Wild garlic vegan scones

Wild garlic vegan scones

wild garlic scones plate

After over 2 weeks of silence, I am so happy to be able to bring you a new recipe! Finally! You may know already, but we’ve had our second brush with Covid at the end of March and it knocked me out for over two weeks. I won’t bore you with details but long story short, I was quite ill and in no state to work.

We are both overjoyed to be finally on the mend. In the last few days, we’ve been going for short walks to our local woods in a bid to get a small amount of exercise and help our lungs recover from the virus. As wild garlic season is upon us, I decided that it will be a perfect, Spring-inspired ingredient to hero in my first, post-illness, recipe.

I used locally foraged wild garlic alongside some cupboard staples – flour, plant milk, vegan block – to put together some savoury vegan scones. They are really easy to make, tender and full of flavour. They make a perfect side to a spring soup or a salad. They would also not be amiss on an Easter table if you are having people round.

Scones (or biscuits as they are known in the US) have a reputation for being difficult to make, but I think they are fairly straightforward as long as you memorise a few simple rules:

1) Handle the dough as little as possible

When it comes to scones, the more rustic they look the nicer they are to eat so if you are a bit of a perfectionist (talking to myself here too 😉 ) resist the urge to get the dough looking smooth. As long as it holds together, that’s enough. Working the dough will develop gluten strands in the flour and that will make for unpleasant to eat, chewy scones. Good scones just need a light touch, that’s it.

2) Chop your add-ins very finely

Chop your add-ins, wild garlic in this case, really well as you do not want big ribbons of it breaking up your dough. I bunch it all together, chop it finely one way, then rotate the chopping board and go over it again at a different angle.

3) Add just the right amount of liquid

The amount of liquid given is just a guide as it really depends on your flour – different flours have different absorbency levels – and how dry your garlic leaves are. Trickle it in slowly while working it into the dry ingredients with the blade of a butter knife (a blunt knife) and towards the end use your hands to get a feel for how much more liquid is needed just to bring the dough together, without making it too wet.

4) Don’t twist the cutter when cutting them out

Push the cutter into the rolled out dough in a straight line, do not twist it as it inhibits rising. It’s a good idea to dip the cutter into some flour first before cutting the scones out.

5) Bake in a really hot oven

Don’t be afraid to bake them at high temperature oven, it will help you get well risen, golden brown scones.

wild garlic vegan scones ingredients

wild garlic vegan scones process

wild garlic vegan scones dough

wild garlic vegan scones cutting

wild garlic vegan scones baked

wild garlic vegan scones close up

wild garlic vegan scones butter

wild garlic vegan scones plate

wild garlic vegan scones plate side

makes
10
PREP
20 min
COOKING
14 min
makes
10
PREPARATION
20 min
COOKING
14 min
INGREDIENTS
SCONES

  • 250 g / 2 cups plain flour*
  • 3 level tsp baking powder
  • scant 1 tsp fine salt
  • 50 g / 1¾ oz vegan butter (I used Naturli) or fragrance-free coconut oil (I use this one)
  • 50 g / 1¾ oz wild garlic leaves, washed and dried well
  • 4 tbsp / ¼ cup nutritional yeast*
  • 180 ml / ¾ cup soy milk (or any other thin plant milk)

GLAZE

METHOD
  1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. If using salted vegan block, you may want to add a little less salt.
  2. Dice vegan butter (or coconut oil) small and add it to the flour.
  3. Using a pastry cutter or two knives (or a pulse function in a food processor) incorporate fat into flour until there are no big chunks left.
  4. Gently shake the bowl to check for big lumps of fat – they will rise to the surface. If any pop to the surface, rub them into the flour with your fingers.
  5. Make sure the wild garlic leaves are dry, then chop them really finely before adding to the flour. Add nutritional yeast and mix really well.
  6. Slowly start adding plant milk while bringing the dough together with a knife. Hold some of the milk back to begin with, you may not need all of it – it depends on how absorbent your flour is and how dry your garlic is. Once you get a scraggly dough with no dry pockets, transfer it to the workbench and gently bring it together – do not knead. Do not handle the dough too much, just until it’s combined and stays together – do not worry about the dough being smooth, rustic looking scones are nicer to eat.
  7. Preheat the oven temperature to 220° C / 425° F (or 200° C / 390° F with fan) and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
  8. Gently roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Keep the dough thick (2 cm / ¾”) for fluffy scones.
  9. Use a fluted cookie cutter that is 5 cm / 2″ in diameter to cut circles out of the dough. Do not twist the cutter as that inhibits rising, simply apply a lot of pressure to the cutter and then lift the cutter with the scone inside. Place over the baking tray and gently pop the scone out onto the tray. I found that dipping the cutter in flour first and then shaking the excess off helps a lot when it comes to releasing the scones onto the tray.
  10. Bring any dough leftovers very gently into a ball and cut out some more – they won’t be as good as the first batch, but if you handle the dough super gently, they will still be very tasty.
  11. Place the scones on the prepared baking tray, making sure there is some space around each one. Mix all the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl and glaze the tops of the scones with a pastry brush.
  12. Bake for about 14-15 minutes, rotating the tray for the last 2 minutes if they aren’t browning evenly.
  13. Let the scones cool down a little before cutting them in half with a serrated knife and spreading some vegan butter on them.

