Rona Demes Traditional Scones Recipes

TRADITIONAL SCONES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk egg and buttermilk until blended; add to crumb mixture just until moistened. , Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; gently knead 10 times. Divide dough in half; pat each portion into a 5-in. circle. Cut each circle into six wedges. , Separate wedges and place 1 in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm, with jam if desired.

BEST EVER CLASSIC SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet or two (depending on how large your baking sheets are) by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well with a fork or a whisk.
• In a liquid measuring cup, measure the cream and add the eggs. Whisk together using a fork and set aside.
• The next few steps should be done quickly, as you're working with cold butter and you want the butter to be as cold as possible when it hits the heat of the oven. This will result in a flaky scone, rather than a heavy and dense one.
• Cut up your butter, right from the fridge, into little pieces and dump it into the flour mixture. Using your hands (wash them well first and remove any rings), pick up handfuls of the butter and flour mixture, rubbing the pieces of butter and the flour between the heels of your hands to create "sheets" of butter. You should act quickly here, and don't allow the pieces of butter to sit in your hands for any length of time as the heat from your hands will cause it to soften. The goal is to create paper-thin pieces of butter, small and large throughout the mixture. Once there are no thick chunks of butter remaining, only thin sheets, remove your hands from the mixture. Hands equal heat, so handle the mixture as little as possible.
• Pour in the wet ingredients and mix roughly with a fork. Do not over mix, or the result will be heavy and dense.
• Once the wet ingredients have been incorporated but there are still several streaks of flour, turn the dough out onto a clean and floured counter surface. Press the dough down into the counter and then fold one half over the other half like you are folding a piece of paper. Press down again and make another fold. Repeat this 2 or 3 more times, gathering any outlying dough bits and flour into your folds. Don't knead the dough like you would if you were making bread, and don't stir or mix the dough like you would if you were making muffins. Scones are technically a pastry, so the goal is flaky layers that are created by the thin sheets of butter and all the folding.
• Once your dough is formed after folding several times, shape it into a rectangle about 1 3/4 to 2 inches thick (approximately). Again, be careful not to handle the dough too much, so a few little cracks here and there are fine.
• Cut out circles of dough using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a class or jar. Arrange the circles of dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash (whisk together the egg and water).
• You'll need to re-shape the leftover dough to form another rectangle - do this carefully and gently, without adding much extra flour if possible. The less you handle the dough, the more tender and flaky the scones will be. Cut out the remainder of the scones until you have about 10-12 in total.
• Bake for about 15-18 minutes just until barely golden brown and the surface of the scones lose their shine. Let them cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

RONA DEME'S TRADITIONAL SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup sugar in mixing bowl or in food processor. Cut in butter in small pieces or process with pulse button until uniformly crumbly.
• If using food processor, transfer mixture to bowl. Add raisins or currants. Lightly beat 2 eggs with milk and add, mixing to make soft dough. Add a little more milk if necessaby.
• Place dough on well-floured board and divide in two. Pat each into circle 1/2 inch thick. Beat remaining egg and brush on circles. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Cut each circle in eighths. Place wedges about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until golden. Alternatively, you can pat dough out until 1/2 inch thick and cut 2-inch circles, reshaping and recutting scraps, then coat with egg wash and sugar before baking.