Everything you need to know about making the perfect scone (2024)

If you are about to embark as a contestant on the good shipMasterChef, there are a few things you need to know.

1) Never skimp on the gravy; 2) only wear a hat if you want to be a national figure of derision; and 3) be very afraid of anything that comes from the country. Especially if that’s a challenge involving the sort of baked goods that make up a judging class at the agricultural show at Deniliquin, Dumbleyung, Dubbo or Dalby.

Forget the croquembouche and the V8 cake. Few recipes caused more trouble onMasterChefthan the scones in the CWA challenge in series two. But, perhaps coincidentally, no recipe was more downloaded from the first series than Gary’s recipe for date scones.

In the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, scones were your nan’s, the ones served for those genteel cream teas up in the hills, or Flo’s pumpkin variety that went some way to distracting the populace from the shenanigans of her husband, Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

Yet Australia’s love affair with scones now seems like something from an era of black-and-white movies; dating back to an era where generations of new Australians were pilloried at school for what was in their lunch boxes – whether they were Greek, Indian or Italian.

Thankfully, during the past few decades this has changed.

It is wonderful that Aussie kids of all cultural backgrounds spend their cooking time making stir-fries or gnocchi and eating salami sandwiches – but there is a sense some of the old Anglo-Celtic ways have been left behind. The great thing about being part of a multicultural society is that you can embrace other culinary cultures while also hanging on to your own.

With this in mind – along with the education of the next wave of aspiringMasterChefcontestants – it seemed the right time to address Everything You Need to Know About Making Scones.

Tips for making the perfect scone

1. Follow the recipe. This is especially important with scones, which need a lot of raising agent to ensure that they are light and puffy.
2. Or follow it a bit, but instead of milk use fizzy lemonade for lighter scones or cream for richer scones.
3. Don’t overwork the dough. Just think of scone mix as ingredients that are no more than gently pulled together.
4. Rather than mixing the ingredients together, use a technique called “cutting”. Use a flat-bladed knife or a palette knife and cut it (or pull it) through your ingredients when you add the wet ingredients so they are just barely incorporated.
5. Don’t overwork the dough. Tip it out of the bowl and very lightly pat out on a floured surface with the heel of your hand. About 3cm thick is good.
6. The mix should be moist, and while it should come out of the mixing bowl clean, expect it to leave your fingers a little sticky. Scone mix is far wetter than a dough – it’s somewhere between a batter and a dough.
7. Only lightly flour your work surface to avoid incorporating extra flour into the dough.
8. Just a reminder: Don’t overwork the dough or the scones will turn out rubbery – or worse, bullety and hard.
9. Cut out your scones cleanly. Twisting the cutter can impair the rise. If you use a fluted cutter, you can’t twist it. If you don’t have a cutter, use a glass or a kid’s plastic beaker.
10. Pack the scones closely on the baking tray so they will support each other as they rise rather than spreading.
11. Make scones the day you need them – they taste far better warm.

If you want a soft top on your scones, brush with milk seven minutes into the cooking time. Or you can wrap them in a clean tea towel straight from the oven.

The perfect scone recipe by Matt Preston

You will need:

6 parts self-raising flour
1 part butter
3 parts milk

1. Preheat oven to 220C.Using your fingertips, rub 100g of butter into 600g self-raising flour so what’s left looks like breadcrumbs and so you can see
   little lumps of butter.

2. Add a good pinch of salt and a handful of sugar.Pour 300g of milk (or 50/50 milk/lemonade mix) into the flour mix together but cutting it together with a table knife.Gently pull it together into a loose dough.

3. Flatten the dough to 2cm and cut out scone shapes.Bake these all huddled together on a baking tray in the oven for 10 minutes.Serve while warm.

MATT’S LAWS OF THE KITCHEN

Cheese is milk’s leap towards immortality.

How to pimp your scones

To pimp these scones, add 50g of any of the following ingredients to your mix: coconut, chopped glace cherries or crystallised ginger, which was a favourite of my cooking grandmother.

How to make fruity scones

For a fruitier alternative, add 75g of chopped dates, or currants that have been soaked in warm tea or milk for 20 minutes. I like to add a couple of pinches of mixed spice with these or a little grate of lemon zest. Walnuts are also good. Or add the zest of two oranges and a little powdered cinnamon. You can also substitute the milk with fresh orange juice.

How to make savoury scones

To make savoury scones, just leave out 75 per cent of the sugar and increase the salt by a pinch. Then add 100g of your savoury ingredients, such as grated cheese, finely chopped ham, herbs such as snipped chives, picked thyme or tarragon or even finely chopped anchovies – or a combination. Feel free to play with adding a little spice to these savoury scones, such as cumin seeds, fennel seeds or smashed coriander seeds.

Do scones have eggs?

Generally, no. The Oxford English dictionary traces the word ‘scone’ back to 1513, when it first made its appearance in print. It was derived from Middle Dutch meaning ‘fine bread’ and was made from ingredients such as barley-meal, water, salt, and sometimes an acid ingredient like buttermilk or lemonade. Just as in old times, today’s scone recipes don’t include eggs, but there are some rare recipes that do. Eggs may change the texture of the scone, which should be golden on the outside and airy inside.

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See also
Finish your scones with these delicious toppers
Follow these tips to give your scones more flavour
Why your grandmother knows best
Celebrate Mother’s Day with these 15 scone recipes
Scones make afternoon tea look good
Delicious Scones – BEST RECIPES