What is a scone to you?

[Amira]

I've been trying to learn more about some regional variations regarding scones and I'm hoping someone here can help me.

 

I grew up in Utah where scones are not your typical baked item, but instead they are fried and made with a yeasted dough. They're a lot like fry bread or sopapillas, but the texture is different since the dough has yeast and there's sugar in Utah scone dough. I use different recipes for each. There's also a Utah-based chain called Sconecutter where Utah scones are used all sorts of ways, including for sandwiches.

 

I've read that there might be other places in the US that call fried breads like these scones instead of elephant ears or whatever, although I have no proof.

 

So, what's a scone to you? And what do you call fried breads?

[lailasmum]

Well I live in the south west of the UK so a scone to me is something you put jam and clotted cream on, slightly sweet and no yeast. We also make savoury ones with cheese and herbs and no sugar.

[Tap]

Well I live in the south west of the UK so a scone to me is something you put jam and clotted cream on, slightly sweet and no yeast. We also make savoury ones with cheese and herbs and no sugar.

 

:iagree: To me it is a sweet biscuit that is baked, not fried, and not a yeast bread. Instead of being flakey like an USA dinner biscuit, it is crumbly and tender.

[Parrothead]

A slightly sweet biscuit (US) type of carrier for lemon curd or marmalade. ;)

 

My basic scone recipe can be found here. We also like curried ginger scones.

[klmama]

Midwest here. Anything I've eaten called a scone was a very dry pastry, slightly sweet, and not worth the $3.50 I paid for it. Jam or cream cheese would have been an improvement, but they weren't offered.

 

Fried breads were called "Indian fry-bread" where I grew up, but they were introduced to the area by a guy from Oklahoma. They were basically large, round sopaipillas, but they didn't have the pillow appearance.

[besroma]

:To me it is a sweet biscuit that is baked, not fried, and not a yeast bread. Instead of being flakey like an USA dinner biscuit, it is crumbly and tender.

 

Same here.

[GingerPoppy]

Well I live in the south west of the UK so a scone to me is something you put jam and clotted cream on, slightly sweet and no yeast. We also make savoury ones with cheese and herbs and no sugar.

:iagree: This is a scone to me. I was a nanny for a British family for a while. :) Also, this is how I always see it in cookbooks, which I read a lot of.

 

Now, don't you open up a can of worms on how to *pronounce* scone, or we may have WW3 on our hands. :tongue_smilie:

 

Fried bread, in a big flat shape, topped with cinnamon, sugar, and sometimes other things like lemon juice, nutella, jam, etc., is called a Beaver Tail here. I'm in Canada.

[prairiewindmomma]

Ditto on scones being cream or savory based and baked...

 

indian fry bread

sopapillas

 

those are fried.

[Amira]

Now, don't you open up a can of worms on how to *pronounce* scone, or we may have WW3 on our hands. :tongue_smilie:

 

Yeah, I know I'd better leave that one alone. :)

[Rosy]

:iagree: To me it is a sweet biscuit that is baked, not fried, and not a yeast bread. Instead of being flakey like an USA dinner biscuit, it is crumbly and tender.

 

Yes. Starbucks sells them with all kinds of junk in and on them--blueberries, pumpkin, cranberry, etc. with a thick glaze on top...they do taste good, but they wouldn't please the scone purist.

[swellmomma]

:iagree: To me it is a sweet biscuit that is baked, not fried, and not a yeast bread. Instead of being flakey like an USA dinner biscuit, it is crumbly and tender.

 

:iagree:Often with raisins and/or cinnamon in them

[Teachin'Mine]

A proper scone should crumble under the knife as you attempt to spread butter. Definitely baked, not fried. I haven't had a good scone in years. I'm not sure that baking them myself would give me the results I'm looking for either. :tongue_smilie:

[TrixieB]

To me, this is a scone.

[kewb]

Well I live in the south west of the UK so a scone to me is something you put jam and clotted cream on, slightly sweet and no yeast. We also make savoury ones with cheese and herbs and no sugar.

 

Having spent time in the UK-this is a scone. Hmm, now I want some scones.

