Are scones a cake or bread? Woman asks after giving up cake for lent

A mother has sparked a heated debate about which category of baked foods to place scones.

Posting on Facebook’s Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas for parents around the UK, Melanie Baker explained she has given up eating cakes for Lent.

She said her son wants her to bake scones, however she’s uncertain if the food would break the rules – observed from 17 February until 3 April in preparation for Easter.

A flood of responses to the post urged Melanie to eat a scone because they consider the food to be a type of bread, however others argued the ingredients prove that it’s a cake – while some said scones are a separate category on their own.

A UK-based woman has sparked a lengthy debate about how to categorize scones (pictured), as some argue they are a cake but others say they are a type of bread

Posting on Facebook, Melanie Baker explained she’s given up cakes for Lent but her son wants to bake scones

Asking for opinions, Melanie wrote: ‘Help me settle a debate… are scones a type of cake or bread? I think it’s a type of bread

‘This is why I’ve asked, my son wants me to make some but I’ve given up cake for lent’

The post racked up over 600 comments, with many initial responses agreeing that scones are a type of cake.

One person wrote: ‘I’d say cake based on the fact that the raising agent is not yeast’

‘I would say a cake as it’s usually sweet,’ another said.

A third added: ‘In the dictionary it says it’s a cake. Google says it’s a bread. I would believe dictionary because it’s been around longer than Google.

‘I make scones all the time never thought of them as being bread or cakes for that matter. Just always thought of them as scones. And no to cream. Just butter and jam’

A flood of responses advised Melanie not to bake scones and compared the ingredients to those found in cakes

However, others argued Melanie should go ahead with eating scones because it’s considered a type of bread.

‘I’d say bread, mostly because it’s sold with all bread products in shops,’ one wrote.

Another said: ‘Technically scone is a bread, as it is has a leavening agent it, it’s also known as quick bread. However I personally feel that it’s neither it’s somewhere in between’

Some agreed scones shouldn’t be categorized, saying: ‘They’re just scones. Not all baked goods fit under the two headings of cake or bread’

‘To me that’s like saying is quiche a pie or a pizza, it’s neither a quiche is a quiche and a scone is a scone,’ another wrote.