A perfectly balanced crumbly scone with candied ginger and orange zest. Adapted from the basic scone recipe from Joanna Chang, of Flour Bakery, who I consider the queen of scones in Boston. https://flourbakery.comhttps://flourbakery.com
I adore scones. I try to buy a few and keep them in the freezer for early hockey mornings when I need a quick breakfast on the go. I don’t like dry scones, and refuse to waste time on any that aren’t great. It takes a good amount of fat, to make this work, and these have the right balance of everything – not too sweet, crumbly texture, and a hint of orange with candied ginger. I think they are perfect.
It’s a simple recipe using simple ingredients, and there are two tricks to making these great. First, the cold ingredients should be really cold – like prep and measure and keep in the fridge until you mix it all together. Second, it’s imperative to not over-mix the ingredients, which makes them tender.
Chang’s recipe calls for not separating the scones fully until after they are baked. You simply pat the dough into a circle shape, cut it like a pizza, and bake it as a disc, then re-cut the segments and separate after they are fully cooked.
Ginger Scones with Orange Zest
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger
- 1 stick cold butter, cut into 10 pieces
- 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
- 1/2 cup cold creme fraiche, or full fat greek yogurt
- 1 cold egg
- 1 tsp grated orange zest
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- 1-2 Tbsp granulated vanilla or turbinado sugar for topping (can also use regular)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and center a baking rack with room to fit a pan with several inches clearance above.
- Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, combine all of the dry ingredients (flour through sugar) until well blended. Add in the candied ginger, mixing to distribute evenly. Scatter the butter pieces over the dry ingredients, and mix until combined and the butter has broken down into pieces about the size of large raisins.
- In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the creme fraiche, egg, and orange zest. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, until the batter just comes together. You don't want to over mix, as the scones will have a tough texture. Remove the bowl from the stand, and use the dough to collect any remaining dry ingredients in the bottom of the bowl. Dump the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and pat it into a 8 inch circle that is about 1 inch in thickness. Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges (like a pizza). The scones will bake like this as a full circle, then you will cut along the same lines when they are done to separate. Brush the top with the beaten egg, and sprinkle evenly with the vanilla or turbinado sugar.
- Bake for about 45 minutes (do not over-bake) and cut the scones into wedges along the scored lines. Separate and allow to cool until you are ready to eat. The scones are best warm out of the oven .
Notes
