Scone

A scone is a baked treat enjoyed with tea, split horizontally while warm and topped with jam and clotted cream. Yet a wide variety of doughs are made under the same name, from lightly sweetened British scones to North American ones rich in mix-ins and glazes, and New Zealand ones made with neither sugar nor eggs. How large the pieces of butter left in the dough are, how much flour and liquid are used, and how far apart the scones are spaced on the baking sheet all change the layers and the bite of the dough.

From large scones baked on a griddle to small ones baked in the oven

The early form cited by the Dictionary of the Scots Language is a 1513 reference to a “square cake.” A connection with Middle Dutch schoonbrot (fine bread) is suggested, but there are several candidates for the etymology. From the 18th century onward, examples also appear of scones made by shaping wheat or barley flour into a round, baking it on a griddle and cutting it into triangles. Today’s method of baking small, thick pieces of dough briefly in the oven is not the whole history of the name.

With the arrival of baking powder, the method of raising and baking scones individually in the oven spread. A baking technology resource from New Zealand also explains the relationship between leavening agents and the modern method. The method of baking large rounds on a griddle has also been passed down, and both methods exist today.

Nor is there only one English pronunciation. The word scone can be pronounced /skɒn/, with a short vowel close to “skon,” or /skəʊn/, with a diphthong close to “skohn,” and the Cambridge Dictionary lists both as British English pronunciations. They do not distinguish between different ingredients or quality; the same baked good simply has 2 pronunciations.

Sweetness in the dough, or added at the table

In Britain, a plain, lightly sweetened dough is standard, sometimes containing a small amount of raisins or currants. In North American cafés, scones may have generous amounts of fruit, nuts or chocolate mixed in and may be finished with a glaze. Triangles are common in North America, but triangular scones exist in Britain too. Shape does not correspond one-to-one with country or formula.

Fruit and nuts can be added to the flour mixture before the liquid. Juicy fresh fruit makes the dough too wet, so it is sometimes roasted first to concentrate its juices; moisture is handled differently than when dried fruit is added.

In lightly sweetened scones, the jam and cream served alongside complete the flavor. Biting into just the outside and spreading jam or cream on the split surface also differ in how the toppings combine with the dough. The rich dairy flavor of clotted cream joins the aroma of baked flour and the fruity tartness of the jam.

How cold butter is mixed in, and how flour changes the texture

When butter is used, the cold fat may be worked into the flour so that flat pieces remain. Whether the fat is dispersed finely and evenly or remains in flakes changes how layers appear after baking. Once the liquid is added, the dough is brought together quickly to avoid making it tough by overworking. North American scones with many mix-ins and British scones with few also differ in the amount of liquid needed to bring the dough together and in how it is mixed.

Changing the type of flour also changes the amount of liquid needed. In a King Arthur method example, the company’s all-purpose flour helps scones hold their height and shape, while substituting cake flour gives a lower, more delicate result. When switching to the latter, the liquid is reduced by 1 to 2 tablespoons, and only as much as is needed to bring the dough together is used. US flour categories do not correspond exactly to Japanese all-purpose flour (chūrikiko) or cake flour (hakurikiko).

Check the leavening, and bake without delay after shaping

Baking powder contains baking soda and an acidic component that reacts with it, and it produces gas with moisture and heat. Instead of waiting a long time for yeast fermentation as with bread, the dough is mixed and shaped, and it is lifted as it bakes. The leavening is dispersed thoroughly with the flour, the dough is not overworked once the liquid is added, and it is baked without being left to stand long after shaping. The loss of gas from standing also varies with the type of leavening and the temperature of the dough.

Self-raising flour is flour premixed with leavening. With recipes (the ingredient proportions and method) that use this flour, unlike when plain flour is substituted, the ingredient list is read carefully so that leavening is not added twice. Along with adjusting the firmness of the dough by the amount of liquid, the leavening used is also checked.

Doughs made with cream, and spacing during baking

There are also methods that use cream instead of butter to supply fat and moisture, so “rubbing butter into flour” is not the sole definition of a scone. Baking pieces of dough close together makes the sides soft, while baking them apart makes the outside crisper. While the culture of serving jam and dairy cream is part of the picture, the texture itself is created by specific conditions: the form of the fat, the amount of liquid, the degree of mixing and the spacing on the baking sheet.

