When I ran my tea rooms I would make literally 80-100 of these scones every day! Luckily they are easy to make and you only need a few ingredients – hence why I like to call this my Easy Scone Recipe.
Homemade scones are an essential part of an English afternoon tea served with clotted cream and jam, but they can be so much more. Not quite cake and not quite bread they are delicious warm from the oven for breakfast. One of my earliest childhood memories is of warm homemade scones for breakfast in my grandmother’s kitchen. Now I am baking them for my grandchildren.
Ingredients you will need to make this Easy Scone Recipe
- Self raising flour
- Caster sugar
- Baking powder
- Softened butter
- Optional – Raisins or sultanas
- Full cream milk
Easy Scone Recipe making tips
- For extra light and fluffy scones replace the milk in the recipe with sour milk, buttermilk or 1/2 yoghurt 1/2 milk.
- Never let a rolling pin near your scones. Gently pat out your dough to the required depth.
- Handle your dough as gently and as little as possible.
- Scone dough should be soft and sticky. It is better to have a dough that is too wet than too dry. If your dough is a little too wet your scones will spread a bit but they will still taste delicious. If your dough is too dry they will look okay but will be crumbly rather than soft inside.
- I think butter and full cream milk make the best scones but you can substitute non dairy alternatives if you need to for dietary reasons.
Easy Scone Recipe eating tips
- Scones should be eaten on the day they are made, preferably within 8 hours of baking.
- Any leftovers can be frozen very successfully and defrosted in a microwave or wrapped in foil in a hot oven.
- Stale scones ie: day old scones, can be split and toasted. I like toasted scones as much as fresh ones – perfect dripping with butter after a winter walk, especially if you have an old fashioned toasting fork and an open fire.
- The traditional accompaniments to scones are clotted cream and jam, usually strawberry jam. They are equally good with butter and any good quality jam or other sweet spread. Toasted scones are particularly tasty with marmalade.
Equipment you will need to make this Easy Scone Recipe
Along with the essential kitchen items make sure you have a baking tray, a mixing bowl and a wire rack.
Easy Scone Recipe
8
servings20
minutes20
minutesIngredients
1 pound / 450 grams / 3 cups self raising flour
2 ounces / 55 grams / ¼ cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 ounces / 110 grams / ½ cup softened butter
Optional – Raisins or sultanas (4oz / 110grams / approx 1 cup)
Full cream milk (1/2 pint / 300mls / 1 1/3 cups)
Directions
- Sieve the flour, sugar and baking powder into a large bowl.
- Add butter, cut into small pieces and rub in until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the raisins or sultanas now if you’re using them.
- Mix to a soft dough with the milk, first with a round bladed knife and then bringing the dough together with your hands. You may need more milk than the 1/2 pint (300ml) as flour absorption can vary.
- Turn out on a floured working surface and knead briefly until the dough looks smooth.
- Pat out to approximately 1 1/2 inches/4cm thick. DO NOT ROLL OUT!
- Cut out your scones using a round metal cutter dipped in flour. The number of scones you make using a cutter will depend on its size. A 2 1/2 inch (6 1/2 cm) cutter will make around 8 scones.
- Place scones on a floured baking tray and brush the tops with milk.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220C (fan assisted 200C, Gas Mark 7 until well risen and golden brown – around 20 minutes.
- Cool on a tray lined with a clean tea towel and cover with a second tea towel or serve straight from the oven with lashings of butter.
All my scones
If you like these scones you must try my other sweet and savoury scones recipes.
Happy baking!
Tanya
I adore the Duddleswell scones but can’t always get to the tearoom – I’m doubtful I can replicate your masterpieces but I’ll give it a go! Love the new website x
Thank you and good luck!
I have enjoyed your gluten free scones for several years. What flour do you use?
Other than the flour is the recipe the same.
I know everyone has to retire (and it’s well deserved) but the thought of never having your gluten free scones again fill me with dred… As its my highlight of the spring and summer outings !
When I stumbled upon this site I was hoping you would have had the recipe in there for me to give it a go. But I know it would never come up to your standards.
Yours sincerely Carole Berry
Hello Carole,
Thank you for your kind words.
Please look out for my gluten free scones recipe on this site – I will be adding it as soon as I can!
I will be opening as usual at the end of March and at least into April so there still may be a chance for you to have the scones before I retire!
Best wishes
Tanya
We really hope that you are enjoying your retirement and whilst it’s lovely to see Duddleswell embark on its next chapter, we know its history cannot be replicated – the scones will never be to the same standard – we have yet to find any that are and believe me, we’ve tried!!
Oh thank you so much for your lovely comments!
I am thoroughly enjoying my retirement thank you!