French bread scones are an all time favorite for my kids. Some might scoff at the title scones because they really are more of a fry bread.

Last week while I was preparing dinner (Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps), my 8-year old son makes the following comment to me: “Mom, I remember when you used to make good stuff for dinner like french bread, scones and biscuits.” You see, I often use baked goods with my dinners as bribery to eat whatever main dish I have served that night. If they want more bread, biscuit, muffin, etc. they have to finish the initial serving of everything on their plate. It works like magic to get them to eat things they never would but I admit it had been awhile since I had done so. So to make up for my lack of baked carbs during dinner, it was our main dish last night and the kids were absolutely ecstatic!

Now I know these don’t look like scones to most people, but when you say the word in our house, this is what my kids expect. They are basically fry bread but to make them a bit healthier, I cook them in a bit of shortening spread on my griddle instead of deep frying them. I use my French Bread recipe but with just a bit less flour to make a softer dough and they are deliciously light and tender. Just roll the recipe out to a thin square and use your bench scraper to cut them into rectangles. We serve them with chili beans so there is some form of protein for the night. My kids love them dipped in cinnamon powdered sugar, honey or raspberry freezer jam.

French Bread Scones

Print Recipe

Ingredients

3 C warm water

1 Tb sugar

2 Tb yeast

2 Tb canola oil

3 1/2 rounded tsp salt

8 C bread flour (yes, it makes a difference)

Instructions

1. Using your electric mixer with a dough hook, mix the water, sugar, yeast and 2 cups of flour into the bowl. Allow to sit until yeast activates and begins to bubble. Add oil and salt.

2. Slowly mix in remaining flour. You want the dough to just barely pull off the sides of your bowl once the flour is fully incorporated. It should still be a soft dough.

3. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

4. Remove dough hook and form dough into a ball inside the bowl. Cover and allow to rise until double, about one hour.

5. Roll the recipe out to a thin square and use your bench scraper to cut them into rectangles.

6. Cook them in a bit of shortening spread on my griddle.