Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Hoyis Scones
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar.
Rub in the butter or lard until the mixture is crumbly.
Mix the baking soda and cream of tartar with the dry ingredients.
Beat the eggs and add them to the milk.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture until well combined.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface.
Shape and bake
Divide the dough into six pieces.
Roll each piece into a round shape about ½ inch thick.
Cut each round into four pieces.
Place the pieces on a greased baking sheet.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 25 to 30 minutes.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hovis flour
- Provides the structure that holds the scones together as they bake.
- Butter or lard
- Rubbed into the flour to tenderise the crumb and add richness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the scones brown during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in cream of tartar and milk to produce gas that lifts the scones.
- Cream of tartar
- Provides acidity that reacts with the baking soda to help the scones rise.
- Milk or buttermilk
- Adds moisture that hydrates the flour and forms the dough.
The step that matters
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture until well combined. Mixing only until combined keeps the dough tender. Overworking develops gluten in the flour, which makes scones tough and dense.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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