Blog Post

Let's Bake Together: English Tea Scones

Ann Marie Craig • Apr 09, 2020

Welcome to my kitchen!
Scones are some of the easiest quick breads to make and some of the most delicious to eat, and eat, and eat, probably because there are endless ways to make them special, from the jam or honey you top them with to the fruits and chocolate bits that make them chewy and sweet.
Often here in the States we think of scones as crumbly, creamy breads that are overly sweet and rich. More traditional scones are a little less rich and a little more like biscuits and our recipe, whether made with wheat flour or gluten-free flour, makes scones that are wonderfully fluffy. While the rise of the dough while baking is a little less, the flavor and texture of the gluten free scones are nearly the same as those made with wheat. Especially when they are just baked and warm from the oven.

If you'd like a glimpse into Century Farmhouse's kitchen and a blooper or three to entertain you, pull up a chair, fill your cup of tea, and watch our how-to video before you make your first batch.
The ingredients and the recipe are below. Happy Baking!

English Tea Scones

A hundred-gazillion years ago, my sister studied in the UK and brought this recipe back. I adjusted it to the US standard of measurements and have made at least a hundred-gazillion scones since then. This recipe is easily adjusted to be gluten-free and I have included those instructions below. Bake a batch. Put your feet up. Enjoy a scone with that cup of tea you deserve.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose or bread flour OR gluten-free flour (1:1 gf flour works the best with this recipe)

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda (only if using gluten-free flour)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 4 ounces) butter, chilled

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk or substitute milk + 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

a little extra buttermilk or milk

1/2 - 1 cup dried fruit such as raisins, currants, cranberries, chopped apricots, etc., chocolate chips, or any combination

Here's how they're made:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and quickly cut in the chilled butter with a pastry cutter, knives, or work it in with your hands as if making pastry.

2. Beat the egg and mix with the buttermilk.

3. Make a well in the flour mixture. Pour in the egg and buttermilk and mix lightly with a fork until blended.

4. Stir in the fruit and/or chocolate chips.

5. Knead the dough with a touch until smooth (about 4-5 times).

6. Pat the dough to about 1 inch thick and cut with a knife, or a glass dipped in flour.

7. Place on a buttered cookie sheet or line the cookie sheet with parchment before placing the scones on it, leaving about 1 inch between the scones.

8. Bake about 18-20 minutes at 420 degrees F. Check the scones at about 15 minutes. If they appear to be browning, cover lightly with foil for the remaining baking time.

9. Remove from the pan immediately to a cooling rack and keep your hands off of them until they cool to at least a warm, not hot, temperature.

10. Enjoy a warm scone with that cup of tea. You can also open the scone and top it with honey or your favorite jam and/or cream. Mmmmmm.

< Older Post Newer Post >

Mail

Have a little cabin fever? Learn to make soap!

By Ann Marie Craig • 04 Feb, 2023

Our first soap making class of 2023 will be held on Saturday, February 25 at Cedar Valley Retreat Center in West Bend, Wisconsin. See the accompanying photos or click on the link to get more info and register.

Spice Cake with Buttermilk Buttercream Frosting

By Ann Marie Craig • 06 Feb, 2022

Bake an old fashioned spice cake from a vintage recipe, then frost it with Buttermilk Buttercream laced with whiskey vanilla. Top the cake with pretty slices of dried pink apples. A treat for your Valentine.

Kings Cake

By Ann Marie Craig • 03 Jan, 2022

January 6 is the Twelfth Day of Christmas and in the German tradition is celebrated with a special cake called Koenigskuchen. Here's the recipe for the rich, buttery, fruity version made in the north of Germany even today.

The Lemonades: Blueberry Lavender, and Raspberry & Mint - so refreshing!

By Ann Marie Craig • 23 Jul, 2021

Making fresh, old-fashioned lemonade is easy (recipe included), but add blueberries and lavender, or lavender and mint, or raspberries and mint, and you have a party! The lemonades will dance with flavor.

Maple Sap soaps I've known and loved. Now it's your turn.

By Ann Marie Craig • 11 Mar, 2021

We have been making soaps with maple sap for more than a decade, and since the sap is running again right now, it seems like a good time to create another soap! Read about the soaps we've known and loved in the past and give us your two cents' worth of ideas for a new soap this year.