Accurately described by Zingerman's Bakery as "remarkably tender and delicate," these Ginger Scones make for a lovely addition to a special breakfast or brunch.
Ingredients
3cupsall purpose flour*(15 ounces by weight)
1/3cupgranulated sugar
1 tbspbaking powder
1tspkosher salt
1/2 tspground ginger
1/2cupunsalted buttercold, cubed into 1/4" pieces
1/3cupdiced crystallized ginger
1.5cupsheavy creamcold
1egg
1tbspwater
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F.
In a large bowl, whisk to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger.
Add the butter cubes to the mixture, and quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or your fingertips, until you get pea-sized pieces of fat. Stir in the crystallized ginger.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour the heavy cream into the well. Using a fork, gently mix the cream into the dry ingredients. The dough will look very shaggy.
Gently knead the dough in the bowl 6 to 8 times, using your hand or a plastic scraper. By the end of kneading, there should be no loose flour in the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured suface, divide into two even pieces, and gently shape each one into a round ball.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll each dough ball out into a disk 7 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.
Cut each circle into six triangular wedges, then place the scones on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with at least 2 inches of space between each piece.
Beat together the egg and water in a small bowl, and brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.
Bake the scones for 18 minutes, until the tops and bottoms are both golden brown. Serve the scones warm or at room temperature.
Notes
*The Zingerman's cookbook calls for pastry flour, but they note that you may use all-purpose flour if that's what you have. The scones will be slightly less delicate but still plenty tender and light.This recipe is adapted from the Zingerman's Bakehouse cookbook (affiliate).