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Humble Buttermilk Scones

Buttermilk scones stacked on top of one another with a jar of jam and a spreader
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These Humble Buttermilk Scones are Irish-inspired and are anything but boring! They are hearty with oats and whole wheat flour, yet have a super light and fluffy texture. Serve the traditional way with jam and butter.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/4 cups (175g) all-purpose flour*
  • 1/2 (50g) whole wheat flour*
  • 1/2 cup (50g) old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 1/3 cup (63g) white granulated sugar
  • 3.5 tablespoons (50g) butter, frozen, diced small
  • 2/3 cup (150g) buttermilk, fridge cold
  • 1 egg, fridge cold
  • 1 tablespoon demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
  2. Place the old-fashioned rolled oats in a food processor, and pulse until the oats are finely chopped, about 1 minute.
  3. If using an electric mixer: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flours, finely chopped oats, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Lightly fluff the flour mixture with your hands until all of the ingredients are uniformly distributed, about 5 times. Add the frozen, diced butter to the flour mixture and mix at low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Add the egg and buttermilk to the flour mixture, and mix at low speed until the egg is fully incorporated, about 2 minutes. Using your hands, lightly knead the dough in the bowl to incorporate any dry bits leftover at the bottom of the bowl and form a uniform mass. The dough will be sticky. By hand: In a large bowl, combine flours, finely chopped oats, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Lightly fluff the flour mixture with your hands until all of the ingredients are uniformly distributed, about 5 times. Add the frozen, diced butter to the flour mixture. Pinch the butter into the flour mixture using your fingers or a pastry blender (affiliate link) until the butter is the size of peas, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and buttermilk to the flour mixture, and use a wooden spoon to mix the dough until the egg is fully incorporated, about 3 minutes. Using your hands, lightly knead the dough in the bowl to incorporate any dry bits leftover at the bottom of the bowl and form a uniform mass. The dough will be sticky. 
  4. Dump the dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Using your hands, pat the dough into a 6 1/2-inch x 1-inch circle. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges. Evenly space the wedges on the baking sheet and sprinkle with demerara sugar. 
  5. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the scones cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to the cooling rack (affiliate link) to cool completely. Serve with jam or butter.

Equipment

Notes

Recipe Adapted from Tracey’s Farmhouse Kitchen Light and Fluffy Scones.

FLOUR. If you opt to measure by volume instead of weight, whisk the flour first to aerate it, then spoon into a measuring cup, and then level it off with the back of a knife. 

ADD-INS. Add 1/2 cup – 1 cup of dried fruit after the egg is fully incorporated in Step 3. Mix with a wooden spoon or on low speed until the dried fruit is evenly distributed throughout the dough, about 1 minute. Proceed with the recipe instructions.

STORAGE. Scones are best the day they are baked, though they can be reheated in the oven the next day. See “DO AHEAD” to make this more doable. 

DO AHEAD. Spread the raw dough wedges on a sheet pan, and put the sheet pan in the freezer until the wedges are frozen (about 2 hours). Once the dough wedges are frozen, store them in a bag in the freezer until ready to bake. Bake the scones straight from the freezer and add an additional 4-5 minutes to the total baking time. 

Nutrition

Keywords: scone recipes, buttermilk scones

Find it online: https://frommarkettotable.com/humble-buttermilk-scones/