Currant Oat Scones

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Pastry blender or your fingertips
• •Rimmed baking sheet
• •Bench scraper or sharp knife
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the oven and pan

   Position a rack in the center of your oven and heat to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cold ingredients and a hot oven are essential here. The butter must stay cold until it hits that heat, creating steam pockets that give scones their tender, flaky layers.

2. 2

   Combine dry ingredients

   Whisk together the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. The oats should be old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats or steel-cut. They have the right texture to absorb liquid while keeping their presence in the finished scone.

   If you have access to a mill or can find stone-ground oats from a local farm, the flavor will be deeper and more alive than shelf-stable commercial oats.
3. 3

   Cut in the butter

   Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until you have a mix of pea-sized pieces and coarse crumbs. Some larger butter pieces are good. They will create pockets of flakiness when they melt in the oven. Work quickly so the butter stays cold.

   If your kitchen is warm, put the bowl in the refrigerator for ten minutes after cutting in the butter. Cold butter is everything in a scone.
4. 4

   Add the currants

   Toss the dried currants into the flour mixture and stir to coat them evenly. The flour coating keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the scones as they bake. Currants are smaller and more delicate than raisins, with a concentrated sweetness that does not overpower.

5. 5

   Mix the wet ingredients

   In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the cold cream, egg, and vanilla until combined. The egg adds richness and helps bind the dough. Reserve about two tablespoons of this mixture for brushing the tops.

6. 6

   Form the dough

   Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork just until the dough begins to come together. It will look shaggy and slightly dry. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently three or four times, no more. Overworking develops gluten and makes tough scones.

7. 7

   Shape and cut

   Pat the dough into a round about one inch thick and eight inches across. The thickness matters. Too thin and you will have crisp biscuits, not tender scones. Cut into eight wedges using a sharp knife or bench scraper. Transfer the wedges to your prepared baking sheet, leaving an inch between them.

8. 8

   Finish and bake

   Brush the tops of the scones with the reserved cream mixture. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar for a slight crunch. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes until the tops are golden and the bottoms are lightly browned. The scones should feel firm when pressed gently on top.

   Scones are best eaten the day they are made, still slightly warm from the oven, split and spread with good butter or a spoonful of preserves.
9. 9

   Cool briefly and serve

   Let the scones rest on the baking sheet for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They are fragile when hot. Serve warm with butter, clotted cream, or a good jam. Strong tea is not optional.

Chef Tips

• •Seek out butter from a local creamery if you can. The flavor of grass-fed butter is noticeably sweeter and more complex than commercial brands.
• •Do not substitute quick oats or instant oats. Old-fashioned rolled oats hold their shape and give the scones their characteristic texture.
• •If your currants are dry and hard, plump them in warm water for ten minutes before draining and patting dry. They should be soft and yielding.
• •The dough can be shaped and cut the night before. Refrigerate the wedges on the baking sheet, covered, and add two to three minutes to the baking time.
• •Leftover scones can be split, toasted, and buttered the next day. They are not the same as fresh, but they are still worth eating.

Advance Preparation

• •The dry ingredients can be mixed and the butter cut in up to two days ahead. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to add wet ingredients.
• •Shaped, unbaked scones can be frozen for up to one month. Bake directly from frozen at 400F for 20 to 22 minutes.
• •Baked scones are best the day they are made but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 scone (about 100g)