Sweet Potato Scones With Sharp Cheddar and Rosemary
Savory sweet potato scones with aged sharp cheddar and fresh rosemary, made with roasted mash and folded twice for genuinely flaky layers. No sugar.
Servings 8 scones
Ingredients
For the Scones
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoons fine salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter frozen, grated on a box grater
- 1 ¼ cups aged sharp cheddar grated, ¼ cup reserved for the tops
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
- ¾ cup mashed roasted sweet potato cold, about 1 medium
- ½ cup buttermilk cold, plus more for brushing
- 1 large egg cold
- 1 teaspoon flaky salt for the tops
Instructions
Roast the Sweet Potato
- Prick one medium sweet potato and roast it whole on the oven rack at 400 degrees F for 45 to 55 minutes. Split it, let it steam off, scoop and mash the flesh. You need ¾ cup, thick enough to hold a peak.
- Chill the mash completely, at least 1 hour or overnight. Do not boil the potato, the extra water will slacken the dough.
Make the Dough
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and black pepper in a large bowl.
- Grate the frozen butter into the bowl on the large holes of a box grater, tossing it through the flour as you go so the shreds stay separate and visible. Do not rub it in.
- Toss in 1 cup of the cheddar and all of the rosemary, keeping ¼ cup of cheese back for the tops.
- Whisk the cold mash, buttermilk and egg together, pour it in, and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. A few dry patches are fine.
Fold, Cut and Bake
- Tip the dough onto a floured counter, press it into a rough rectangle 1 inch thick, fold it in half, press it back to 1 inch, and fold it in half again.
- Pat it into a round about 8 inches across and 1 ¼ inches thick and cut it into 8 wedges, pressing straight down without twisting the knife.
- Space the wedges on a parchment lined sheet and freeze the tray for 15 minutes.
- Brush the tops with buttermilk, press on the reserved cheddar, sprinkle with flaky salt, and bake 20 to 24 minutes until risen, deep golden, and browned at the cheese edges.
Notes
- Roast, never boil: boiled sweet potato carries water into a dough that has to stay dry to hold its layers.
- Grate frozen butter: it distributes faster and stays colder than cubed butter, and visible butter shreds are what create the layers.
- Two folds: thirty seconds of work and the single most visible improvement to the texture.
- Chill before baking: 15 minutes in the freezer is what stops the scones spreading flat.
- Aged cheddar only: mild cheddar disappears into the dough entirely.
- Freeze unbaked and bake straight from frozen with 3 extra minutes.