Traditional British scones
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the cold diced butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.
- Warm the milk slightly and add the lemon juice. Make a well, pour in the milk and mix quickly with a round-bladed knife until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough. Do not knead it.
- On a floured surface, fold the dough over two or three times, then pat it out by hand to 3 cm (1 inch) thick. Cut out rounds with a floured 5 to 6 cm cutter, pressing down firmly without twisting. Gather the scraps for the last scones.
- Place the scones on the tray, brush the tops with beaten egg without letting it drip down the sides, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until well risen and golden.
- Leave to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack and serve with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
Notes
Golden outside, soft inside and split by hand while still warm: scones are the heart of British afternoon tea. Here is our recipe for traditional British scones, quick and simple, with a dough of flour, cold butter and milk, ready in under 40 minutes.
Scones, the soul of British afternoon tea
Scones come from Scotland, where large oat flatbreads were originally cooked on a griddle and then cut into wedges. With the arrival of baking powder in the 19th century, they became the small risen breads we know today. They found their place in afternoon tea and above all in the cream tea: a pot of tea, scones, clotted cream and jam.
In the UK, people eat them in tea rooms, at home and even in railway stations. A scone is neither a cake nor a brioche: it is a quick, lightly sweetened bread eaten with a topping.
The traditional British scone recipe
The classic British scone is made with flour, baking powder, cold butter, a little sugar and milk. British bakers often use self-raising flour, which already contains raising agent; with plain flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder give the same result. A few drops of lemon juice in the milk help the baking powder work and make the crumb more tender.
Milk or buttermilk?
Many recipes, especially Irish and American ones, use buttermilk. It makes scones very tender, but it is not essential: the traditional English version uses milk. If a recipe calls for buttermilk and you have none, mix 175 ml of whole milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and let it stand for 5 minutes.
How to make easy, fluffy scones
For easy fluffy scones, remember four rules. The butter must be very cold, so it forms small pockets that puff up in the oven. The dough must be barely mixed: the more you work it, the more elastic it gets and the less it rises. The dough should be thick, 3 cm, for tall scones. And you cut with one firm press, without twisting the cutter, or the edges seal and the scones rise unevenly.
Scones with clotted cream
Clotted cream is a very thick cream from Devon and Cornwall, almost like butter, with a thin golden crust. The real thing is made by baking full-fat cream for about 12 hours at 80 °C, then chilling it overnight. For quick scones with clotted cream, mix 125 g of mascarpone with 125 g of thick cream: it is only an imitation, but it comes close.
How to eat scones
Split the scone in half by hand, like an English muffin, rather than with a knife. Then comes the great British debate. In Devon, you spread the clotted cream first, then the jam. In Cornwall, it is the other way round: jam first, cream on top. Both counties claim the true cream tea, and the question still divides families. One shared rule: no sandwiches, each half is eaten on its own.
Scone variations
Fruit scones with raisins
Add 60 g of raisins, sultanas or currants along with the sugar. This is the most classic version in English tea rooms, known as fruit scones. A pinch of cinnamon suits them very well.
Savory cheddar scones
For savory scones, leave out the sugar and add 100 g of grated mature cheddar, a tablespoon of chopped chives and a pinch of mustard powder. Sprinkle a little cheddar on top before baking. Serve them with butter or a bowl of soup.
Easy chocolate chip scones
For chocolate scones, add 80 g of dark chocolate chips with the sugar. Not traditional, but children love them. For more ideas on spices in baking, see our spice guide.
Butter-free, vegan or gluten-free scones
For scones without butter, replace it with 100 g of thick cream, added with the milk, or 70 g of solid, well-chilled coconut oil. For vegan scones, use a cold plant-based margarine and soy milk with lemon juice, and glaze with a little plant milk instead of egg. For gluten-free scones, use a mix of rice flour, cornstarch and buckwheat flour with half a teaspoon of xanthan gum to bind: they will be a little more crumbly.
Scones in a Thermomix
A food processor or stand mixer makes the dough very well: pulse the flour, baking powder, salt and cold butter for 10 seconds on medium speed, add the sugar and milk, then mix for just a few seconds, only until the dough comes together. Finish by hand on the floured surface.
Air fryer scones
Scones bake well in the air fryer: place them on perforated baking paper, spaced apart, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes at 180 °C (350 °F). They brown fast, so check from 7 minutes.
Storing homemade scones
Scones are best on the day they are baked. They keep for 2 days in an airtight container; warm them for 5 minutes in the oven at 160 °C (325 °F) to bring back their softness. They freeze very well baked, for up to 3 months, or raw once cut: bake them straight from frozen, adding 3 to 4 minutes.
More teatime treats
Love teatime bakes from around the world? Try Swedish kanelbullar, cinnamon buns, Norwegian skolebrød with custard and coconut, or Danish æbleskiver, little round pancakes. And for a complete English afternoon tea, add a Victoria sponge cake, the classic jam and cream cake.
Frequently asked questions
Why don’t my scones rise?
The dough was overworked, the butter was not cold enough or the baking powder was old. Also check the thickness: dough rolled too thin gives flat scones.
Do scones need an egg?
No. Many British recipes leave it out of the dough and only use it to glaze the tops. An egg in the dough makes scones a little richer and more golden.
