Recipe: Light as a feather scones

Beth Ann’s Light British Scones 

3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch 

2 tablespoons shortening

1 cup Half-and-half

1 large eggs

I prefer  half-and-half  in this recipe, but whole milk  or low-fat milk  can be used. It will affect how light your scones turn out. I recommend that you use the half-and-half.

For a tall, even rise, use a sharp-edged biscuit cutter and push straight down; do not twist the cutter. These scones are best served fresh, but leftover scones may be stored in the freezer and reheated in a 300-degree oven for 15 minutes before serving. Serve these scones with jam as well as salted butter or clotted cream.

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 425 Fahrenheit. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. 

Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 pulses. Add butter and shortening and pulse until fully incorporated and mixture looks like very fine crumbs with no visible butter, about 20 pulses.  

Transfer mixture to large bowl.

Whisk milk and egg together in second bowl. Set aside 2 tablespoons milk mixture. Add remaining milk mixture to flour mixture and, using rubber spatula, fold together until almost no dry bits of flour remain.  It may still be crumbly.

Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and gather into rectangle. Put any crumbly bits on top of the rectangle. Use your bench scraper to fold the rectangle In thirds like a letter.  Turn 1/4 turn and press out into a rectangle again about an inch thick. Fold it again into thirds like the letter. Do this three more times. 5 times total. By this time your scone dough should be fully incorporated and ready to cut. 

Using floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut  out 8 rounds, recoating cutter with flour if it begins to stick. Arrange scones on prepared sheet. Gather dough scraps, form into a rectangle and cut again. You should get about 12 scones. If there are any scraps left over you can form it into a monster scone but it will not be as tender as the first cut for the second cut.

Brush tops of scones with reserved milk mixture. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit and bake scones until risen and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer scones to wire rack.  Serve scones warm or at room temperature.