How to Bake: This recipe for easy brown scones is versatile and ready in under thirty minutes

Once you've mastered this scone recipe, you can make lots of flavour variations. Better still, they freeze beautifully 

Brown scones are a basic recipe that can be mastered by all beginner bakers. 

If brown bread seems a bridge too far for those beginning a journey in baking, then scones are the bite-sized baby steps that will get you started. As a baking-phobic for years, it was the first recipe that worked for me and is singlehandedly responsible for removing fear from the idea of baking. 

Sifting flour, salt and baking powder, rubbing in the butter is both easy and meditative.  If it is early in the morning and I am considering the washing up, I add all the dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk to aerate and get rid of any lumps. 

The key to success is simple. Use butter cut straight from the fridge to combat hot fingers. If the idea of dirtying your hands fills you with dread, I have had great success with weighing my butter and popping it in the freezer for ten minutes before grating it into the flour mixture, loosening any potential lumps with a fork. 

I make a large batch of these scones every week, freezing them uncooked on a baking tray lined with parchment and covered with cling film. When they are frozen, I decant them into a bag and store them in the freezer, baking fresh scones every day, adding an extra ten minutes to the cooking time. 

My mother served us brown scones filled with cheese and her homemade coleslaw with a bowl of vegetable soup and whenever life requires a dose of comfort, this is what I reach for. 

My children dip them in soup or spread them with jam and when I need to whip out a fancy-seeming meal at a moment's notice I pull a batch of beef stew from the freezer and when defrosted, top it with uncooked frozen scones and a scattering of cheese before baking for 40 minutes at 180°C. The result is a savoury cobbler that looks like it took a lot of effort but is really just the result of a freezer dive at the end of a frazzled day. 

Easy brown scones

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

Once you've mastered this recipe, flavour with your favourite ingredients, like cheese, seeds or even spices

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 75g wholemeal flour

• 150g self-raising flour

• 25g oats

• 1 tsp bread soda

• a pinch of salt

• 45g butter, cubed

• 1 egg

• 100ml ice-cold buttermilk, plus extra to glaze

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add the butter and rub it in using your fingers until you achieve a breadcrumb-like consistency.

4. In another bowl, beat the egg with the milk.

5. Pour about ¾ into the flour mixture and mix together, adding extra egg and milk mix as needed, to form a soft but not sticky dough. Don’t over-mix here as the quicker and lighter the mixing, the higher the scones will rise.

6. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin to 2-2.5cm thickness. Cut to shape with a knife or scone cutter.

7. Place the scones on a lined baking sheet and brush the tops with milk. Bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden brown To check they are done, lightly squeeze the sides, the dough should be springy.

8. Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.