Blueberry Scones

Low FODMAP blueberry scones made with a gluten-free 1:1 flour blend, cold butter, egg, lactose-free milk, and measured blueberries.

Prep 15 min

Cook 17 min

Serves 8

Gluten-freeVegetarian

Ingredients

• 2 cups (280g) gluten-free 1:1 flour blend, one that does not list inulin, chicory root, or soy flour
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup (50g) white or cane sugar, plus 1 tbsp for the tops
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp (85g) cold butter, cubed (butter is very low in lactose; lactose-free butter also works)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (120ml) cold lactose-free milk, plus 1 tbsp for brushing
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (about 110g) fresh or frozen blueberries. Split across 8 scones this is about 14g per scone, well under the 1 cup (125g) low FODMAP serve.

Instructions

Mix the dry ingredients and cut in the butter

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Whisk the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, the 1/4 cup sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add the cold cubed butter. Rub it into the flour with your fingertips (or cut it in with two knives) until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces left.

Add the wet ingredients and fold in the berries

1. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, lactose-free milk, and vanilla until combined.
2. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. Stop as soon as there are no dry patches; overmixing makes gluten-free scones dense.
3. Scatter the blueberries over the dough and fold them in with a few gentle turns.

Shape and bake

1. Turn the dough onto a surface dusted with a little of the flour blend. Pat it into a disc about 3/4 inch (2cm) thick, then cut it into 8 wedges.
2. Space the wedges on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with the extra tablespoon of milk and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are golden and a wedge feels set in the center. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before serving.

Tips & Substitutions

• Read the flour bag. Some gluten-free blends hide inulin or chicory root fiber, which is high in fructans, so check the label before you buy. A rice, potato, and tapioca starch based blend is a good option after checking the full ingredient list.
• Butter is fine as is. Butter is very low in lactose at this serving; lactose-free butter also works.
• Keep berries portioned. Blueberries sit near 40g (about 1/4 cup) per low-FODMAP serving, so resist adding more than the recipe calls for. Look up blueberries in the FODMAP Foods app to see how the rating changes with portion size.
• Make it a lemon scone. Skip the blueberries, add the grated zest of 1 lemon to the dry mix, and stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice into the milk. Finish with a glaze of sifted sugar and a little more lemon juice.
• Use frozen berries straight from the freezer. Toss them in a teaspoon of the flour blend before folding them in so they bleed less into the dough.
• Handle the dough lightly. Pat rather than roll, and cut straight down without twisting, so the scones rise evenly.

Why This Works

• A gluten-free blend removes the fructans. Wheat flour is the fructan source in a standard scone, so replacing it with a rice and starch based blend takes the main FODMAP out of the bake.
• Lactose-free milk drops the lactose. The milk is treated with lactase so the milk sugar is already broken down, which lets you keep a real dairy crumb without the lactose.
• Berries stay within a tested serving. Each scone has roughly 14g blueberries, well under their 1 cup (125g) low FODMAP serve.
• Cane sugar sweetens cleanly. Plain sucrose is low-FODMAP in these amounts, so there is no need for honey, agave, or high-fructose corn syrup.

Storage

Store cooled scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 4. To freeze, wrap each scone and keep for up to 2 months, then thaw at room temperature. Warm briefly in a 300°F (150°C) oven to bring back the crisp edges, and keep to one scone per serving to stay within the blueberry portion.