NOTES
*FLOUR – I have had success making scones with a gluten-free flour mix (that’s the one I used) and ¾ tsp of xanthan gum.

*NUTRITIONAL YEAST – Adds a hint of cheesy flavour. Alternatively, you could try using a grated vegan cheese that performs well when baked.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
173
9%
sugars
1 g
2%
fats
7 g
9%
saturates
5 g
23%
proteins
5 g
10%
carbs
22 g
8%
*per scone
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5.0
7 reviews, 19 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Nadine:
Stunning! So delighted it’s wild garlic season again and these are wonderful. Can this be converted to a sweet scone recipe too?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you Nadine, I am so pleased to hear that and, like you, I am also so pleased to see wild garlic beginning to show up everyone. You can, but I already have two great sweet scone recipes you may want to try. This one, this one and this one. Actually, that's three. Hope you'll enjoy them just as much. Ania
Chris Simmons:
Made these for an event (my first time making scones) and everyone loved them. Rather chuffed to get such praise as a complete novice baker. Wild garlic is a wonderful ingredient - and free.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Chris, I am delighted to hear that they came out so well and they were popular despite you being new to this kind of dough - well done! I agree wild garlic is such a nature's gift! Thank you for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it. x Ania
Lou Lou:
Really lovely!! Mine didn’t rise very well as I didn’t have a proper cookie cutter so the glass tumbler may have limited rising but they were delicious. I put 120g or wild garlic in and extra Parmesan, delicious!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Delighted to hear that you enjoyed these, Lou Lou! And thank you for taking the time to review - I really appreciate it. x Ania
Dees Wilgehof-Sodaar:
These were delicious! I stumbled upon your recipe by chance last night and made a batch to accompany a good bowl of homemade soup. I don’t have a cookie cutter, so I used a sharp knife to press straight through. There’s just the two of us, and reckoning I got 8, and only 1 is leftover, you can figure out how tasty they were. I swapped the garlic for finely chopped scallions which worked out well. Thanks for the accurate description of how to handle the dough. It really helped to get it right.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much Dees! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was such a hit with you and your loved one. Good call on using chopped scallions in place of wild garlic leaves, that's what I would do out of season too. And I am happy to hear that my detailed explanations (which I have had some complaints about in the past) helped you to get the end result you were hoping for. x Ania
Rachel:
Can these be made in advance and stored?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yes, in theory, but scones are one of these things that are best on the day they have come out of the oven and maybe the next day, anything longer and they won't be that nice to eat. How about making them, freezing (raw) and then baking from frozen? Just remember to extend baking time by a few minutes. Hope this helps! x Ania
Jayne:
Really easy recipe, they taste delicious 😋 would recommend you give them a go
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Jayne! I'm so happy you enjoyed these and I really appreciate you coming back to review, thank you. x Ania
Katja:
These are great scones! I loved to bake something different and learn a new technique. It's not very common to eat or bake scones in Germany but I wanted to do something other that the usual wild garlic pesto. I used white spelt flour and and some pumpkin seed flour (25% of the amount of flour) and the nutiness added a nice flavour and layer. Thank you, Ania, for the recipie and for broading (my) horizon. This applies to the wild garlic ravioli as well :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Katja. I am really happy that you enjoyed these and adding pumpkin flour sounds like a great idea! Thank you for taking the time to review, reviews help my work to be found and so I really appreciate it! x Ania
Matt:
An easy recipe for making delicious wild garlic scones! I ended up using the coconut oil instead of vegan butter and that worked out well.
If you're a wild garlic fiend, try also with wild garlic butter :).
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw thanks so much, Matt! So pleased you enjoyed them and totally with you on the 'you can never have to much garlic' theme ;) . Thanks so much for taking the time to write this lovely review, I really appreciate it. Ania
Sue:
Ania, I'm so sorry you had covid, AGAIN!!!! Glad to hear you are both on the mend. Thanks for the new recipe; the scones look delicious.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Sue! I really appreciate your kind words. Yeah, I was bummed, and it really takes you out of action for weeks. I hope you'll enjoy these. x Ania
Amy:
I’ve never seen wild garlic leaves! What can I use as a substitute? Thx.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Amy,
    You could use chives or green parts of spring onions, but I would use a little less first time round as they seem to me more pungent. Hope you'll enjoy them! x Ania
Clarita:
These look amazing with the green specks, but I don't have access to garlic leaves. Any ideas for a substitute please?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Clarita,
    Thank you, I hope you'll enjoy these if you decide to try them. My suggestion would be to chives or green parts of spring onions, but I would use a little less first time round as they seem to me more pungent. x Ania
marijan:
Really looking forward to trying this recipe - it sounds great and we like scones with soup as a change from bread. The wild garlic is just coming out in the garden....perfect. Glad to hear you are recovering. Best wishes
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Marijan! And I hope you'll enjoy these scones - wild garlic in your own garden sounds fantastic! x Ania
Pamela:
What is vegan block ( in the US)?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Pamela,
    It's simply vegan butter. Due to the pressure from dairy industry, they are not allowed to call it vegan butter here (in Europe) so it is often called 'vegan block'. I will adjust it to make it clear. Ania
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