Soft and flaky scones are flavored with matcha and layered with sweet red bean paste as a filling. They are delicious as is or with some butter and more sweet red bean paste.
Use your hands or a pastry cutter to mix the flour mixture with butter to get an uneven crumbly mixture. You can also use a food processor to pulse a few times to get a crumbly mixture. Don't overwork the mixture. Keep this in a fridge to keep it cold
Whisk eggs with 113 grams of milk. Add this to the flour mixture. Use a dough scraper to help you combine the ingredients until they hold together. Don't knead the dough. We don't want any gluten development. If the dough feels to dry and won't come together, drizzle a teaspoon more of milk as needed
Shaping:
Prepare a large parchment paper or silicon mat. Dust the top with a bit of flour and scrape the dough on top of the parchment or mat.
Lightly dust your hands with some flour and use the dough scraper to help you pat and shape the dough into about 10 x 12 inches rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick, roughly
Spread the red bean paste on top of the rectangle, corner to corner.
Use a dough scraper (spray lightly with a bit of cooking spray to prevent sticking) to cut the dough in half, and then quarter
Stack on top of each other, with the dough side facing up when you stack.
Use a bench scraper to help you tidy up the four edges. Place this on a baking sheet and put this inside a freezer for 15 minutes. This is to ensure when we cut, we get a clean cut and the edges won't get squeezed, which will compromise the rise during baking
Use a serrated knife to trim off the four edges. Then cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Arrange this on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. You can gather the trimmings and just shape into a ball. It's an extra scone you can do taste testing of :)
Brush the top of the scone with some milk and sprinkle with some turbinado sugar (optional, but highly recommend)
Put the baking pan back into the freezer for 30 minutes. The reason why we do this is so that the butter is cold and it gives you flaky layers. This also ensures that the scones get a tall rise during baking and the rest allows the gluten to relax, which yield tender scones. So, do not skip chilling the dough
Baking:
While chilling the dough, preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C) for conventional oven, 400 F (200 C) for convection oven. Place the oven rack in the upper 3rd of your oven
Bake the scones for 20-23 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and let them cool down on the pan for 5 minutes
To serve:
Serve the scones warm as is or with some butter and more red bean paste if you have extra :) they are delish!