“The best kind of rain, of course, is a cozy rain . . . the rain that falls on a day when you’d just as soon stay in bed a little longer, write letters or read a good book by the fire, take early tea with hot scones and jam and look out the streaked window with complacency.”
— From “England For All Seasons,” by Susan Allen Toth
What a yummy scene that is, especially the part about the hot scones and jam. Those British quick breads will forever be a part of the teatime ritual, an hour when it’s best to slow down, relax and take in a little sustenance after the demands of a busy day.
What the British probably never imagined happening, though, is the way American bakers have taken over the scone and generally turned it into a monstrous triangle, jammed full of unorthodox dried fruits, chocolate chips and spices and dense enough to prop up the leg of an uneven tea table. With some coffeehouse scones topping 6 ounces–and the cinnamon version of a famous chain clocking in at more than 500 calories–the scone is in danger of becoming just another overwrought pastry.
“They are huge here,” agrees Caroline Cracraft, vice consul for press at the British Consulate in Chicago. “My mother always made them with a cookie cutter; they should be a maximum of about 2 inches.”
To be fair, there are so many ways to prepare scones, even in Britain, that it is difficult to claim a standard recipe.
London-born food writer Elizabeth Alston, author of “Biscuits and Scones,” ran into the same problem while doing research for the cookbook.
“I went into my mother’s recipe collection, trying to come up with the perfect scone,” said Alston of her Scottish mother. “But it appeared that there were different ones for different occasions: plain, with very little fat and no currants; a richer scone made with lots of butter for tea parties. Even Irish soda bread is a sort of scone.”
But it is still safe to give a scone certain parameters. Scones are meant to be a snack, a quick bread with just enough satisfying bites to help bridge lunch and dinner. Because scones are often part of a formal tea, in which small sandwiches and little pastries are also offered, any scone that dwarfs your palm should be considered a pushy interloper on the tray.
Think lightness and tenderness, the way Southern bakers give their breakfast biscuits such a gentle touch.
Raisins and currants are lovely additions, but wizened blueberries and hunks of dried apricot tend to go over the line. Sweet spices are nice, if used judiciously, and savory scones, containing cheese and even bacon, can be a fine alternative, as long as they don’t start to resemble a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s.
Cracraft argues in favor of plain scones. “They are really a vehicle for clotted cream and good, fresh fruit preserves, not a pastry in and of themselves,” she said.
Scones evolved into an elegant treat, lavishly spread with butter, jam and thick, spreadable clotted cream, also called Devonshire cream. But the earliest recipes were far humbler. The tea bread started out as a plain, hearth-cooked quick bread–a specialty of Scottish homes in the 15th Century, according to “A Feast of Scotland,” by Janet Warren. Made of leavened barley flour and oatmeal, these shortcakes were baked in cast-iron pans.
Dried fruit and spices became part of the recipes, but only in wealthy homes that could afford such costly imported ingredients.
“Perhaps this is why so much of the classic Scottish baking consists of the simplest of recipes,” Warren writes. “What could be more delicious than the plainest but lightest of scones or drop scones?”
Baking expert Flo Braker says the shortcomings of many commercial scones can be blamed on technique.
“The reason so many of the scones get so heavy is because of how they are made,” said the California-based writer and cooking teacher. “When you start using a large machine you don’t get the same quality. It can alter the temperature of the fat; it needs to be cold. That’s what helps give scones their lightness.”
A good scone is closer to a shortcake biscuit, leaning toward a cakey, rather than flaky, texture–the latter the sign of a great breakfast biscuit–and contains more sugar than a breakfast biscuit would. Another difference is that while biscuits make their appearance in America at main meals, particularly in the morning, a British scone is served at teatime. You won’t find a scone hiding under a blanket of sausage gravy.
One last detail, if we may: Pretty much everyone, in this country at least, gets the pronunciation wrong: the English rhyme it with “gone,” not “bone.”
Is any of this terribly important?
If there is any time of year when a good cup of tea, heartened by a plate of warm scones, is welcome, it is well under way. Try some of the recipes here, or simply luxuriate at a hotel tea where they serve scones worthy of the name (see list).
There’s no reason not to embrace tradition, particularly when it is buttered or topped with cream or jam.
Scones on the town
Hotel teas, which thrive on tradition, usually are the place to find a proper scone. Here are some of the best places for scones:
Atwood Cafe, Hotel Burnham, 1 W. Washington St.; 312-368-1900
Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton Pl.; 312-787-2200
Hotel Inter-Continental, 505 N. Michigan Ave., 312-944-4100
Peninsula Chicago, 108 E. Superior St.; 312-573-6760
Fairmont Hotel, 200 N. Columbus Drive; 312-565-8000
Four Seasons Hotel, 120 E. Delaware Pl.; 312-649-2349
Park Hyatt, 800 N. Michigan Ave.; 312-335-1234
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 160 E. Pearson St.; 312-573-5223
Scone shortcuts
Not a big fan of baking from scratch? The Tribune food staff sampled several mixes and found three winners for scones you could serve with pride to company.
