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Delia Smith Basic Scone Recipe

Delia Smith Basic Scone Recipe

Delia Smith's basic scone recipe gives you tall, light, beautifully risen scones every time. Simple ingredients, one cold-butter trick.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Cooling time 5 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 8 Scones
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 165
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Scones:
  • 225 g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 50 g cold unsalted butter cubed
  • 25 g caster sugar
  • 150 ml milk plus a little extra for brushing
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract optional

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan / Gas 7). Line a baking tray with parchment.
  2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl.
  3. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  4. Stir in the sugar.
  5. Make a well, add most of the milk (and vanilla if using), and mix with a knife into a soft dough.
  6. Turn out onto a floured surface and pat gently into a 2cm-thick round.
  7. Cut out scones with a round cutter, pressing straight down.
  8. Place on the tray close together, brush tops with milk.
  9. Bake for 10–12 minutes until risen and golden.
  10. Cool briefly on a wire rack before serving.

Notes

Keep your butter and milk cold — this is the single biggest factor in getting a tall, light scone.
Never twist the cutter when cutting out your scones; press straight down and lift straight back up.
Handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking it is the most common cause of tough, flat scones.
Push offcuts of dough gently back together for a second batch rather than re-rolling firmly.
Freeze baked, cooled scones for up to 3 months, or freeze the raw cut dough and bake straight from frozen.