Besides cutting out rounds, the dough can also be shaped by dropping scoops directly onto the baking sheet. In King Arthur’s method example, besides the browning on the surface, the inside is checked when split to make sure it is cooked through while retaining appropriate moistness.

Wrapping New Zealand’s unsweetened scones in a cloth

The basic formula from New Zealand’s Edmonds uses flour, baking powder, salt, butter and milk, and its ingredient list includes no sugar or eggs. The fat is worked finely into the flour, the milk is mixed in quickly with a knife, and the dough is shaped to about 2 centimeters thick and cut. After baking, the scones are wrapped in a cloth to keep them soft.

The company explains that the dough is unsweetened because jam, cream and other accompaniments are served with it. Compared with North American methods that mix in eggs and add mix-ins and even glazes, this shows the difference between putting sweetness into the dough and adding it at the table. As this shows, some scones have no sugar added to the dough itself.

Savory scones made with mature cheddar

Savory scones are not simply accompaniments with the sweetness taken out. The cheese scones featured by the National Trust add mature cheddar, black pepper and mustard to the dough, and cheese is also scattered on top before baking. They are served with warm soups or stews, or a single scone is eaten spread with butter. The food pairings also differ from those of plain scones served with jam and clotted cream.

Australian scones made with cream and lemonade

In Australian lemonade scones, instead of rubbing butter into flour, cream and a sweet carbonated drink are poured into self-raising flour. Cook Julie Goodwin’s method also adds lemon zest, uses a knife to bring the flour into the liquid, and brings the dough together with minimal handling. The warm, freshly baked scones are served with lemon curd. The combination adds sweetness to the dough from the drink and dairy fat from the cream.

Australian pumpkin scones

The State Library of Queensland in Australia presents Florence Bjelke-Petersen’s pumpkin scone recipe together with material printed on a tea towel. Mashed pumpkin is mixed with butter, sugar, egg and wheat flour, and the scones are baked in a hot oven. Recipes from the same state’s Country Women’s Association also include a basic method combining milk and flour, and a version with dates added. The vegetable is not a garnish but an ingredient that adds moisture and color to the dough.

Utah-style scones, enjoyed as fried bread

What the Utah Office of Tourism in the US calls a “Utah-style scone” is a fried bread similar to a sopaipilla, topped with powdered sugar. Both the cooking method and the texture differ from those of British scones made from butter dough baked in an oven; despite the same English name, it is a different regional dish.

Tattie scones served at breakfast, and scones as a teatime treat

A former menu at the café of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Scotland listed a breakfast pairing potato tattie scones with eggs and haggis alongside baked scones served with tea. Even in the same café’s offerings, the breakfast accompaniment and the teatime baked good played different roles.

In South West England, there is also a custom of enjoying tea and scones after a walk. Cotehele in Cornwall describes a cream tea in which the jam goes on first. In neighboring Devon, the popular way is to spread the clotted cream first and put the jam on top. Watersmeet in Devon says it has served tea and scones since around 1900. These familiar ways of combining jam and dairy cream are carried on in local tearooms.

Glossary

Parade'sSeasonal Cream Tea Set with Freshly Baked Kiln-Baked Scones／Cream tea de saison

The toasty aroma that only kiln baking can give brings out the flavor of the wheat and butter, leaving the scones crisp and fragrant outside and fluffy and moist inside. Because it is so simple, the plain scone lets you fully enjoy the rich aroma of the wheat and the natural flavor of its ingredients. The caramel walnut whole wheat scone pairs caramelized walnuts with coarsely ground graham whole wheat flour, giving it a crunchy texture as an accent. Its bittersweet caramel and toasty wheat come together in a deeply flavorful scone.

The warm, freshly baked scones come with Higuchi Apiary’s wildflower honey and a generous serving of fresh cream with a smooth, light sweetness. They are also paired with a seasonal limited-edition marmalade made from Wakayama-grown blood oranges, so the gentle sweetness of the honey, the mellowness of the lightly sweet cream, and the bittersweet, refreshing finish of the citrus build on one another. You can first enjoy the flavor of the scones on their own, then add a little honey, cream, and marmalade at a time and take your time savoring how the flavors change.

For your drink, we offer Minami-Satsuma Japanese black tea (served hot in a pot as standard).
Its bright aroma and gentle astringency quietly complement the flavor of the freshly baked scones.

A time to slowly enjoy warm scones with black tea.
This is a relaxing cream tea set layered with the flavors of the season.

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