[flobee76]

:iagree: To me it is a sweet biscuit that is baked, not fried, and not a yeast bread. Instead of being flakey like an USA dinner biscuit, it is crumbly and tender.

 

yes! The only "real scones" I've had here in the US are from English Tea rooms. Wonderful!

 

Wait a sec.... so how DO you pronounce scone??:confused:

[Jean in Newcastle]

To me, this is a scone.

 

That has me salivating! Too bad it isn't good for my blood sugar.

 

yes! The only "real scones" I've had here in the US are from English Tea rooms. Wonderful!

 

Wait a sec.... so how DO you pronounce scone??:confused:

 

I can't imagine any other way to say it other than the way I say it!:D

[Medieval Mom]

We grew up eating scones with our tea, almost as a matter of course! Dad made them, using several recipes (including griddle scones (no leavening-- the traditional Scottish type--BAKED on a griddle), drop scones, baked scones (leavened with baking soda).

 

They were NEVER as sweet as what you see in some pastry shops here; never frosted or with chocolate chips or whatnot; never deep fried. However, we did have them with marmalade or homemade lemon curd, cream, etc. Oh my.:drool:

 

Whenever I visited the U.K. and ate scones there, they tasted just like Dad's. :)

(Thanks, Dad.)

 

A few months ago, I was talking about how I missed having scones. Ds8 asked, "What's a scone?" :svengo: I knew then and there I had been remiss in carrying down our family traditions and heritage. Sheesh! A long line of Sundays followed, in which we tried to make up for this lack. Scones, scones, scones! We never tired of them. :) We did, however, go through more pounds of butter than you care to know ;)

Edited April 17, 2012 by Medieval Mom

[Medieval Mom]

"I asked the maid in dulcet tone

To order me a buttered scone

The silly girl has been and gone

And ordered me a buttered scone."

 

Tone/Scone or Gone/Scone? Both are correct :)

 

Whatever you do, don't lose your appetite worrying about the pronunciation :D

[LostSurprise]

A very enriched (oh yeah, cream and butter) drop biscuit.

 

That's pretty much it.

[KungFuPanda]

I've been trying to learn more about some regional variations regarding scones and I'm hoping someone here can help me.

 

I grew up in Utah where scones are not your typical baked item, but instead they are fried and made with a yeasted dough. They're a lot like fry bread or sopapillas, but the texture is different since the dough has yeast and there's sugar in Utah scone dough. I use different recipes for each. There's also a Utah-based chain called Sconecutter where Utah scones are used all sorts of ways, including for sandwiches.

 

I've read that there might be other places in the US that call fried breads like these scones instead of elephant ears or whatever, although I have no proof.

 

So, what's a scone to you? And what do you call fried breads?

 

Oh man, you need a scone intervention. They're nnot fried or made with yeast.

 

Yes. Starbucks sells them with all kinds of junk in and on them--blueberries, pumpkin, cranberry, etc. with a thick glaze on top...they do taste good, but they wouldn't please the scone purist.

 

Starbucks scones are SO dry. My theory is that they want you to buy more coffee to choke it down.

 

I'm the only one in my circle of friends who makes scones. On firend thought she didn't like them because she'd only ever had the hard, dry ones. They're SUPER easy to make, but you have to just barely handle them to get them to turn out nicely.

 

Here's my base recipe, but i don't usually do raisins or currents. I generally switch that out for cranberries, blueberries, or chocolate chips.

 

 

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup dried currants or raisins

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or rubbing between your fingers until it is in pea sized lumps. Stir in the currants. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and sour cream in a measuring cup. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir gently until well blended. Overworking the dough results in terrible scones!

With floured hands, pat scone dough into balls 2 to 3 inches across, depending on what size you want. Place onto a greased baking sheet, and flatten lightly. Let the scones barely touch each other. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash. Let them rest for about 10 minutes.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown, not deep brown. Break each scone apart, or slice in half. Serve with butter or clotted cream and a selection of jams - or even plain.

[Amira]

Oh man, you need a scone intervention. They're not fried or made with yeast.

