Bakery Style Scottish Scones

 

So I really took one for the team here, folks, you're welcome.  Not only did I eat my way through Scotland's pastry and scone scene, I came home and sought out a good, solid Bakery Style Scottish Scones recipe for you.

Which meant testing.  And retesting.  And testing some more.  Testing.

Yeah.

For you.

What can I say?  I care.

Now look, I'm not going to be a person who's traveled and then my whole life becomes about where I had traveled.  It is perfectly fine to do so.  But, there's great reason to incorporate what you've learned.

Like Scottish stone-ground oats* -- a thousand times better than American rolled oats.

Like Bakery Style Scottish Scones.

Because they're flipping outstanding.  Seriously the best scones I have ever eaten. 

And look, I love this Currant Scones recipe and I always will but I tell ya, eatin' scones from the land of their origin.....it will blow your mind.  A serious eye-opener.

And look too, I had no idea Scotland was such a pastry capital.  And they really really freakin' are.  Even chain joints have terrific stuff.  Scroll down my Instagram. 

Feels like I didn't even scratch the surface.  (checking flights back....)

As an added bonus, all throughout Scotland was the best hot chocolate I've ever had in my life as well.  Mind-freakin'-blowingly good. 

Here's the thing about scones in the UK (which I didn't know was pronounced skon in Scotland, as in rhymes with gone; no wonder the odd looks I got):  each country has a different version. 

There are Scottish scones which are different from English scones, both of which are different from Irish, all of which are different from Welsh.  And American.

I know, like I said, I really took one for the team here to bring you Bakery Style Scottish Scones.

For me, they needed to be as close to what I ate in Scotland as possible in flavor, texture, and size or else what was the point.  As close as I could get without flying back over and stubbornly demanding recipes.  Hm, maybe I'm onto something there....

Weirdly, I had a hard time finding recipes online to start with.  My friend Scott and I were at both Willow Tea Rooms and I should have bought the cookbook there but instead ordered it when I got home.  Because comparing recipes was interesting.

Turns out their recipe, in the book, contains eggs and my understanding is Scottish scones generally shouldn't contain eggs.  Many English scones do as do Irish ones and some Welsh ones.  Lots of American ones do.

Generally speaking, the Scottish scone recipes I was finding fell into one of four categories (in my head anyway):  self-rising flour versions, egg versions, flour and baking powder versions, or lastly, needlessly complicated.

See, my goal was to replicate Mimi's Bakehouse scone as best I could.  Do theirs contain eggs?  Not sure but I'm also attempting to lean traditional, original here. 

Soft, fluffy, delicate yet sturdy enough with a wee exterior crunch.  Not dried out hockey pucks.

Why Mimi's?  For one, they were spectacular.  Two, they're big, heh.  And three, well, they're spectacular.

Why am I trying so hard to avoid eggs?  In my opinion, eggs make scones cakier which is not the result I'm seeking here.

Did I nail it?  I think I got pretty close.  It's not exact but close, as best memory serves at this point, enough so for me to order up some Black Currant Jam* and search out clotted cream.*

Truuussst me, you want both on these scones.

I know clotted cream might sound, well, off-putting by the very nature of its name but it is heavenly.  There are recipes for clotted cream online but it takes a ton of time and your utility bill will be absurd; easier just to buy some.

To start, a butter note.  Our butter here in the States has less butterfat than butter in the UK.  Because we suck, that's why, hahaha.  Just joshin'.

I tested both types of butter in this recipe and my verdict is that it didn't make enough of a difference to specify using it or justify the expense.  You can if you'd like but it's not required.  My goal here too is to make sure this recipe is accessible for American ingredients as well.

Note too, this makes four Bakery Style Scottish Scones, bigger scones.  Heh, the original that I began with, well, that said cut them up small and have a bunch.  Nope.

You can double the recipe for eight but as it's typically just me eating these and they're best the day-of, I stick with four.  Toasted the next day or two, though?  Definitely, mmmmmm, winner!

Will I keep working on this recipe?  Most likely.  Will I keep trying others?  Probably. 

Right, ok, Bakery Style Scottish Scones.  Go.

Into a large bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together.  Use a fine mesh strainer* for this; makes fast, easy work of it.

Toss in the butter and with a pastry blender,* smash it all around until you get sandy bits and bits smaller than peas.  Won't take long at all. 

Alternately, use the finger smush method outlined here.  I would not use a food processor for this, it's too harsh.

Dump in the milk, stir very gently with a fork until things start to come together. 

Over-mixing and over-handling will get you those aforementioned dry hockey pucks.

Set that rough dough on a very very lightly floured surface, or preferably, no extra flour at all, then gently get everything into a blobby ball-like shape...

...then tear, yes tear, the ball into four pieces.

See, when baking, these rough torn edges will brown up and get crispy crunchy, a lovely added contrasting texture.

Kinda very gently and without erasing those torn edges, form each piece into a scone-like blob and set on a small baking sheet* that you've lined with a little piece of parchment paper.*
 

Pop the sheet into the freezer for a few, brush* the tops with an egg wash or heavy cream, and it's bake time.  Tops only for that wash; any on the sides will inhibit rising.

Pace aaaaanxiously, get your jam and clotted cream ready, and when the little torn bits are getting nicely golden, the rest of the scones are lightly golden, it is stuff your face time.

Hot diggity dog.  Insert mowing down of scones noises here.
 

Holy cow, these are delicious.  What a treat. 

I really hope you love these Bakery Style Scottish Scones, whooie!

*The Scottish stone ground oats, drinking chocolate, black currant jam, clotted cream, fine mesh strainers, pastry blenders, baking sheets, parchment paper, and pastry brushes are Amazon affiliate links.  Happy baking, thanks!  Please see the "info" tab for more, well, info.