Gluten Free Blueberry Scones

These gluten free blueberry scones are tender and flaky inside, with a calmly crisp high. They’re bursting with fruit, however balanced good to carry all of it in!

Why this recipe works

The most effective gluten free baked scones are each buttery and moist, however pleasantly crumbly. The precise recipe has the proper stability of chilly, moist elements like butter and milk to maintain that crumb tender, and sufficient flour to maintain them from being squishy, like a muffin or different cake.

If you’re making not simply “common” gluten free scones, however blueberry scones, you are introducing extra moisture into the combination. We would like these blueberries so as to add texture and taste with out making our pastries weepy. This recipe does simply that.

Key elements

There are just a few elements in these scones, and so they’re largely as you’d count on. Every performs an essential function in total success:

• All goal gluten free flour – Use a well-balanced all goal gluten free flour mix based mostly on superfinely floor rice flour to supply sufficient construction to make crisp-tender scones that do not disintegrate. I like Higher Batter’s authentic mix, Nicole’s Greatest multipurpose, and Bob’s Pink Mill’s 1-to-1 mix.
• Xanthan gum – A necessary binder, it retains the dough collectively and helps it rise tall within the oven. Even when your mix already incorporates xanthan gum, like Higher Batter, add 1 teaspoon extra for taller-rising, flakier scones. In the event you’re utilizing Bob’s Pink Mill, which incorporates even much less gum, add 1 1/2 teaspoons.
• Baking powder and baking soda – Add loads of rise and assist the scones brown calmly within the oven.
• Salt – Brightens and enhances the opposite flavors. I favor kosher salt, because it’s simpler to measure in small quantities, however desk salt works wonderful.
• Sugar – Provides some sweetness to the berry taste, plus locks in moisture within the crumb.
• Lemon zest and juice – Simply sufficient to assist brighten and complement the light sweetness and taste of the blueberries with out making the pastry style too distinctly like lemons.
• Butter – Provides buttery taste and, because it’s stored tremendous chilly and chunks are distributed evenly all through the remainder of the dough, it expands and creates a crumbly flakiness.
• Blueberries – Small recent or frozen blueberries work right here, so long as they’re flavorful! When you have a alternative between recent low season blueberries which are sort of robust and bitter or frozen berries, use frozen. Slice any further massive berries in half so they do not get squished.
• Buttermilk – Provides richness and tang, brings the dough collectively, and reacts with baking soda to create rise. It have to be stored chilly to assist maintain the butter stable. Lowfat or full fats is ok, however keep away from nonfat which has too many synthetic thickeners.
• Honey – Provides a bit extra sweetness and a delicate depth of taste.

Find out how to make gluten free blueberry scones (with images)

These scones are simply made in a single single mixing bowl. The prep time is nearly 10 minutes of energetic time, with a short while within the freezer for the dough earlier than it is sliced. The complete recipe with ingredient quantities is within the recipe card, however here is an summary with images so you’ll be able to see make these scones in your individual kitchen.

1. Make the uncooked dough

In a big bowl, combine the dry elements (gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, plus a small little bit of granulated sugar). I add lemon zest to the dry elements. Lemon taste goes so superbly with blueberries and brightens the entire recipe.

Add chunks of chilly butter and flatten them within the dry elements to maintain the butter from melting too rapidly in your arms, or within the oven. Massive chunks of chilly butter broaden within the oven, which creates a flaky texture.

Toss within the recent blueberries and stir gently so you do not break them. Medium-sized berries work finest, as they maintain their form however do not overwhelm any particular person scone.

Add chilly buttermilk, lemon juice and honey to the flour combination with blueberries and butter. Combine gently with out dealing with the dough an excessive amount of so it stays chilly and the berries do not break.

On a calmly floured floor to forestall sticking, press the chilly dough right into a spherical disk about 1-inch thick.

