Buckwheat and Blueberry Scones

Scones have a bad rep. And, I firmly believe that scones are a “at home” treat – unless you’re going to a bakery or cafe that you KNOW is legit, and baking scones fresh fresh fresh. Freshness is a main key to a delicious scone, and these buckwheat and blueberry scones are no exception to that rule. Yes, it’s a rule.

When I worked at Barriques on the square in Madison, I remember baking frozen scone orbs into fluffy, fragrant scones – first thing each morning during opening shift. There was a raspberry almond and a maple-pecan scone that were my favorite. Perhaps future flavor combos to try at home…

I think scones are easily overlooked: they are sometimes round blobs, or rounded-triangular in shape, usually looking totally un-appetizing next to their laminated friends in the bakery case. Don’t get me started on the scones that are from a mix. If you don’t have the skill or time to make a scone from scratch (with a whopping 8 key ingredients), then don’t even bother. For me, the key with scones is either sheer simplicity OR something just exciting enough – like soaked currants or tart cherries, an alt flour or a super-seasonal combination. It is about balance – nothing too wet or soggy to make stodge, but also not too boring or predictable to make things cliche (looking at you, chocolate chip scones). Blueberry & buckwheat scones strike that balance – AND the fact that blueberries are excellent frozen or fresh adds a lot of points for me, too.

Scones are excellent made in large batches, frozen raw, then baked to order. Just like cookies, when the mood strikes, all you need to do is grab a few frozen blobs of dough and bake straight from the freezer. The “mid-week blues” are easily cured (or at least made partially more palatable) with a freshly baked scone and very large cup of coffee (or tea) before heading out the door in the morning. Or, throw into your lunch bag for not-sad-desk breakfast.

I’ve learned a few tips over the years, through observing my cousin and aunt making excellent scones and by just making mistakes that I managed to pawn off on co-workers. Here goes:

-Do not over-hydrate the scone dough; start with 3/4 of the cream or liquid and add more as needed

-Speaking of liquid: I now opt for cream when making scones, since I love how tender the resulting crumb is – life is too short for tough scones ya know? If you don’t have cream, whole milk or some rich cashew or coconut milk works, too.

-Bake scones on TWO baking sheets – this prevents bottoms from scorching; scones are modestly sweetened, but the high temp to get the scones to puff and longer bake time due to their thickness sometimes can cause bottoms that are a bit too browned

-Similarly, bake on upper-1/3 rack to help prevent bottom scorch, if needed

-Keep the dough disc nice and thick – scones are not to be flat, sad hockey pucks! Pat a stout circle that is 1 1/2″ to 1 3/4″ thick. No shame in busting out a ruler to verify – I do all the time…a ruler is an essential baking and pastry-making tool that proudly lives in my tool drawer

-You can also bake scones in squares – but this is more biscuit-vibe for me – but still an option: pat the dough in a 1 1/2″ to 1 3/4″ thick rectangle and cut into 6 to 8 equal pieces (2×3 or 2×4)

-Baking from a cold or even frozen state is preferred – just like baking a pie crust or puff pastry!

-Brushing on cold cream and sprinkling with coarse sugar makes a perfect crunchy topping that both contrasts textures, adds just enough sweetness, and is far superior to icing IMO; you can skip this if you plan on serving scones with a tasty jam (my favorite jam recipe here), or curd

-If using dried fruits, hydrate them in hot water or even some booze before using in a scone recipe, just be sure to drain them well

-If using fresh, don’t use over-wet or juicy fruits or produce; if using frozen, the same applies!

End of ramblings. Go make some scones, bake them and eat them all in one day or freeze them and bake-off as needed!