Garvey’s Best of Britain Traditional Scone Mix. $3.50 for a 9-ounce box; makes
10 to 12 scones. Available at Williams-Sonoma (check stores for availability) or call Garvey’s Best of Britain, 425-641-0232.
Iveta Gourmet Golden Raisin Scone Mix. $6 for a 10.6-ounce box; makes 8 scones. Available at The Chopping Block, 1324 W. Webster Ave.; and Urban Harvest, 4 S. Vail Ave., Arlington Heights.
Stonewall Kitchen Scone Mix. $4-$6 for a 14.37-ounce box; makes 8 scones. Available at Fox & Obel Food Market, 401 E. Illinois St. or www.stonewallkitchen.com.
–K.E.
Savoy raisin scones
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Standing time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 12 scones
Here is a tender scone, studded with raisins, from one of the most famous hotels in London. Their elegant teas include this recipe, adapted from “Taking Tea at the Savoy.”
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
5 tablespoons each: sugar, unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 egg, lightly beaten
1. Sift the flour and baking powder together into the container of a food processor with the metal blade in place; add sugar and butter. Pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs, about 30 pulses. Place the flour mixture in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center; add the milk and raisins. Gently stir, being careful not to overmix.
2. Place dough on lightly floured surface; knead lightly 2 or 3 times. Roll dough to 3 /8-inch thickness. Cut out scones with a 21/2-inch round cookie cutter. Leftover dough scraps can be re-rolled for cutting. Place rounds on a greased baking sheet; brush egg on tops with pastry brush. Let stand 15 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake scones until lightly browned, 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Nutrition information per scone:
170 calories, 29% calories from fat, 6 g fat, 3.3 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 3.3 g protein, 0.8 g fiber
Potato scones
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes per batch
Yield: 16 scones
This particular recipe doesn’t resemble anything you think of as a scone–it comes out more like a potato pancake–but it has traditional origins in Scotland. Warmed leftover mashed potatoes work well in this recipe, adapted from “A Taste of Scotland.”
2 cups warm mashed potatoes
3 tablespoons melted butter or bacon fat
2/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Butter, honey or pancake syrup
1. Blend the potatoes with the butter or bacon fat in a mixing bowl. Stir in as much of the flour as the potatoes will take without becoming too dry. Turn out on a floured surface; roll to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into circles; prick tops with a fork.
2. Heat a greased cast-iron griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Cook scones until brown on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn; cook to brown other side, 5 minutes. Serve warm with butter, honey or syrup.
Nutrition information per scone:
55 calories, 35% calories from fat, 2.3 g fat, 1.4 g saturated fat, 6 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 0.7 g fiber
Cinnamon crumble scones
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 18 minutes
Yield: 24 scones
Here is a scone that blends cake and bread flours for a light but sturdy tea cake. It’s adapted from a recipe by chef Gerhard Doll of the Peninsula Hotel, Chicago.
Scones:
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups bread flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
Glaze:
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 egg, beaten
Cinnamon crumbles:
1/4 cup each: unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. For scones, place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Sift together the flours and baking powder; mix into butter-sugar mixture. Add cream; mix just until dough forms; do not overmix.
2. Roll dough into an 8-by-8-inch square. Cut dough into 12 equal squares; cut to form 24 triangles. Place scones on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets; set aside. For glaze, beat together the cream and eggs; brush over tops of scones with pastry brush.
3. For cinnamon crumbles, mix the butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl with a fork; sprinkle over tops of scones. Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes.
Nutrition information per scone:
290 calories, 46% calories from fat, 15 g fat,
9 g saturated fat, 55 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 36 g carbohydrate, 4.2 g protein, 0.9 g fiber
Cheese scones
Preparation tine: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 12 scones
A savory scone is just as welcome at the tea table as one sweetened with sugar and dried fruit. This recipe, developed in the Tribune test kitchen, features tangy Cheddar cheese and a slight bite from ground red pepper and mustard.
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon each: cream of tartar, baking soda
1/4 teaspoon each: ground red pepper, ground mustard, salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1. Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, red pepper, mustard and salt into the bowl of a food processor with metal blade inserted; add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Pulse until lumps resemble tiny peas, about 5 times. Add 1/2 cup milk; pulse. Add up to 3 tablespoons of additional milk until dough is soft but not sticky; add cheese. Pulse 4 times.
2. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place dough on floured surface; knead lightly 2 or 3 times. Roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut out scones with a 2-inch cutter. Leftover dough scraps can be re-rolled for cutting.
3. Melt remaining tablespoon butter; brush over scone tops. Place scones on a greased baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition information per scone:
125 calories, 35% calories from fat, 4.9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 13 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, 3.8 g protein, 0.6 g fiber
