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Dessert

Soda Scones

Soda scones are small, quick baked rounds made with flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, buttermilk, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Soda Scones

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

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

  1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.

  3. Stir in enough buttermilk to form a stiff but elastic dough.

  4. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly until it no longer sticks to your hands.

  5. Roll out the dough thinly and cut into small rounds using a tumbler or cutter.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the rounds on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes.

  2. When risen and smooth, turn them over and bake for an additional 5 minutes until pale.

  3. Alternatively, cook on a hot griddle, turning once.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,721 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Cream + buttermilktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together674 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Forms the structure of the scones as the dough sets when baked.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acid in buttermilk and cream of tartar to produce gas that makes the scones rise.
Cream of tartar
Adds acidity that activates the baking soda for rising and gives a tangy flavour.
Buttermilk
Provides the liquid that hydrates the flour and its acidity helps the scones rise.

The step that matters

Knead lightly and roll the dough thinly. Overworking develops gluten and makes the scones tough, while rolling too thick can leave them dense and uneven as the leavening may not lift them fully.

“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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