In a large bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Toss with your hands to combine. Grate, using a box grater, *very* cold or frozen butter into your bowl of dry ingredients.Toss with your hands until combined. (You will want to be able to see a few butter bits after this step. Be quick as a bunny for this part so the butter stays nice and cold. This is the key for maximum flake and tenderness in your finished product.) Toss your desired add-ins into the flour and butter mix. (If you are adding fruit or something particularly *juicy*, you will need less buttermilk!)
While mixing with one hand, pour in half of your buttermilk and toss to make sure all the liquid is evenly dispersed. Add the remaining buttermilk without mixing too much more. You will want the dough to be shaggy and not too sticky! If you add too much liquid, toss in a little extra flour to compensate.
Place onto a floured work surface and press out into an approximately 8-9 inch round about 1 ½ - 2 inches thick. Cut into eight equal triangles (like a pizza), you can also cut with a round cookie cutter. Place on a parchment lined pan, four at a time as they will rise lots!
Pop the scones in the fridge on your pan. Preheat your oven to 400F. Place your scones in the oven (middle rack) once the oven is hot and the scones are chilled. Bake for 12 minutes and then rotate the pan. Bake for another 12-20 mins depending on your oven. Scones should be golden and should spring back when you gently press them down in the center (we in the biz call this the *squish test*).
