Baking light fruit scones with buttermilk at home

Why buttermilk and heritage grains belong together

Buttermilk is the quiet hero of a genuinely light scone. Its acidity reacts with bicarbonate of soda to give a gentle lift, while its fat and tang keep the crumb tender rather than chalky. Pair it with heritage grains and you add another layer: flavour. Modern strong bread flours are bred for volume and gluten strength; heritage wheats — think spelt, emmer, einkorn, or older British landraces such as Red Lammas — bring a nutty, almost sweet complexity and a shorter gluten structure. That shorter gluten is exactly what you want in a scone. You are not looking for chew. You are looking for a clean break, a soft interior, and a crust that shatters slightly when you split it.

Choosing your flour, fruit and buttermilk

For a classic light fruit scone, start with a base of plain white flour, then swap in 20–30% heritage stoneground flour. A strong wholemeal heritage wheat can make scones dense, so sift it and discard the coarse bran, or use a heritage white flour if you can find one. Spelt works beautifully: it is lower in gluten and gives a fragile, tender crumb. Emmer is earthier; use it at 20% and increase the buttermilk by a tablespoon. Einkorn is the trickiest — delicious, but the dough is slack. Stick to 15% and handle it like a fragile pastry.

For the dried fruit, use 100g of sultanas, currants, or a mix with chopped candied peel. Currants are traditional and less sweet; sultanas are plumper. Soak them in hot tea for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry. Wet fruit will streak the dough and make the scones soggy. Toss the dried fruit in a teaspoon of flour before folding it in — this stops it sinking.

Buttermilk is best fresh and full-fat. If you cannot find it, add one tablespoon of lemon juice or cider vinegar to 250ml of whole milk and leave for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken and curdle slightly. That is exactly what you want.

The method: cold, quick and gentle

Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas mark 7) and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Put the tray in the oven while you mix — a hot tray gives the scones an immediate rise.

In a large bowl, whisk 350g plain flour, 100g heritage flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 50g caster sugar, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt. Add 85g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes. Rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Work quickly; warm hands make greasy scones. Alternatively, grate frozen butter into the flour and toss.

Stir in 150g dried fruit. Make a well in the centre and pour in 250ml buttermilk, plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract if you like. Use a knife or a fork to bring the dough together in loose, cutting motions. Do not knead. The moment it forms a shaggy mass, stop. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together with two or three gentle folds. If it is sticky, dust with a little flour, but resist adding much.

Pat the dough into a round about 3cm thick. Cut with a 6cm fluted cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Twisting seals the edges and stops the rise. Gather scraps, pat, and cut again. You should get 8–10 scones.

Baking, glazing and the clean split

Brush the tops with a little beaten egg or buttermilk. Egg gives a glossy, golden finish; buttermilk gives a softer, more rustic crust. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until risen and golden. They should sound hollow when tapped underneath. Do not overbake — heritage flours brown faster than modern ones, so check at 10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for five minutes. Scones are best eaten warm, but they need a short rest or the steam will make them tacky inside. To split, use a fork or your fingers: insert the tines at the side and gently prise the scone open. A knife compresses the crumb. You want a rough, uneven surface to catch the butter.

Serving, storing and making ahead

Serve with good salted butter, jam, and clotted cream — or whipped cream if you are not in the West Country. The order is your business, but a generous layer of jam under the cream is the Cornish way; cream first is the Devon way. Both are correct.

Scones are at their best within an hour of baking. To store, keep them in an airtight tin for a day, then refresh in a low oven for 5 minutes. They freeze well: wrap cooled scones tightly and freeze for up to one month. Reheat from frozen at 180°C for 8–10 minutes.

If you want to make the dough ahead, cut the scones, place them on a tray, and freeze solid. Bake from frozen, adding 3–4 minutes to the time. The buttermilk and heritage grains will reward you with a light, buttery, faintly nutty scone that is worth the small effort.