English Scones

Head to England with this recipe English scones ! Small round and soft brioche buns traditionally filled with jam and cream. Very quick to prepare (no rest time) with simple ingredients, without a robot or mixer! Perfect for English tea time, or your gourmet breakfast…

PS: the Queen of England herself loved to enjoy scones at tea time, it was her favorite treat!

English or American scones: what are the differences?

English scones are natural, round in shape and quite tall. They are made to be split open and topped with jam and cream (that's what the English do). You can also add lemon curd, semi-salted butter, oilseed puree, spread, etc.

American scones They are meant to be eaten as is and are already topped with fruit or chocolate chips inside, or even frosting on top. Their shape is also different, because it is triangular, and their texture is denser. They are also sweeter and contain more butter (hence the fact that they are denser).

What you'll love about this scones recipe

• very fast to prepare ! 
• few ingredients
• no need for a robot or mixer, everything is done by hand
• no rest time toilet bag
• a soft texture between bread and brioche
• little sweet
• they can warm up if needed

Ingredient details

• all-purpose flour : I use T55 or all-purpose flour. I recommend this flour because it is more appropriate in terms of final texture compared to cake flour (T45).
• baking powder : we use a lot of it because it allows the dough to rise in the oven (without prior proofing unlike brioches).
• granulated sugar : the dose must be adapted depending on how you eat your scones (what you put on them), mine are moderately sweet.
• unsalted butter : your butter must be cut into small cubes and very cold before being incorporated into the dry ingredients.

How to make scones?

1. we place the cut butter in the freezer
2. we sift together dry ingredients
3. on add the butter with the fingers
4. we add beaten egg and milk
5. we blend delicately the whole
6. place the dough on the work surface
7. we roll out the dough
8. we cut circles with a small circle 
9. we add gilding with a brush
10. we bake !

NB: the complete list of ingredients and the detailed recipe are given at the bottom of the page.

My advice for making your scones a success

• place the butter in the freezer for 10 minutes before starting the recipe so that it is very cold and does not melt under your fingers.
• very finely sand the dry ingredients and the butter : there should no longer be any visible pieces.
• do not over-knead the dough so that the scones are very soft when eaten.
• flour the circle to make the dough cuts: this prevents the dough from sticking to the circle, this allows a clean cut.

How to store scones?

Scones keep 2-3 days at room temperature, if placed in an airtight container. You can also keep them in the refrigerator for a little longer, up to a week, always in an airtight container.

The ideal is to reheat the scones slightly before eating them, either in the microwave (around 15 seconds) or in the oven at 150° for 5 minutes.

Other recipes to try

If you like homemade breakfast or brunch, then I advise you to take a look at these other recipes from the blog:

• Thousand hole pancakes
• Homemade chocolate almond pecan granola
• Homemade latte macchiato
• Fluffy pancakes
• Soft crispy Liège waffle
• Easy homemade nutella

If you make these English scones, please rate the recipe below and tag @liliebakery on Instagram so I can see your pretty scones!

Easy English Scones

4.69 on 22 votes

Soft little breads that the English love for their “afternoon tea”. To be enjoyed garnished with a little crème fraîche and strawberry jam as tradition dictates!

Amount : 12 scones

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Prepare in advance 20 minutes min

Cook time 20 minutes min

Total 40 minutes min

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• Perforated baking tray
• Cookie cutter 5,5cm

Ingredients 

scones

• 420 g flour T55
• 13 g baking powder
• 0,25 cc salt
• 80 g granulated sugar
• 110 g cold diced unsalted butter
• 170 g cold whole milk
• 1 medium egg
• 1 cc vanilla extract

Gilding

• 1 oeuf
• 2 cc milk

Prepare in advance 

• Place the diced butter in a small container and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180 ° traditional heat.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar.
• Add the cold cubes of butter. Using your hands, crush the pieces of butter and flour to create a fine, homogeneous powder like sand. It takes about 3 minutes.
• Make a hole in the center and add the previously beaten egg, the vanilla and half the milk. Using a spatula, mix gently so that the dough forms. Add the rest of the milk and continue by hand. Be careful, don't work/knead too much, it just needs to hold together in a dough.
• Place the dough on the floured work surface, and roll out the dough to a height of approximately 2cm. Flour a 5,5cm pastry circle like me (or similar size). Cut out disks of dough in a straight motion (without turning the circle).
• Place the dough discs on a baking tray covered with baking paper.
• For the glaze, mix the egg and milk. Using a kitchen brush, coat the top of each scone, avoiding any dripping down the sides.
• Bake for about 20 minutes (it depends on your oven), they should puff up visibly in the oven, and take on a golden hue on top.
• Arrange the scones on a rack and let cool before serving. To fill them, simply open them gently at the slit in the middle of the scones.

Notes

Scones keep 2-3 days at room temperature, if placed in an airtight container. You can also keep them in the refrigerator for a little longer, up to a week, always in an airtight container.

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Keywords: scones

Recipe : Snack, Breakfast