MASTER RECIPE FOR BISCUITS AND SCONES

Master Recipe for Biscuits and Scones image

Southern biscuits and British scones can seem intimidating: both have the kind of mystique that can discourage home bakers. But the point of them is to be truly quick and easy - unlike yeast-raised bread and rolls, they are thrown together just before a meal and served hot, crisp on the outside and soft in the center. And what's more, they are essentially the same recipe: all that separates them is a bit of sugar and an egg. The genius of this particular recipe is not in the ingredients, but in the geometry. Slicing a rolled-out slab of dough into squares or rectangles is infinitely simpler than cutting out rounds - and there's less chance of toughening the dough by re-rolling it and adding more flour. The recipe immediately below makes biscuits, and the notes at the bottom of the recipe have instructions for altering the dough to make scones.

Provided by Julia Moskin

Categories breakfast, brunch, dinner, lunch, quick, side dish

Time 30m

Yield 8 to 12 biscuits or scones

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons melted butter

Steps:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or baking mat, or use a nonstick pan.
Toss dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, rub butter and flour mixture together just until butter pieces are the size of peas and covered with flour. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in cream. Mix ingredients together by hand until a shaggy dough is formed. (The mixture may seem drier than typical biscuit dough.)
Turn out onto a floured surface and gently knead dough together just until smooth and all ingredients are incorporated.
Pat dough into a 3/4- to 1-inch-thick rough rectangle shape. Use your hands if you like a nice bumpy top; for smooth tops, use a rolling pin, pressing lightly. Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut across into 8 or 12 rectangles or squares. Place them on the baking sheet, spaced out.
Brush tops with melted butter. Bake until light golden brown, about 22 minutes; rotate the pan front to back halfway through. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet. Serve warm or at room temperature. Eat within 24 hours.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 331, UnsaturatedFat 7 grams, Carbohydrate 30 grams, Fat 22 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 14 grams, Sodium 182 milligrams, Sugar 1 gram, TransFat 1 gram