![Jordan Marsh’s Blueberry Muffins](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/04/27/dining/03COOKING-JORDANMARSHMUFFIN2/03COOKING-JORDANMARSHMUFFIN2-mediumThreeByTwo440-v2.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Strawberry Scone Loaf
![Strawberry Scone Loaf](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/05/26/dining/strawberry_scone_loaf_thumb/strawberry_scone_loaf_thumb-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1cup/125 grams dried strawberries or pitted dates (not freeze-dried; see Tip)
- 2cups boiling water
- 2cups/250 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
- ¼ to ⅓cup/50 to 66 grams granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1tablespoon baking powder
- ¾teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼teaspoon baking soda
- ½cup/113 grams very cold unsalted butter
- ⅓cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
- 1large egg, beaten
- Butter and clotted cream, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the upper third. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 2
Place strawberries in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until soft and pliable, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry and coarsely chop.
- Step 3
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the butter into the bowl, then toss until mixture resembles oatmeal. Alternatively, pulse all the dry ingredients together in a food processor. Cube the butter, add to the processor, and pulse until the mixture looks like oatmeal. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
- Step 4
Add strawberries and toss well.
- Step 5
In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir until all the dry flour bits are incorporated, but the dough is still shaggy. Using your hands, knead and press the dough a few times while it’s still in the bowl until the dough just holds together.
- Step 6
Dump the dough out onto the prepared sheet pan. Pat the dough into a round loaf about 8 inches in diameter. Using a sharp knife, deeply score the loaf into 8 wedges (but don’t cut all the way through). Brush the loaf all over with buttermilk and sprinkle generously with sugar.
- Step 7
Bake until golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly. Cut or break into wedges and serve warm with butter and clotted cream.
- If you can’t find dried strawberries, pitted dates will give you a similar texture and level of sweetness. But you can also substitute other dried fruit.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I wanted to wrap separately so I cut into wedges before baking. That ensured that all edges had a crust. I also added a bit of lemon zest. They were good.
I half or quarter strawberries fresh from my garden, put them on a sheet pan, and the roast them at 250 until they are quite dried out. I have used the resulting liquid as the liquid added to the flour when making the dough, but I want to try this buttermilk idea next time.
is there a way to do this with fresh strawberries?
Can't be that hard to dry strawberries at home, can it? Chop and put in a slow oven?
this is so much better baked in a buttered cast iron skillet
Nuts.com has excellent dried strawberries and any other dried or freeze dried fruit you may desire. Sometimes Trader Joe's has them. They're very good and much less expensive.
Excellent scones, I'm a first-time scone baker and I followed the recipe except for using dried blueberries. Wow, fantastic. They were all eaten within the hour.
Step 3 tells you how to easily do this by hand. Grate the butter on a box grater and toss with the flour.
I've been shaping scones this way for my entire life; so much easier than punching out rounds or squares, and leaves the centers so much moister. I like mine with chopped dried apricots (no need to rehydrate), which gives you nice tart chewy bits among the flaky scone.
When I make scones of any type, I always reduce the AP flour by half and substitute whole wheat flour. It makes a better crumb and adds a bit of nutrition as well.
I have an unopened bag of raspberry "Jammy Bits" from King Arthur. I wonder how those would work as a substitute for the dried strawberries.
Delicious with substitution of figs for strawberries!
I confess to some mystification regarding scones. The ones sold in the United States resemble the ones shown here, crumbly, almost crunchy, but the ones I see on British television and print are small, pale, and round. I have made them from recipes off the web for "classic" and "buttermilk" scones and the result has been a very tender (OK, I do use pastry flour) and light item a bit like a slightly sweet fluffy biscuit. They're so delectable when fresh baked I can't keep from gorging on them.
Five. Stars! I made these as written, substituted dates. Another great Melissa recipe.
The video made it seem like I could make scones. Wrong! What a colossal failure. I think it was me more than the recipe but my 8" scone patty melted into a 12" mess in the oven. It didn't rise, it sank. I didn't know that was possible. Any ideas on what I may have done wrong? All my ingredients were fresh, the butter was cold. I watched Melissa's video many times before I started baking and I thought I did what she did. . . . .
Made these this morning as I had fresh strawberries… I dried out the strawberries in my oven … then made the scones. It’s a good recipe. They came out delicious
This is my go-to easy scone recipe. It is very versitile - I have used dried dates (and added a bit of cinnamon to the dry ingredients (I know, not traditional, but delicious) dried sour cherries and added a bit of cardamom, or dried apricots - whatever dried fruit I have on hand. I also use plant butter (dairy allergy in my house) and substitute 1/2 c. of oat flour, 1/2 cup of oat bran, and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, along with 1/2 cup of white flour. They come out great every time!
I make this recipe without strawberries and instead use currants and pecans. Otherwise it's exactly the same recipe. It's fantastic! Brush the buttermilk generously before sprinkling the sugar on top.
I love this recipe except I cut them into separate scones - I shape the same way but cut all the way through and give a little space to each scone. I love the crunch that results on the outside of each scone! I use Nuts.com for my strawberries, and if I keep them around, I can usually bake this quickly with ingredients I have on hand to satisfy a baked good craving. I’m making mini versions to bring for my son’s birthday at preschool with the recipe!
Delicious and moist. I second the Nuts.com suggestion for getting good dried anything - I made this with their dried pears - amazing flavour
Used sour cream in place of Buttermilk!
Scones are one of my favorite things to bake and have as a special treat with my tea. I like mine more biscuit-like than those hard hockey-puck ones found in coffee shops. I also prefer them not overly sweet (ie no frosting, drizzle, etc). These scones were perfect! I followed it exactly as written other than using dried cherries instead of strawberries. I will definitely be making these again and again!
This was great. I made it in the food processor, with half dried cranberries and freeze-dried strawberries, and it was so easy! Also used vanilla kefir instead of buttermilk. Will definitelly make again!
Added too much liquid when the original 1/3 c buttermilk was insufficient. The result was a much more tender consistency. I could not make the cuts in the dough, so I settled for indentations. - It was flatter, to be sure, but crunchy and delightful at edges, moist and tender within! - My son and I split and ate two, just to make sure the things were a fail. - Perhaps a third one later with coffee or tea at teatime…
Working on getting my fav rhubarb scone. Watched video. Helpful! Followed recipe BUT sprinkled cardamom & orange zest when I added a generous cup of rhubarb vs strawberries and hint of vanilla into the liquid where I used cream vs buttermilk. Let dough rest while preheating oven. Then made circle. Turned out yummy, crisp on outside and light on inside and so much easier than circles! Thanks.
Why can’t I use freeze dried strawberries?
Great scones. Had to make buttermilk with yogurt and milk but it was ok. Didn’t have dry strawberries so added dates, fresh strawberries and some cranberries. Overall it came out great.. my first time and felt so good sharing with the family. Next time, need to make a bigger batch if I want to share with the neighbors.
Made again and again wonderful. Made it twice is a Saturday morning for guests arriving at noon: one with dried strawberries and one with dried sour cherries. Both great. At the end of prep, when kneading I purposely flattened then folded the shaggy dough 5 times to get some layering into the scone texture … it worked … all gone by mid-afternoon. Thanks
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