These easy savoury scones are crunchy and golden on the outside, fluffy in the middle and packed full of cheese and bacon flavour! Topped with lashings of butter, they are perfect for a hearty morning breakfast, afternoon tea, lunchbox snack or a delicious accompaniment to your favourite soups in winter.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Make ahead – eat them hot, straight from the oven or make them ahead of time and warm them up when you are ready to eat!
- So easy – everything comes together in about 10 minutes, plus 15 minutes of cooking time.
- Full of savoury flavour – delicate, buttery and oh-so-flaky! They are impossible to resist.
- Quick bread – scones are the perfect alternative to bread or rolls when you are short on time (or out of bread) and need something, fast. There is no yeast, no kneading and no chilling required. Just mix and bake!
- Customisable – 10 basic ingredients are all you need. And aside from the essential scone ingredients like flour and butter, the filling ingredients can all be swapped to suit your preference and whatever you have available.
Ingredients you will need
** This post contains tips and instructions to achieve the best possible results. The photo above is a great guide for when you are in the supermarket, but for full ingredient quantities and methods, please scroll down to the detailed recipe card below!
- Self-raising flour – also called self-rising flour, is plain flour that is ready-mixed with an added leavening agent like baking powder. It is readily available in Australia and commonly used in baking where a rising agent is needed. If you don’t have any self-raising flour, you can make your own by mixing 2 teaspoons of baking powder to every cup of plain flour. 2 cups of self-raising flour is used here, but keep extra aside to sprinkle over the work surface.
- Salted butter – it is important that the butter is chilled until you are ready to mix the dough. Keep it cold by storing it in the fridge until it is required. Salted or unsalted butter can be used. It’s important to use real butter, rather than margarine or butter substitutes, for best results.
- Tasty (Cheddar) Cheese – melts into the mixture to make the most fluffy, cheesy and delicious scones. I recommend grating fresh cheese, rather than using pre-packaged, pre-shredded cheese. In Australia, “tasty” cheese refers to an aged or mild cheddar with a little bite. You could also use swiss cheese, mature cheddar, or a mix of cheddar and parmesan.
- Bacon – is fried and cooled before being added to the mixture. Make sure it is drained and completely cooled before adding it the dough. Bacon can be swapped for chopped chorizo, ham or pancetta. For cheese and chive scones or vegetarian scones, leave the meat out entirely.
- Mild curry powder – just a touch, for added savoury flavour that complements the cheese and bacon notes. Add ½ – 1 teaspoon, or leave it out if preferred. I use Keen’s curry powder which makes them taste so good!
- Fresh herbs – I use chives and thyme leaves, but you can use rosemary or mixed herbs if preferred. Dried herbs can be used in place of fresh if that’s what you have available.
- Cream – use regular heavy cream for fluffy, soft scones and keep it cold until ready for use. If you don’t have cream, you can use milk or buttermilk instead.
Step by step guide
Step 1 – Cook the bacon;
Fry the bacon in a small frying pan until crisp. Transfer the bacon to some paper towel to drain and cool. The bacon needs to be completely cooled before adding it to the scone dough. You can place it in the fridge or freezer for a short time to speed up this process.
Step 2 – Rub the butter into the flour;
Mix the self-raising flour, curry powder and salt together in a mixing bowl and add the chilled butter.
Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour, until it looks crumbly, like breadcrumbs. It’s ok if there are still some small lumps of butter. Alternatively, you can use a food processor for this step.
Step 3 – Mix the dough;
Place the cooled bacon, cheese, chives, thyme into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
Add the cream to the dry ingredients and mix, adding a touch more cream if needed, until you have a soft, dry dough.
Gently place the dough onto a lightly floured bench and use a rolling pin to roll it to about 1.5cm thickness. Use a 7cm glass cup or round pastry/scone cutter to cut out 10 scones (you will need to bring the dough back together and re-roll until the dough is all used up).
A smaller or larger cutter can be used, but the size of the scones and the cooking times will vary.
Step 4 – Bake;
Place the scones onto a lined baking tray and use a pastry brush to add a little extra cream (or some milk or melted butter) over the top.
Bake until golden brown. Cooked scones will have a “hollow” sound when tapped on top.
Full recipe quantities and instructions can be found in the detailed recipe card below.
Tips for success
- Don’t overmix the dough. You may be tempted to knead the dough until smooth, but less is more when baking scones! Mix your dry ingredients into the bowl first and then mix in the cream at the end, working the dough until everything just comes together. Over-mixing will result in tough, chewy scones that don’t rise. We want high, fluffy scones!
- While they can be made ahead and stored for later, they are best eaten when hot, straight from the oven.
- Storage; wrap them in a hot towel when serving, to keep the heat and steam in. This will keep the scones warm and moist. Although please note that if you add curry powder, the scones may stain the towel- so use an old one! Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container or plastic bag in the fridge for 1-2 days.
- Reheating leftovers – heat them (whole) in the oven at 160 C/ 320 F F for around 5 minutes, or in an air fryer at 160 C for around 5 minutes, or until heated through and steaming in the middle. They can also be heated in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, until heated through.
- Keep the mixture cold. If using a metal mixing bowl, chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes before you start and use cold butter, straight from the fridge. Similar to baking pie crust, using cold ingredients prevents the butter from melting before the scones are baked, leaving it to melt in the oven where it will release little pockets of steam. This creates super flaky, tender and fluffy scones. The butter can be cut into cubes, or grated to easily incorporate it into the flour. If the mixture warms as you mix it, place the cut scones on a baking tray in the fridge to chill while the oven pre-heats.