2. Form and bake the scones

Wrap the disk of dough utterly however loosely in plastic wrap, and use a rolling pin to press the dough into an excellent layer. This creates a easy floor on either side of the dough with out dealing with it an excessive amount of together with your arms, which might soften the butter. Chill the dough within the freezer for 10 minutes, to make sure it slices cleanly and is chilly going into the oven.

Use a bench scraper or tall knife to slice the disk of dough first in half horizontally, then in half once more vertically to create 4 items. Slice an “X” by the dough to create a complete of 8 triangles. Slice in a single movement to make clear, sharp edges, which can encourage the scones to rise tall within the oven.

Brush the tops with cream and canopy with a bit extra sugar. This helps the tops of the scones brown a bit extra within the oven with out overbaking the pastries.

Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, or till puffed, browned on the perimeters and backside and agency to the contact. Cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Skilled ideas

Listed here are just a few ideas that may assist assure your success the primary time making these scones:

Use chunks of very chilly butter

Many recipes suggest that you just use a pastry cutter or different steel utensil to interrupt the chilly butter into “pea-sized items.” That usually results in robust pastries, although, since such small items of butter will typically soften once you deal with them in any respect.

As a substitute, chop the fats into chilly chunks, toss it within the dry elements after which flatten it between your thumb and forefinger. This lets you evenly distribute the butter all through the dough, the place they are going to broaden within the oven and create flakiness.

Skip lamination

In our “common” gluten free scones recipe, that both has dry mix-ins or none in any respect, we laminate the dough by rolling and folding it repeatedly, creating many skinny layers for tremendous tall scones. You possibly can’t laminate dough with berries that have not been dried first, otherwise you’ll burst them as you roll and fold.

Form fastidiously

Form your scones by utilizing a light-weight contact, urgent the dough collectively simply till it holds, however with out warming it up. If there are sticky elements, mud your arms calmly with extra gluten free flour as you go.

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy free/vegan

To make these dairy-free (and vegan), substitute the butter with Miyoko’s Creamery or Soften model vegan butter. Instead of buttermilk, attempt one half (5 fluid ounces) unsweetened coconut milk within the carton and one half (5 fluid ounces) nondairy plain yogurt or bitter cream.

Instead of honey (to make the scones vegan), use Lyle’s Golden Syrup or mild corn syrup.

Blueberries

If you do not have recent blueberries or good ones will not be in season, use frozen. Do not defrost them, although, or they will defrost into actually gentle mush that can bleed into the batter.

You can too attempt different berries. Raspberries ought to work nicely, however slice them in half in order that they’re concerning the measurement of blueberries. Strawberries have extra moisture on the whole blueberries, so attempt chopping them concerning the measurement of blueberries, blot further moisture with paper towels, and tossing them in some cornstarch earlier than including them.

Xanthan gum

If you wish to keep away from xanthan gum, you will want to pick a gluten free flour mix that does not already comprise xanthan gum, like Nicole’s Greatest. Then, as a substitute of two teaspoons xanthan gum, add 5 teaspoons (13 grams) guar gum, 3 teaspoons (9+ grams) konjac powder, or 3 tablespoons (13 grams) “excellent gluten substitute” from Modernist Pantry. For full particulars, see my publish about one of the best xanthan gum substitute I like to recommend.

Storage directions

Brief time period: They’re going to keep recent at room temperature, wrapped in plastic or in a sealed container, for as much as 3 days.

Lengthy-term: Wrap baked and utterly cool scones tightly in a freezer-safe wrap like Glad Press n Seal, and freeze for as much as 3 months. Defrost at room temperature. To refresh, sprinkle calmly with lukewarm water and within the toaster oven at 300°F till heat.

Make-ahead: Make and form the uncooked scones, then retailer the formed wedges within the freezer, wrapped tightly. Bake proper from frozen after brushing with cream and sprinkling with sugar. One other jiffy within the oven could also be crucial, however not a lot.

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