These scones have the perfect balance of buttery goodness, the flakiest layers that practically melt in your mouth, and flavour combinations that will have you doing a happy dance in your kitchen. Trust me, by the end of this journey, you’ll be the proud creator of scones that are downright irresistible. No fancy techniques, no complicated steps – just good vibes and even better scones.
Best Buttery Flaky Scones
Description
Scones have been a staple in baking since first developed in the early 1500's by a Scottish Poet. However, scones have come a long way since then - the first scones were likely made of oats or oatmeal and sometimes included fruits, and were often consumed for breakfast. Now, we use flour, baking powder, milk and butter to make these buttery scones - and I certainly never restrict a time of day for eating them, especially when they taste this good!
I have done extensive - ahem - "research" to find the best scone. And by research I mean I've eaten and baked ALOT of scones. Interestingly, there are a few variances in preferences globally, where in New Zealand we prefer a butterier flakier scone, with preferences for date scone or cheese scone variants. However, whilst in Ireland and the UK there tends to be a preference for lighter scones, with plain or dried fruit scone variations. And some scones include a small amount of white sugar and vanilla essence, more suited to eating with cakes and small treats in a high tea. This scone recipe certainly caters to the buttery flaky type, however there are lots more scone recipes on this site if you find you are after a different vibe!
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 200ºC fan-bake (or 220ºC bake)
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Sift together the flour (350g), baking powder (4 tsp), and salt (1/4 tsp)
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Grate cold butter (85g)
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Add grated butter to dry ingredients, and rub in with fingertips until a large loose breadcrumb-like texture achieved
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Add lemon juice to the milk (175ml), and let it sit for a moment
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Pour the lemon-milk liquid in to the dry mix and combine with a normal cutlery bread knife
Using a bread knife instead of a mixing spoon prevents over-mixing (i.e. developing too much gluten). Over-mixing would result in a denser scone. -
Once loosely combined, tip out on to a lightly floured bench and shape in to a dough ~2.5cm thick
Avoid excessive kneading, 2-3 turns should be enough to bring the dough together. The less handling of the dough the lighter the scones will be! -
Cut out circular scones with a cookie-cutter, or cut in to triangles with a sharp knife
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Brush tops lightly with a small amount of milk
This helps the scones to brown nicely in the oven. -
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown on the top
Note
Recipe hints, tips and tricks
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Always use cold butter - colder the butter the better. It helps to make pockets of butter during the baking which results in that lovely flakey texture
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Rub in with fingertips to avoid the heat of your hands melting the butter. No need to rub until completely combined, just until the grated butter is coated in flour and slightly incorporated
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Grating the butter helps to cut down the amount of over-handling of the dough, and over heating with hands
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Brushing tops with milk helps to give a nice even brown colouration
Recipe substitutions
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You can use buttermilk instead of lemon juice + milk
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You can use self-raising flour instead of plain flour, however still add 1 tsp of baking powder to help give some extra rise!
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Some people like to add 1-2 tsp of white sugar to the scone mix, just after the butter is incorporated to give a sweeter scone
