British Scones

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. with an oven rack set in the center of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set it aside.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt.

Grate the cold butter into the mixture and pulse about 8 times (or as needed) until the butter is distributed and the mixture has a sandy texture. Transfer it to a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the milk. Measure out and reserve 2 tablespoons of this mixture to a small bowl to use as an egg wash later.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the remaining milk and egg mixture into the center. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until it begins to come together into a rough dough. Flour your hands and work the dough in the bowl just until you can form it into a rough ball and all of the dry mixture has been picked up from the bottom of the bowl (it won't be smooth - don't overwork).

Scatter a small amount of flour over a cutting board and transfer the dough to the board. Work the dough again, forming it with your hands into a neat, somewhat smooth ball. Sprinkle the top of the ball of dough with a very small amount of flour (to prevent the rolling pin from sticking) and roll it out to a circle about 1- inch thick and no less than ¾-inch thick.

Use a 2 ½-inch biscuit cutter to cut as many circles as you can - about 4. Make sure not to twist the cutter at all when cutting the circles. Push straight down toward your work surface, otherwise they may not rise as tall. Pull together the dough scraps and roll them out twice more to cut the remaining 4 scones (I usually get 4, 3, 1 with a total of 3 roll-outs).

Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with the reserved egg wash.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until they've risen and are light golden brown on the tops and deeper golden brown on the bottoms. Immediately transfer the scones to a serving platter or a wire rack (remove from the baking sheet to prevent bottoms from browning any further.)

Serve warm with jam and clotted cream.

Bread,Breakfast,Brunch