 

Oh, but I love my Utah scones. And I love real scones. I just can't call them both scones to the same groups of people. ;)

[Musicmom]

I've been trying to learn more about some regional variations regarding scones and I'm hoping someone here can help me.

 

I grew up in Utah where scones are not your typical baked item, but instead they are fried and made with a yeasted dough. They're a lot like fry bread or sopapillas, but the texture is different since the dough has yeast and there's sugar in Utah scone dough. I use different recipes for each. There's also a Utah-based chain called Sconecutter where Utah scones are used all sorts of ways, including for sandwiches.

 

I've read that there might be other places in the US that call fried breads like these scones instead of elephant ears or whatever, although I have no proof.

 

So, what's a scone to you? And what do you call fried breads?

You made my mouth water! :D I also grew up in Utah, so until my 20's, "scones" to me were big, puffy, doughy, deep fat fried things (sort of like a raised dougnut without the hole and without the frosting and not nearly as sweet), often served with honey butter. They're served hot, and take the place of bread with a meal. I loved them! We sometimes made scones at home, but frying them in a frying pan on the stove, they turned out flat instead of puffy, though the same browned color.

 

I also remember having Indian fry-bread at my grade school during cultural events, and at summer events like the fair (and it was usually made by Navajo natives), but it was different. It was larger in diameter, flatter and more yellow, less sweet, and had a small hole in the middle. Delicious. But, I digress.

 

I haven't really seen Utah-type scones (or fried bread of any kind for that matter) anywhere outside Utah and maybe southwest Wyoming. After I moved to the Midwest (where I live now) I learned that "scones" to everyone else were the English kind described above--small, dry crumbly baked things, often served with jam or lemon curd. So when my dh and I were in a restaurant in Utah and the waitress asked dh if he wanted a scone with his chili, he was perplexed (scones go with tea, not chili!), and I had to quickly explain what a Utah scone was--he thought that was really weird!

[KungFuPanda]

You made my mouth water! :D I also grew up in Utah, so until my 20's, "scones" to me were big, puffy, doughy, deep fat fried things (sort of like a raised dougnut without the hole and without the frosting and not nearly as sweet), often served with honey butter. They're served hot, and take the place of bread with a meal. I loved them! We sometimes made scones at home, but frying them in a frying pan on the stove, they turned out flat instead of puffy, though the same browned color.

 

I also remember having Indian fry-bread at my grade school during cultural events, and at summer events like the fair (and it was usually made by Navajo natives), but it was different. It was larger in diameter, flatter and more yellow, less sweet, and had a small hole in the middle. Delicious. But, I digress.

 

I haven't really seen Utah-type scones (or fried bread of any kind for that matter) anywhere outside Utah and maybe southwest Wyoming. After I moved to the Midwest (where I live now) I learned that "scones" to everyone else were the English kind described above--small, dry crumbly baked things, often served with jam or lemon curd. So when my dh and I were in a restaurant in Utah and the waitress asked dh if he wanted a scone with his chili, he was perplexed (scones go with tea, not chili!), and I had to quickly explain what a Utah scone was--he thought that was really weird!

 

So, are Utah scones the same as sopopillas?

[Miss Marple]

In my world :) a scone is baked and fry-bread is fried. A scone is very lightly sweet usually with a flavor (lemon, currant, raisin, pumpkin, etc.). Fry bread is not flavored but is usually served with honey.

[Matryoshka]

You made my mouth water! :D I also grew up in Utah, so until my 20's, "scones" to me were big, puffy, doughy, deep fat fried things (sort of like a raised dougnut without the hole and without the frosting and not nearly as sweet), often served with honey butter. They're served hot, and take the place of bread with a meal. I loved them! We sometimes made scones at home, but frying them in a frying pan on the stove, they turned out flat instead of puffy, though the same browned color.

 

I also think of scones as the British variety (or the larger, triangular, sweeter, drier but also baked things served in Starbucks)

 

What you're describing sounds a lot like the fried dough served at summer carnivals around here (northeast). They're usually served with powdered sugar on top, but also deep-fried and no holes, and the dough itself is not that sweet, just the sugar on top. I've only ever seen that served at a carnival stand, and is just called "fried dough".

