Plain Scones (2024)

• Amy's Notes
• Granny's Top Tips
• Plain Scones Recipe

Granny has always had a knack for scones. I can still clearly remember when we had people come to visit as a kid. Granny would whip out a batch of scones, in no time at all, with very little effort. Recipe straight from memory, not even measuring out quantities half the time – just eyeballing it but somehow never getting it wrong.

I’ve mentioned in my other scone recipes that in theory, scones are a very easy thing to bake. Although in practice, they can take a bit of work to master. Don’t worry, I’ve included all our tips for the perfect scone recipe below.

But if you really want to become a scone master, Plain Scones are the ideal place to start.

This recipe for plain scones is the perfect base for nearly every kind of scone you could imagine. In fact, Granny used to always start with a plain scone base, separating out enough for a few scones to appease us fussy kids, before adding some sultanas, cheese or cherries to the rest of the dough for the grown ups.

In theory, scones are incredibly easy to make. You start by sifting your flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Next your rub into the butter with your finger tips, before stirring through the sugar. Finally you add the liquid – in case milk & yoghurt – before gently mixing all the ingredients together to create a soft, sticky dough.

You’ll then take your dough and flatten it out on a well-floured worksurface, before cutting your scones to your desired size. Next you pop them onto a baking sheet, before brushing with a little milk and baking in a hot oven for about 10 minutes.

Like I say, easy in theory. But scones can take a bit of practice to master. Take a look at Granny’s Top Tips below for all our tried and tested methods for perfect scones.

Yes, you can make scones with plain flour. In fact, my recipe for Fruit Scones uses plain flour. However, you will need to add the raising agents that you would usually find in self-raising flour – without any raising agents your scones will be like rocks. And not in a nice Rock Buns kind of way!

The general rule of thumb is to add 2 teaspoons of baking powder for every 150g of plain flour. So in this recipe you would use 5 teaspoons of baking powder as there is 450g of flour, not forgetting the additional 2 teaspoons of baking powder that the recipe calls for too. So in total, 7 teaspoons of baking powder.

In short, no. Scones do not need eggs. However, some recipes will add an egg to their scone mix, and some people will even insist this is a necessity. I disagree. And if you try this Plain Scone recipe I’m sure you will agree that an egg is not missed.

Adding an egg to scones can add a certain richness, as well as extra moisture. In fact, my Victoria Scones do use an egg, so I’m not entirely against the idea of eggs in scones. But for your everyday scone it just isn’t necessary. These scones are not dry, and they are plenty rich. By keeping to a traditional no-egg scone mix, you also make them much more affordable, and the perfect thing to make when you want to bake but don’t have any eggs left!

Absolutely! Scones freeze very well in fact.

Like most homemade bakes, scones are best enjoyed on the day you make them – especially fresh from the oven. But if you want to make them in advance, or you simply can’t finish an entire batch in one go, freezing them is great idea.

Pop them into a freezer bag and simply take a scone out at a time when you want to eat them. Ideally you would leave them to defrost at room temperature but you can defrost them in the microwave too. I like my scones warm so I will heat them in the microwave, or even the toaster, to warm them up before enjoying.

Self-raising Flour
Scones are generally quite dense in texture but there are a few elements in the ingredients that help prevent them from being like biting into a rock. One of those is the raising agents. Self-raising flour already has a raising agent incorporated…as the name would suggest.

Only got plain flour to hand? Take a look above at the “Can I use plain flour in scones?” for how to make that work for you.

Baking Powder
As well as the raising agent in the flour, baking powder adds a bit of lift to scones. Baking powder is a convenient choice as it is a ready-mixed leavening agent, generally made of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar (usually some cornflour too). In fact, ourFruit Scone Recipesimply uses a combination of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar, as opposed to baking powder.

Caster Sugar
In terms of scones, Plain Scones would fall into the “rich scone” category. Traditionally this would also mean the addition of an egg alongside the sugar, however in this recipe the caster sugar is all that is called for.

Margarine or Butter
In terms of flavour, butter is always king when it comes to baking scones. However, when it comes to texture, a decent block margarine can be just as good. You want your butter/margarine to be cold though, as this will allow you to crumble it into the flour & sugar without it turning to mush; instead you want it to make a sand-like consistency. It is these little “grains” of buttery sand that will melt during baking, leaving a beautiful air-pocketed texture within your scones.

Milk
The liquid that brings it all together. You can use whichever milk you prefer, but a full-fat milk produces the richest scones. Dairy-alternative milks also work great in scones, with soya being my personal favourite.

Yoghurt
Not a traditional addition for scone recipe purists, however the choice to add yoghurt to your recipe goes beyond taste – more-so, it is science! The acid in the yoghurt reacts with the alkaline in baking powder, causing a chemical reaction. For those like myself who never excelled in chemistry…it basically makes some bubbles in your batter and in turn, an even lighter textured scone.
The choice of yoghurt is yours however. A plain yoghurt is great, as it a soya yoghurt or a coconut yoghurt (what is used in these photos). Generally speaking, you want to use a yoghurt that isn’t too sweet or flavoured. Common alternatives that can be used in the same way as yoghurt include buttermilk and sour cream.

Nut-free: There are no nuts used in this Plain Scone recipe but, as always, be sure to double check your individual ingredients allergens list.

Dairy-free: To make this a dairy-free Plain Scones recipe, simply use a dairy-free milk, yoghurt & margarine.

Vegan: As there is no egg in this scone recipe, simply follow the dairy-free tips above to make these a Vegan Plain Scones recipe. The scones pictured are actually vegan, made with dairy-free margarine, soya milk and yoghurt.