Zingerman’s Ginger Scones
Accurately described by Zingerman’s Bakehouse as “remarkably tender and delicate,” these Ginger Scones are a wonderful addition to any breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea.
I should’ve known that these scones would be so darn good.
Truthfully the thought of ginger scones isn’t the kind of recipe that usually strikes my fancy, but my friend raved about them and said they were one of Zingerman’s most popular items.
After tasting one fresh from the bakehouse, all I can say is that they’re further proof that Zingerman’s does everything right. Wow.
Thanks to a particularly high ratio of butter and cream, and a mixing method that makes a “short dough,” these are some of the most tender and light scones I’ve ever had.
The best part? No chilling time required, and they’re so easy to make.
If you’re not familiar with Zingerman’s, it’s a bakehouse, deli, and specialty food store located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Despite the fact that I grew up nowhere near Ann Arbor, I’ve been eating their food all my life. Every Christmas my dad would mail-order a selection of their breads and baked goods, and we still order them for each other during the holidays.
Some of the recipes on this blog, like Asiago Black Pepper Bread, are inspired by my childhood memories of some of their most popular loaves.
A few months back I discovered that they published a cookbook titled Zingerman’s Bakehouse (affiliate), and I was delighted to see that these scones are one of the included recipes. Let’s dig into the step-by-step!
How to Make Zingerman’s Ginger Scones:
For the dry ingredients, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger:
Whisk until blended, then work cold, cubed butter into the dry ingredients, squishing the butter cubes with your fingertips:
Once the butter cubes have broken down, add crystalized ginger to the mix:
You can also do candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, or currants, if you want to try some other flavor combinations!
Toss that through to evenly distribute, then make a well in the center and add heavy cream.
Use a fork to push the dry ingredients from the sides into the well:
Continue using the fork to gently combine the dry ingredients and cream, until you get a shaggy mess, like this:
Knead the dough gently by hand about 6-8 times, making sure not to overdo it.
Split the dough in half, and roll each half into a ball. The ball doesn’t need to be perfect, and remember that any additional kneading you do will make the scones tougher.
Roll the dough 7″ in diameter, then cut into 6 pieces using a sharp knife:
By the way, since I get asked all the time, this is the baking mat pictured above (affiliate) that has the diameter measurements labeled. It’s really helpful whenever I bake!
Repeat with the remaining dough, then place all the scone triangles on a parchment paper-lined half sheet pan.
Brush the tops with egg wash:
This will give the scones a gorgeous golden sheen when they come out of the oven (and they should be golden brown on the bottom too):
They’re now ready to be enjoyed, either warm out of the oven, or at room temperature.
If you want an even fluffier and softer scone, try my popular English Style Scones.
I also have savory Bacon Cheddar Scallion Scones, Cheddar Chive Scones, and sweet Maple Scones. Enjoy!
More Breakfast Baked Goods:
Zingerman's Ginger Scones
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour *
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold, cubed into 1/4" pieces
- 1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger
- 1.5 cups heavy cream cold
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
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.
If I don’t have candied ginger, should I increase the powdered ginger? Thanks
No, not in my opinion. They serve different purposes.
I’m going to be making my own stem ginger – do you think that would work in this recipe (with some adjusting for the added moisture)? If so, what adjustments do you recommend?
Thank you so much for this recipe! They’re so soft with the perfect amount of ginger flavor. I actually split the dough in half and made orange cranberry scones with the second half. Both were delicious!