Do you love a buttery blueberry scone, full of inky blue bites of redemption? Blueberries are like that. They redeem the ordinary biscuit by elevating it into a hopeful dose of antioxidant, guilt-free goodness. And what a gift, those little rolly-polly marbles, treasures of nutrition, and demin delights of every summer pie that leave indigo evidence on your previously "pearly whites". It's a package deal and oh so worth it!
And scones...they are a quick and simple preparation so fitting for breakfast, snack, or afternoon tea, dressed in fruits or herbs and slathered with your choice of clotted cream, lemon curd, butter or jam. Done right, they're amazing...done wrong, they're a mouthful of dry coughing crumbles spewing out into an array of embarrassment! And if they happen to be gluten free, it's even more of a challenge since gluten free most often means a blend of rice flour and starches, void of stretchy proteins (wheat gluten) that help keep everything together. If you think "gluten free" mean healthier, think again. You may be staying away from those irritating wheat proteins, but subbing in a blend of simple white carbohydrates that do very little nutritionally for your body.
When I bake gluten free, I most often use a blend of single note flours such as almond, oat, sorghum, teff, quinoa to name a few. I may add a little starch (potato, arrowroot, tapioca), depending on what I am making, for it's ability to add structure, tenderness and moisture retention. If I do use a pre-made flour blend, it's for convenience and almost always just a fraction of the total flour called for in any recipe. That is true here where I use Bob's Red Mill "1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour" and Bob's Red Mill "Gluten Free Oat Flour", both wonderful products and staples in my baking cabinet. I have also made this same recipe subbing in almond flour and sorghum flour for a portion of the entire flour ratio with great results.
So far, anyone who has tried these scones has been unaware that they're GF, until I let the cat out of the bag. So rest assured, you can confidently share them with anyone, no apologies needed! You can also get creative with this recipe by substituting small diced peaches or ripe pears, grated apples or whole raspberries, and adding spices and/or chopped candied ginger to the mix. And of course, kiss them with a sweet drizzle of glaze if you must, I won't judge!
I hope you find this recipe an easy and simple way to offer the beauty of home made to your family and friends!
*Very special thanks to Nina, Joy and Justene, for a day of kitchen fun, super fine photography and...for letting me borrow beautiful hands!
When I bake gluten free, I most often use a blend of single note flours such as almond, oat, sorghum, teff, quinoa to name a few. I may add a little starch (potato, arrowroot, tapioca), depending on what I am making, for it's ability to add structure, tenderness and moisture retention. If I do use a pre-made flour blend, it's for convenience and almost always just a fraction of the total flour called for in any recipe. That is true here where I use Bob's Red Mill "1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour" and Bob's Red Mill "Gluten Free Oat Flour", both wonderful products and staples in my baking cabinet. I have also made this same recipe subbing in almond flour and sorghum flour for a portion of the entire flour ratio with great results.
So far, anyone who has tried these scones has been unaware that they're GF, until I let the cat out of the bag. So rest assured, you can confidently share them with anyone, no apologies needed! You can also get creative with this recipe by substituting small diced peaches or ripe pears, grated apples or whole raspberries, and adding spices and/or chopped candied ginger to the mix. And of course, kiss them with a sweet drizzle of glaze if you must, I won't judge!
I hope you find this recipe an easy and simple way to offer the beauty of home made to your family and friends!
*Very special thanks to Nina, Joy and Justene, for a day of kitchen fun, super fine photography and...for letting me borrow beautiful hands!
Blueberry Scones, gluten free
* makes 6 generous scone wedges
** active work time is about 15 minutes...how easy is that!
*** 20 minute bake time
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Oat Flour (or other GF flour)
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill "1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour"
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 eggs
1/3 to 1/2 cup nut milk, regular milk or half and half
1 Tbsp honey
Grated rind of 1 lemon
3/4 cups blueberries
Set oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. With your hands, work in the butter, leaving the very small bits, until it's a very crumbly mix.
In a separate bowl or pitcher, break the eggs and whisk. Add 1/3 cup of the milk (add the rest of the milk if needed during the dough formation) and honey and whisk well. Grate the lemon rind into the liquid ingredients and stir.
Pour the liquids over the dry ingredient and stir with a fork until it starts to come together. Add the blueberries and the rest of the milk if needed, and work into a dough. Because there is no gluten, overworking the flour is not an issue, but over mushing the butter is. You should retain those small bits of butter throughout the dough.
Sprinkle flour onto a surface and dump the dough onto the table. Press together and pat into a 1" round disk, about 10" wide. Cut into 6 wedges. (You may brush the scones with milk and sprinkle with demerara sugar if you'd like, which I do not do unless it's a holiday or special occasion.)
Place wedges onto baking sheet and place baking sheet into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. (This will chill and set the butter into the dough so that it doesn't melt out before the flour bakes around it...get it?)
When oven is at temp', move the scones from the freezer to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes and reduce oven temperature to 350, baking for another 10 minutes. They should be beautifully golden and perfectly baked.
Best served warm, or very fresh. They keep for a few days and may be reheated.
* makes 6 generous scone wedges
** active work time is about 15 minutes...how easy is that!
*** 20 minute bake time
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Oat Flour (or other GF flour)
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill "1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour"
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 eggs
1/3 to 1/2 cup nut milk, regular milk or half and half
1 Tbsp honey
Grated rind of 1 lemon
3/4 cups blueberries
Set oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. With your hands, work in the butter, leaving the very small bits, until it's a very crumbly mix.
In a separate bowl or pitcher, break the eggs and whisk. Add 1/3 cup of the milk (add the rest of the milk if needed during the dough formation) and honey and whisk well. Grate the lemon rind into the liquid ingredients and stir.
Pour the liquids over the dry ingredient and stir with a fork until it starts to come together. Add the blueberries and the rest of the milk if needed, and work into a dough. Because there is no gluten, overworking the flour is not an issue, but over mushing the butter is. You should retain those small bits of butter throughout the dough.
Sprinkle flour onto a surface and dump the dough onto the table. Press together and pat into a 1" round disk, about 10" wide. Cut into 6 wedges. (You may brush the scones with milk and sprinkle with demerara sugar if you'd like, which I do not do unless it's a holiday or special occasion.)
Place wedges onto baking sheet and place baking sheet into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. (This will chill and set the butter into the dough so that it doesn't melt out before the flour bakes around it...get it?)
When oven is at temp', move the scones from the freezer to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes and reduce oven temperature to 350, baking for another 10 minutes. They should be beautifully golden and perfectly baked.
Best served warm, or very fresh. They keep for a few days and may be reheated.
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