For gluten-free scones, I noticed that the texture is lighter and much less doughy when the scones have cooled completely to the room temperature. Warm ones are still good but the cooled ones are better in my opinion.
Depending on how decadent you want your scones to be, I specify a range of amount to choose from for certain ingredients. For most luxurious scones, it has to be made with crème fraîche and highest amount of butter. You won't regret it!
Crème fraîche scones
200 g gluten-free flour* (with xanthan gum added)
1 tbsp ground golden linseeds (optional)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
60-80 g cold butter (depending how rich you want your scones to be)
60 g crème fraîche/yogurt/buttermilk
2 tbsp marmalade (or 20 g honey or 1 tbsp sugar)
1 medium egg, beaten and save 2 tbsp aside for brushing the top
50 g porridge oats or 1/2 cup soaked/drained sultanas (optional)
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, ground linseeds if using, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Use a whisk to mix the dry ingredients. Cut the cold butter in very thin slices, as thin as you can (<0.3cm), and add to the flour mixture. This is my favorite way. Some grate the cold butter into the flour mixture. It's up to you. Then use a bench scraper (a curved and flexible one works best in a bowl) or a rubber spatula to "cut" the butter in. When big breadcrumbs are formed, use fingertips to rub the crumbs into finer ones. Stir in oats/sultanas if using.
Make a well in the flour bowl and pour in crème fraîche, marmalade/honey and all but 2 tbsp beaten egg. First mix the liquids in the bottom of the well. Then use a rubber spatula to incorporate the flour mixture into the liquids, until everything is well combined. If the dough is too dry, spoon in some crème fraîche/yogurt/buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time. You should not have more than a tablespoon of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl.
Tip the crumbly mixture out to a lightly floured surface. Knead into a dough with as little strokes as you can. Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Cut into three equal parts and stack them on top of each other (like the picture below). Roll the stacked dough out to a thickness of 2.5cm. This stacking method helps build the layers in the scones.
At this stage, you can rest the folded dough wrapped in cling film in the fridge (for 1-2 hours) or bake it straight away.
For baking, preheat the oven at 200C. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 2-cm. Use a 5-cm or 6-cm cutter to cut out as many scones as you can (I get 14 scones with a 5-cm cutter and 7 scones with a 6-cm cutter. See the top picture). You will need to gather and re-roll the dough a few times to complete the task. Brush the scone top with the beaten egg. I put another tray under the scone tray as my oven runs a bit hot from below. Bake the scones at 200C for 15 minutes.
*I sometimes use 175 g GF flour + 25 g ground almond for more tender texture
For variations, lemon and poppy seeds or orange and cranberries are both great. I add the citrus zest to the flour mixture when making variations along with the poppy seeds or cranberries.
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