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These Parmesan and Thyme Scones (Air Fryer Recipe) are a real thing of beauty to me. I just love a savoury bake, and these are a gorgeous blend of carbs and cheese. The air fryer acts like a convection oven, saving time and money with a fantastic outcome – a win win. That said, the recipe works just as well when baked in a regular oven!
The key to getting tall, flaky scones is to keep everything very cold and to work the dough as little as you can. For these scones, I add cream for a really rich and buttery flavour that works well with all the cheese. The herbs cut through the richness for a happily balanced flavour. These are definitely best eaten warm with extra butter!
The technique I share in the recipe helps to add layers. By cutting the dough into three pieces and stacking them, before rolling out and repeating, provides layers in the same way as making puff pastry! This, combined with cold ingredients, a freeze before baking and a very hot air fryer/oven means you get very tall, flaky scones!
This recipe is very easily doubled, and is just as easily made in a traditional oven. You will likely just need to add on some bake time as I find air fryers sit at the high temperature more steadily. They store for around 3 days in an airtight container. If reheating, I recommend doing so in the oven/air fryer to keep them crisp!
Tips for Top Tier Parmesan and Thyme Scones (Air Fryer Recipe)
- Butter: Keep this as cold as possible until you are ready to use it. This helps for really flaky scones.
- Cheese: A blend of a hard cheese like Parmesan (or Grana Padano/Pecorino) with a strong cheddar gives a really good level of cheesiness!
- Freezing: Put the scones in the freezer after they’ve been stamped out, just before baking to get them really cold.
- Baking: Brush a little egg on the top of the scones for that shiny top. Just make sure it doesn’t drip down the sides.
- For the best Rise: Don’t over-handle or over mix, and try to keep everything as cold as possible.
- Thyme: Use either fresh or dried thyme inside the scones. The decoration is just regular fresh thyme and is entirely optional.
- Buttermilk: This recipe calls for buttermilk. To make your own, combine 80ml Whole Milk with a teaspoon White Wine Vinegar.
I bake these Parmesan and Thyme Scones (Air Fryer Recipe) using my For more savoury baking recipes, check out these Moroccan Spiced Red Pepper & Lentil Sausage Rolls. For more baking inspiration, head on over to my Instagram.
Parmesan and Thyme Scones (Air Fryer Recipe)
Ingredients
- 250 g Plain Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 0.5 tsp Baking Soda
- 100 g Parmesan or similar
- 100 g Cheddar or similar
- 130 g Salted Butter Cold, Cubed
- 80 ml Buttermilk Details to make your own below and in notes
- 100 ml Double Cream aka Heavy Cream
- 3 tsp Dried Thyme
- Fresh Thyme to decorate
- 1 Egg, beaten Optional
Instructions
- If you can't find buttermilk: combine 80ml Whole Milk with a teaspoon White Wine Vinegar and set aside while you start the below steps:
- In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and quickly mix together. Add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until you reach pea sized pieces.
- Add in the cheese and thyme and stir. Add the buttermilk and cream and use a knife to bring together.
- Pour onto a floured surface. Bring together into a rough rectangle. Slice into 3 pieces, stack on top of one another and roll out a little, repeat.
- Roll the dough to about 1-1.5" thick. Cut out rounds using a cookie cutter – you should get about 8 if using a smaller cutter. Set onto a plate/small tray and freeze 10 minutes.
- Pre-heat the air fryer to 205c and set time for 9 minutes. Beat the egg, if using. This gives that super golden shiny finish! Brush over the scones, add a little piece of thyme and place into the air fryer (don't add baking paper, it stops the airflow).
- Let cook about 6 minutes before checking, some air fryers circulate the hot air better than others! They should look a good golden colour at about 8/9 minutes. Remove and let cool before eating!
- If using a traditional oven, set it to 210c fan. Bake the scones for about 12 minutes.
