Scone Recipe from The River Cottage Bread Handbook | Tasting Table
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Servings:
8 Scones
Ingredients
  • 2¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • ⅓ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into ½- inch cubes
  • 3½ tablespoons superfine sugar
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • Milk, for brushing
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a food processor, blend the flour with the baking powder, salt, butter and sugar until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. (Alternatively, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl, and rub the butter in with your fingers, then stir in the sugar.) 2. In a separate large bowl, beat the egg with the vanilla and cream. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with your hands to form a soft dough.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead very briefly, about 10 seconds, to make it a little smoother. Dust the dough with more flour and pat or gently roll it out to a thickness of about 1½ inches.
  3. Using a 2-½-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 8 disks of dough. Press the cutter straight down, rather than twisting it, to give the scones a better chance of rising straight up.
  4. Place the disks on a lightly greased baking sheet and brush the tops with milk. Bake them for about 15 minutes oruntil a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes. Serve warm.