Traditional Irish Scones for Afternoon Tea

🧂 Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

  or 2 cups self rising flour and eliminate salt, baking powder & baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 oz butter

  1/4 cup, cold and diced
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

  cold (plus more if needed to make a soft dough)
• 1 large egg

Instructions

• 1 Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• 2 Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a mixing bowl.
  Stir in the sugar.
• 3 Add the cold, diced butter to the bowl, and using your fingertips, rub the
  butter into the dry ingredients, lifting it into the air as you go, until it
  resembles fine breadcrumbs. Every Irish baker I know uses their fingertips for
  cutting in the butter.
• 4 Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in the buttermilk and beaten egg.
  Gently stir the liquid into the dry ingredients until it forms a soft dough, add
  additional buttermilk if needed. My Grandma O'Hara used a fork.
• 5 Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat it into a 1-inch thick
  circle. Using a biscuit cutter or the top of a glass with a diameter of around 2
  inches, cut circles from the dough without twisting the cutter. Pat the scraps
  into shape and continue cutting. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet
  and brush the tops with additional buttermilk.
• 6 Bake for 11 to 15 minutes or until the top of the scones are a beautiful golden
  brown. Let cool on a metal rack for 10 minutes or more before serving with
  clotted cream and jam. And, of course, a cup of tea!

Nutrition Info