Irish Soda Bread Scones

It's an Irish tea inside today. 

After some nice days to work in the garden, it's back to rain, cold temperatures and dreary skies.  I've made us some Irish Soda Bread Scones with a French Flair.  Where does the French Flair come into play?  My friend, Jackie, who knows that I love to bake, shared some French Flour that a friend had given to her.  Supposedly, French Flour is the ultimate flour and very expensive!  I decided to use my flour for these Scones.  My little leprechaun kissing couple, that my beloved mom gave to me,  seem to approve.  Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast tea is very good will be served.

My very vintage Rolland teacup by Johnson Bros with the Celtic Knots is a favorite for my Irish decor.

Molly gave me this teapot years ago and I filled it with a shamrock plant that I'll plant in the garden later.

I tried to form my scones into a shamrock a top my cake pedestal that my dear friend Joy gave me several years ago.  You've all seen this Big Star table topper that I made that I pull out during March.

This recipe is so great because it uses one bowl...love that for easy cleanup.

You don't need a counter or cutting board for the dough, as it is shaped and cut right on the parchment paper.  Yea!  More easy cleanup!

Yield: 8 large scones

Author: Kitty, but adapted from King Arthur Baking

Irish Soda Bread Scones with a French Flair

This was a great recipe, using one bowl, and shaping and cutting was on parchment paper atop a baking sheet. If you'd like smaller scones, adjust your cutting.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour (I used French Flour)
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ, optional
• 1 to 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, optional
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/4" pieces
• 1/2 cup currants (I used raisins)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing (I used 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar in my measuring cup, and then added milk to reach 1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• coarse sparkling sugar, for sprinkling
• salted Irish butter, such as Kerrygold, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with a rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment. If you don’t have parchment, use an ungreased baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, wheat germ, caraway seeds, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. Using a bowl scraper, pastry blender, or your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it's of for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated. Stir in the currants (or raisins).
4. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients. Crack the egg into well, then add the buttermilk and sugar and whisk to combine. Switch to a fork and stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Use floured hands or a bowl scraper to fold the dough over onto itself a few times, incorporating any dry flour.
5. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Use floured hands to pat the dough into a 6" round about 1" thick.
6. Using a knife or bench scraper, slice the circle into eight wedges. For scones that bake into each other and yield soft sides, gently separate the slices about 1" from each other. For scones that bake separately and have crispier sides, arrange the scones so there’s at least 2" of space between them.
7. Brush the tops of the scones with buttermilk, then sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. (I used some heavy cream)
8. Place the pan in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake, rotating the pan once halfway through, until golden brown, 23 to 28 minutes.
9. Let the Irish soda bread scones cool on the pan, then serve slightly warm or at room temperature with Irish butter.

Notes

You can freeze unbaked scones in a single layer, then store in a zip-top bag for up to 2 months. To bake from frozen, brush the scones with buttermilk, sprinkle with sugar, and bake as instructed; you may need to add a few minutes to the bake time.  

Thank you for your visit!  xo

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