Gluten Free Scones (Plain or Fruit)

Being from Devon, making Gluten Free Scones is basically second nature to me. They are perfect for a gluten free afternoon tea, especially when served warm with clotted cream and jam. Plus they’re SO easy to make.

If you want a simple bake that will impress your friends with coeliac disease, these gluten free scones are perfect.

Usually served as part of a cream tea or afternoon tea, these gluten free scones are a simple bake which are lovely fresh from the oven.

Slightly sweet with a fluffy inside, scones are a British bake which are similar to American biscuits. 

Being a North Devon girl through-and-through, I’m adamant that the only way to serve these is with cream first, then jam.

However you can serve these gluten free scones with butter or even honey – and they are also great for baking a batch and freezing.

This recipe is for plain scones but you could easily add a couple of handfuls of sultanas to the dough to make fruit scones.

Ingredients for Gluten Free Scones

There’s a full printable recipe card below, but to give you an idea how easy these are to make, I’ll share the ingredients here too.

To make my gluten free scones recipe you will need:

• Gluten Free Self Raising Flour – any shop-bought free from flour blend which is self-raising will work here. If you don’t have self-raising flour, you can add 1 tsp of baking powder per 100g of plain or all purpose gluten free flour instead.
• Caster Sugar – Any US readers, you’ll want to use a baker’s or superfine sugar for this recipe. Not a lot of sugar is used but it gives the scones a very slight sweetness.
• Unsalted Butter – Make sure the butter is cold when adding it to the scone mix, otherwise you won’t be able to easily rub it into the flour. For a dairy free recipe you could use a hard, vegan margarine instead.
• Egg – I use egg in my scones, though I know some recipes don’t. I just find it helps with the texture and creates a softer scone.
• Milk – I add milk to the scone mixture as well as using it to brush the tops of my scones. For dairy free scones you can use dairy free milk like almond or soya milk.
• Baking Powder – Most baking powders nowadays are gluten free but always double check, as some still aren’t. Even with self-raising flour you need to add extra gluten free baking powder for a good rise.
• Xanthan Gum – You can omit this if you don’t want to use it, but I find a little bit goes a long way to help with the texture of the scones. It makes them a little easier to knead.

How to make gluten free scones

The full method is in the recipe card below but let me tell you just how easy this gluten free scone recipe is to make.

First up, rub the butter and dry ingredients together, a little like you would if making gluten free pastry or a gluten free crumble topping.

Then add the milk and egg, bringing the mixture together into a sticky dough.

Once you have your dough you can roll it out, cut your scones and bake them – it’s really that simple.

If you want to make fruit scones, you can add a couple of handfuls of dried fruit such as sultanas or raisins to the dough before rolling it out.

Don’t forget to brush the tops with some extra milk for a lovely golden top too.

I’ve got lots of top tips in the FAQs below so make sure you check them out if you’ve never made scones before.

How to serve gluten free scones

Because scones are so plain they are very adaptable and perfect for serving up at any occasion.

Usually scones are served as part of a gluten free afternoon tea or cream tea.

My favourite ways to serve these gluten free scones are:

• Serve the scones warm with clotted cream and strawberry jam for a traditional cream tea.
• Switch the jam for honey for a delicious honey cream tea – the combination of honey and cream works so well.
• Slather the warm scones with butter and let it melt into them for a simple and tasty treat.
• Plate up your scones with some other treats for an afternoon tea – my gluten free Victoria sponge and gluten free battenberg work brilliantly for this.

If you have another way you love to eat your gluten free scones, please do share it in the comments at the bottom of this post.

Gluten free scones FAQs

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about my gluten free scones to help with your baking.

Are scones gluten free?

Traditionally scones are made with wheat flour so are not gluten free.

However, I’ve developed this recipe to be completely gluten free and still taste amazing!

Can you freeze gluten free scones?

These gluten free scones are very easy to cook as a big batch and then freeze.

If you want to, you can freeze them ahead of time and then defrost them and warm them through before serving.

I’d always recommend serving gluten free scones warm as it helps with the texture and makes them taste loads better too!

Do gluten free scones rise?

Gluten free scones don’t rise as much as ‘normal’ scones do.

That’s why it’s important to make sure you don’t roll the dough too thin. 

Instead, roll the dough out to around 5cm and you’ll have lovely thick scones to start with.

Often if your scones are too flat, you’ve either over-worked the mixture or rolled them too thin to start off with.

How do I make my scones go brown on top?

In this gluten free scones recipe I brush the tops with a little milk before baking them.

This helps them to go a lovely golden brown colour – you can sprinkle some sugar on top too if you like.

Some people brush scones with beaten egg but I prefer milk as it browns them without giving an eggy taste.

What’s the best way to store scones?

When making these gluten free scones, allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before storing them.

Then pop them in an airtight container for 3-5 days, and refresh them in the oven or microwave before serving.

Alternatively you can freeze them (as per the instructions above).

Should a cream tea have cream or jam first?

As I’m from Devon, it is my opinion that the only way to make a cream tea is with the cream first, jam on top.

However, if you ask someone from Cornwall, they would tell you the opposite. So the jury is out on that one.

I think the clotted cream essentially is like the ‘butter’ – and you wouldn’t put butter on toast before jam, right?

As long as you enjoy your cream tea, I will bite my tongue and say through gritted teeth that it doesn’t *really* matter which way you do it.

Tips for making gluten free scones

I have a few pointers to give you the best results from this gluten free scones recipe.

Firstly, don’t forget to brush them with milk like I did the first time I made these!

Secondly, don’t overwork the mixture – you want the scones to look rustic.

If you knead the dough too much, or repeatedly knead and re-roll, you scones won’t rise enough and will look very smooth.

Otherwise, there’s not much to it really – these gluten free scones are so easy to make!

MY GLUTEN FREE SCONES RECIPE

Here it is, my plain gluten free scones recipe, perfect for an afternoon tea.

This recipe is for plain gluten free scones but you can also make my gluten free cheese scones if you prefer a savoury option.

This makes around 12 scones and they’re best eaten fresh.

You can freeze them and freshen in the microwave though, so don’t worry if you’re the only gluten free person in the house!

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!

Need some more gluten free baking inspiration?

Want to have a go at some of the other gluten free baking recipes on the blog?

Give some of these other gluten free recipes a try! There are plenty to choose from – here are a couple to get you going:

• Gluten free chocolate orange marble cake
• Gluten free Welsh cakes
• Chilli Cheese Scones
• Gluten free easy cheese scones
• My easy gluten free mug cake trio

If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram.

And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!

Like this Gluten Free Scones recipe?

Make sure you pin these recipe cards below for later!