- When the dough is rolled to 1.5cm thickness and cut into 7cm circles, you will get 10 scones. You can easily double or even triple the quantities for more. They can also be made smaller or larger, but cooking times will vary.
FAQs
Self-raising flour or baking powder is the ingredient that makes these scones rise. If using plain flour and baking powder, make sure that the baking powder is fresh and in-date. And don’t overwork the dough! Allow everything to just come together. It’s ok if the dough is still a little crumbly.
The main cause of tough, hard scones is overworking the dough. Overworking results in scones that are tough and chewy, rather than soft and flaky. The key is to mix the ingredients together lightly, until the dough just comes together.
If you’d like to make them ahead, scones can be frozen either baked, or unbaked. To freeze unbaked scones, cut the scones and place them on a baking sheet to freeze, before transferring them to an airtight container or zip-lock bag. You can bake them from frozen, just add a few minutes to the cooking time. To freeze cooked scones, allow them to cool completely and place them in an airtight container, wrapped in a bag or paper to prevent freezer damage. Use frozen scones within 3 months.
Savoury scones are best served straight from the oven, or warmed up with a generous coating of butter. Chilli jam or green tomato chutney also make a fabulous addition. They can be served with a side salad for lunch and are perfect dunked into your favourite soup for dinner.
Scones are ready when they are a light-golden colour on the outside and if you tap them lightly on top, they should sound hollow.
Related recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating or leave a review below and let you know how you went!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for the latest recipes and news.
Easy Savoury Scones with Cheese, Bacon and Chives
Ingredients
- 200 grams bacon about 3-4 strips/rashers, cut into very small pieces
- 340 grams self-raising flour about 2 cups
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ – 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
- 80 grams butter cubed or grated, chilled
- 1 cup tasty (cheddar) cheese freshly grated
- ¼ cup fresh chives chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 200 ml heavy cream plus a little extra, for the topping and if needed for the dough
Instructions
- Fry the bacon in a small frying pan until crisp. Transfer the bacon to some paper towel to drain and cool. You can place it in the fridge or freezer for a short time to speed up this process.
- Mix the self-raising flour, curry powder and salt together in a mixing bowl.
- Add the chilled butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour, until it looks crumbly, like breadcrumbs. It’s ok if there are still some small lumps of butter. Alternatively, you can use a food processor for this step.
- Add the cooled bacon, cheese, chives, thyme to the flour mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the cream to the dry ingredients and mix, adding a touch more cream if needed, until you have a soft, dry dough.
- Add the dough to a lightly floured bench and use a rolling pin to roll it to about 1.5cm thickness. Use a 7cm glass cup (or round pastry/scone cutter) to cut out 10 scones (after cutting a few scones, you will need to bring the dough back together and re-roll until the dough is all used up).
- Place the scones onto a lined baking tray and use a pastry brush to add a little extra cream (or some milk or melted butter) over the top.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown and fluffy in the middle. Cooked scones will have a "hollow" sound when tapped on top.
- Serve hot, straight from the oven, topped with butter and some chilli jam or green tomato chutney.
Notes
- Don’t overmix the dough. You may be tempted to knead the dough until smooth, but less is more when baking scones! Mix your dry ingredients into the bowl first and then mix in the cream at the end, working the dough until everything just comes together. Over-mixing will result in tough, chewy scones that don’t rise. We want high, fluffy scones!
- While they can be made ahead and stored for later, they are best eaten when hot, straight from the oven.
- Storage; wrap them in a hot towel when serving, to keep the heat and steam in. This will keep the scones warm and moist. Although please note that if you add curry powder, the scones may stain the towel- so use an old one! Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container or plastic bag in the fridge for 1-2 days.
- Reheating leftovers – heat them (whole) in the oven at 160 C/ 320 F F for around 5 minutes, or in an air fryer at 160 C for around 5 minutes, or until heated through and steaming in the middle. They can also be heated in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, until heated through.
- Keep the mixture cold. If using a metal mixing bowl, chill it in the fridge before starting and use cold butter, straight from the fridge. Similar to baking pie crust, using cold ingredients prevents the butter from melting before the scones are baked, leaving it to melt in the oven. This creates super flaky, tender and fluffy scones. The butter can be cut into cubes, or grated to easily incorporate it into the flour. If the mixture warms as you mix it, place the cut scones on a baking tray in the fridge to chill while the oven pre-heats.
- When the dough is rolled to 1.5cm thickness and cut into 7cm circles, you will get 10 scones. You can easily double or even triple the quantities for more. They can also be made smaller or larger, but cooking times will vary.
- Scones are ready when they are a light-golden colour on the outside and if you tap them lightly on top, they should sound hollow.
- See post notes for freezing tips.
- Please note that the nutrition information is based on the dough being divided into 10 scones, with one scone being one serve. The nutritional information is an estimate only and does not take into account any additional butter or toppings served with the scones.
- This recipe is made using Australian cups and spoon measurements. Due to cup sizes varying from country to country, I advise adjusting if necessary. I have included weights for the shortbread crust, to help with the exact measurements. I have included weights in this recipe, for accuracy.
Leave a Reply