[mumto2]

The really odd thing is in the UK people use plain old milk to make scones! No buttermilk or sour cream! That is probably the big difference. I don't have a recipe to share but I watch a good friend make them all the time. She almost fell over when I asked about the buttermilk! I just eat hers--yum!

[justamouse]

biscuit like, but with fruit or cheeses or herbs.

[kitten18]

 

 

 

Starbucks scones are SO dry. My theory is that they want you to buy more coffee to choke it down.

 

 

I had a "scone" at Starbucks once that was very similar to a rock. I had to throw it away.:glare:

 

 

Our local donut store sells something they call a scone. I think it is fried, it is fluffy and sweet, filled with cranberries or blueberries and has a glaze on top. It is yummy, but it's most certainly NOT a scone.

[Xuzi]

Now I'm wanting me some Utah scones. :drool:

 

I think they're also an LDS thing, because I know we had them for breakfast when I went to Girl's Camp [church sponsored] in California every year. We would top them with butter, honey, or strawberries and whipped cream. And we always ate them HOT!

[Cinder]

I also grew up in Utah, so until my 20's, "scones" to me were big, puffy, doughy, deep fat fried things (sort of like a raised dougnut without the hole and without the frosting and not nearly as sweet), often served with honey butter.

 

This sounds like a pastry I grew up with called malasadas except we ate them as dessert and they were tossed with sugar and served warm.

 

 

Funny this topic came up--I just got home from Publix where I picked up a cranberry scone. Yum!

Edited April 17, 2012 by Cinder
added link

[ereks mom]

I've never had a scone, but from what I understand, a scone is like a biscuit, but slightly sweet, sometimes lightly drizzled with a glaze, and sometimes served with jam and butter. Am I right?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I've never had a scone, but from what I understand, a scone is like a biscuit, but slightly sweet, sometimes lightly drizzled with a glaze, and sometimes served with jam and butter. Am I right?

 

Yes, you are right but you've never had a scone?:svengo: Come over for tea and we'll remedy that!

[momto2Cs]

Oh man, you need a scone intervention. They're not fried or made with yeast.

 

Would that be a sconetervention?

 

Now I need to go make scones. Those are gonna be great for my diet! :tongue_smilie:

[Soror]

I don't know that I've seen one around. I have made some before from my almond flour cookbook, it was like a biscuit but sweeter.

[bettyandbob]

A triangular shaped sweet biscuit

[LAS in LA]

Not to sound too much like a homeschooler ;) , but our historical atlas shows that almost all the late 19th-century immigrants from England went to Utah. Could these fried "scones" be a regional variation from whichever part of England the immigrants came?

 

I'm with the others, a scone is a flaky, biscuit-like, non-yeast bread.

[Jeannie in NJ]

when we stayed at the Grand Floridian in Disney, we stayed club level and everyday they had tea with scones (light and crumbly, no glaze or anything extra put into the scones) and yum yum clotted cream (the best ) and strawberry jam and orange marmalade. They were excellent. We actually made sure that we came back from the park several days just so not to miss the tea.

[PeacefulChaos]

To me?

A big, thick, triangle-shaped cookie. :D Chocolate chip, preferably - though they come in other flavors. But I don't care about those, just the chocolate chip ones. :D

(I've only ever had scones at the Daily Grind coffeehouse. And can I just say, they are delicious, especially warm. Sigh... )

[Mothersweets]

:iagree: To me it is a sweet biscuit that is baked, not fried, and not a yeast bread. Instead of being flakey like an USA dinner biscuit, it is crumbly and tender.

 

 

Yes, baked not fried!!

 

My dh's family calls fry bread "scones" (infidels!!) and it makes me grit my teeth every time.

 

Here's a google page of scone pics with nary a fry bread in sight!

 

and here's a page of fry bread pics

 

Edited April 18, 2012 by Mothersweets

[Mothersweets]

This sounds like a pastry I grew up with called malasadas except we ate them as dessert and they were tossed with sugar and served warm.

