A scone is a single-serving cake§ or quick bread§.
They are usually made
of wheat§, barley§ or oatmeal§, with baking powder§ as a leavening agent§,
and are baked on sheet pans§. They are often lightly sweetened and are
occasionally glazed§[citation needed]. The scone is a basic component of the
cream tea§ or Devonshire tea. It differs from a teacake§ and other sweet
buns§, which are made with yeast§. A scone is in some senses a type of
pastry§ since it is made with essentially the same ingredients as
shortcrust, though with different proportions of fat to flour.
The original scone was round and flat, usually as large as a medium-
sized plate. It was made with unleavened oats and baked on a griddle (or
girdle§, in Scots§), then cut into triangular sections for serving. Today,
many would call the large round cake a bannock§, and call the triangles
scones. In Scotland, the words are often used interchangeably.[4]
When baking powder§ became available to the masses, scones began to be
the oven-baked, well-leavened items we know today.[5] Modern scones are
widely available in British and Irish bakeries§, grocery stores§, and
supermarkets§. A 2005 market report estimated the UK scone market to be
worth £64m, showing a 9% increase over the previous five years. The
increase is partly due to an increasing consumer preference for impulse
and convenience foods.[citation needed]
Scones sold commercially are usually round, although some brands are
hexagonal§ as this shape may be tessellated§ for space efficiency. When
prepared at home, they may take various shapes including triangles,
rounds and squares.[6] Baking scones at home is often closely tied to
heritage baking. They tend to be made using family recipes rather than
recipe books, since it is often a family member who holds the "best" and
most-treasured recipe.[7]
British scones are often lightly sweetened, but may also be savoury§.
They frequently include raisins§, currants§, cheese§ or dates§. In Scotland§
and Ulster§, savoury varieties of scone include soda scones, also known
as soda farls§, and potato scones§, normally known as tattie scones, which
resemble small, thin savoury pancakes§ made with potato flour§. Potato
scones are most commonly served fried in a full Scottish breakfast§ or an
Ulster fry§.
The griddle scone§ (or "girdle scone" in Scots§) is a variety of scone
which is cooked on a griddle (or girdle) on the stove top rather than
baked in the oven. This usage is also common in New Zealand§ where
scones of all varieties form an important part of traditional colonial
New Zealand cuisine§.
Other common varieties include the dropped scone, or drop scone, like a
pancake, after the method of dropping the batter onto the griddle or
frying pan to cook it, and the lemonade scone, which is made with
lemonade and cream instead of butter and milk. There is also the fruit
scone or fruited scone, which contains currants, sultanas, peel and
glacé cherries, which is just like a plain round scone with the fruit
mixed into the dough.
In some countries one may also encounter savoury§ varieties of scone
which may contain or be topped with combinations of cheese§, onion§,
bacon§, etc.
1 Heat oven to 425°F (220 Celsius).
2 Put flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl; stir mix well
Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub in with your
fingers, until the mixture looks like fine granduals.
3 Add sugar; toss to mix.
4 Add milk and stir with a fork until dough forms.
5 Form dough into a ball and turn smooth side up.
6 Pat or roll into a 6 inch circle.
7 cut each circle into 6 or 8 wedges.
8 place wedges on an ungreased cookie sheet- slightly apart for
crisp sides, touching for soft.
9 sprinkle desired amount of cinnamon and sugar on each scone.
10 Bake about 12 minutes, or until medium brown on top.
