Tall, straight-sided café scones on a buttermilk crumb. The rules: cold everything, minimal handling, sharp cutter pushed straight down — twist the cutter and the scone bakes leaning. Yield: 24 scones at 6 cm. Scones are a two-hour product: bake in waves and sell warm; freeze raw cut scones and bake from frozen for continuous supply.
Yield: 24 portions · Prep 25 min · Bake 14 min
Ingredients
1000 g self-raising flour
15 g baking powder
80 g caster sugar
10 g fine sea salt
200 g unsalted butter (cold)
700 ml buttermilk (cold)
50 g whole egg (egg wash)
Method
Cold rub-in Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Rub or paddle in the cold diced butter only to coarse crumbs with visible pea-size pieces — those pockets steam into flake. Chill the crumb 15 minutes if the room is warm.
Hydrate Add the cold buttermilk in one pour and bring together with a scraper in a dozen strokes to a shaggy, slightly sticky dough. The acidity works with the raising agents; the less you develop the flour, the more tender the crumb.
Fold, don't knead Turn onto a floured bench and give three book folds, patting — never rolling hard — to 3 cm thick. The folds build the layered rise that splits cleanly at the waist for jam and cream.
Cut Cut with a sharp 6 cm cutter pushed straight down, no twisting. Re-press the offcuts once only; mark those trays for staff — second-press scones bake visibly tighter.
Tray and wash Tray close together (near-touching scones climb rather than spread), brush the tops only with egg wash — wash on the sides glues the rise — and rest 15 minutes cold while the oven comes up.
Bake hot Bake at 200°C fan for 12-14 minutes until well risen with golden tops and pale, straight sides. Cool under a clean cloth to keep the crust tender. Serve warm within 2 hours, or split and toast day-olds.