risen and golden. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

FAQs

Yes, the recipe already uses self-raising flour for a good rise.

Keep everything as cold as possible, mix/work the dough as little as possible and preheat the baking tray (this helps kickstart the baking for good rise and crusty base).

Yes, cook, cool and wrap well before freezing. Defrost at room temperature then reheat in a low oven for 5-10 minutes to refresh and warm through.

Nutrition

161kcals Calories
6.3g (3.9g saturated) Fat
3.2g Protein
24.5g (3g sugar) Carbs
1.2g Fibre
0.3g Salt

Quick wins & tips

You never knead a scone dough, as you want it to be only very lightly mixed. This is what gives them their crumbly texture.

Make sure your butter is fridge cold when you chop it and mix it into the flour. Cold fat in a dough will create a flakier texture once it’s introduced to the hot baking sheet. If you’ve got the time, put the cut scones in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking for maximum flakiness.

Preheat the heavy-duty baking tray to get the raising agent working immediately. This gives the lightest, airiest scones with the crispest bases.

Do everything with the lightest of touches – overworking the dough can make the scones tough. Using a dinner knife to mix in the liquid rather than your hands helps avoid overworking the mixture.

Press out the dough rather than rolling it to avoid stretching the dough or compacting it.

The deeper the dough, the taller your scones will be. When cutting them out the dough should almost come to the top of the cutter.

Don’t twist the cutter – press straight down for an even rise.

You can warm day-old or defrosted scones briefly in a microwave or oven to bring them back to life.

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Reviews

angadze@yahoo.co.uk

30th Mar 2021 a 3:10 pm

Absolutely perfect scones 5* rating from me.. Doubled the ingredients for a substantial amount. Added cherries and raisins for sweetness.

Fiona Logan

1st Apr 2021 a 4:55 pm

Cherries and raisins = great addition Agines. Thanks for the lovely feedback.

JANEGUTHRIE-TATE

23rd Aug 2015 a 4:23 pm

JUST LOOKING at them makes me want one NOW. lovely summer treat. nice with winter berries too……so anytime treat really.

Katy Hughes

14th Jul 2015 a 8:48 pm

This is my favourite recipe at this time of year, as it is so easy to make and goes perfectly with our homegrown gooseberry and strawberry jam made with the children, and a big dollop of clotted cream! Yum