 

 

 

Oh no! Don't go and make me start dreaming of malasadas! My fourth grade class took a field trip to that bakery (back in the stone age, lol) and I was hooked from then on.

[Julie in CA]

Scones are like a cross between a buttermilk biscuit and a cookie.

I refuse to accept anything with yeast, or anything fried, as a scone. That's just so very wrong! :001_huh: :D

 

Sort of reminds me of my sister-in-law, who makes her "enchiladas" with flour tortillas folded around refried beans and ground beef, and then baked for long periods of time with thick red tomato sauce on the top. Umm...no. That's not an enchilada. It might be a burrito with tomato sauce, that's been turned into mush from baking, but an enchilada it is NOT.

 

Any self-respecting southern Californian knows that enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, rolled up with filling inside (not folded like a burrito), and they have a thinner red chile sauce poured over the top before serving.

 

All I can do is shake my head. ;)

[Amira]

Not to sound too much like a homeschooler ;) , but our historical atlas shows that almost all the late 19th-century immigrants from England went to Utah. Could these fried "scones" be a regional variation from whichever part of England the immigrants came?

 

I'm with the others, a scone is a flaky, biscuit-like, non-yeast bread.

 

I've looked into that too, but I can't find any connection between any sort of scone from England and Utah scones. Many of the immigrants to Utah were Danish too (that's where my ancestors are from), and while there are fried Danish pastries, they're certainly not called scones.

[Amy in NH]

No yeast. Kind of like a triangular biscuit.

[pfamilygal]

My mother's recipe is almost like a sweeter biscuit with lots of butter cut in (like a pie crust). You cook it on a griddle. Like a pancake. They are amazing.

 

Like this:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Griddle-Scones-108010

 

(That's not my mom's recipe. That's just what hers look like.)

[kiwimummy]

How interesting!

 

I grew up in New Zealand and have made scones many, many times. They are a quick morning tea to make for last minute guests. I would never use the word biscuit to describe it, but that's because to me, a biscuit = what you would call a cookie in the US! So a scone is nothing like a cookie! :lol:

 

A scone can be (very mildly) sweet, or savoury, non yeast baked item, with a bread-like texture, most definitely not fried!!

 

My recipe would involve rubbing butter into flour (with baking powder) and adding milk. The success is mostly in the mixing (not too much and with a knife). I wouldn't usually add sugar, but maybe dates or sultanas, for a sweet one, or just sweeten by topping with jam and cream. Savoury ones would often have grated cheese/herbs added, mixed in and/or on top.

 

Love scones! (as I know them!) I know them like the UK scones I guess, though a bit different to what some described earlier in the thread.

[Rosie_0801]

This sounds like a pastry I grew up with called malasadas except we ate them as dessert and they were tossed with sugar and served warm.

 

Why isn't that called a doughnut?

 

Rosie

[munashe]

I was suprised when I visited the States at what you guys call the scone and what you call the cookie.

Here in the UK this is what we call a scone.

 

and this is what we call a biscuit - its much thinner than the pic and its what you guys call cookies

 

 

and this is what we call a cookie - much thicker than a biscuit

 

Edited April 18, 2012 by munashe

[Melissa in Australia]

Well I live in the south west of the UK so a scone to me is something you put jam and clotted cream on, slightly sweet and no yeast. We also make savoury ones with cheese and herbs and no sugar.

:iagree: Same in Australia.

they are made of self raising flour and butter with a smidgen of milk, cut over an inch thick and baked in a very hot oven. They are served warm with jam and cream and a cup of tea.

Edited April 18, 2012 by melissaL

[chiguirre]

I grew up in Utah where scones are not your typical baked item, but instead they are fried and made with a yeasted dough.

 

That sounds like what we'd call a bear claw in Pittsburgh, but they're always glazed. Effectively they're a big donut with no hole. The ones with maple glazing are very, very good (especially the ones from Princess Bakery near my grandma's house--good memories!)

[woolybear]

My vision of scones comes from either Scotland or England. No yeast. I can't recall if it uses baking soda or baking powder. Definitely not fried. :eek:

Perhaps a little jam......yum!

 

Fried bread? I think I would call that.......fried bread.:D