26 September 2012

Plate Up. Scones








I’m rather old fashioned at heart, I love tradition, classic novels and high tea, so I thought it was about time I attempted making scones myself. I have always been deterred from giving them a go after hearing how “tricky and temperamental” they are. But I’m here to tell you, whoever says that is a liar. They are as simple as this…

What you’ll need:
4 cups self-raising flour
2 tablespoons icing sugar
60g butter
1½ cups milk
¾ cup water, approx

What to do:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease a baking tray. Sift flour and sugar into a large bowl, rub in butter with fingertips. Make a well in the centre and add milk and almost all of the water. Use a knife to “cut” the milk and water through the flour mixture until it comes together in a soft, sticky dough.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 30secs. (You don’t want to overwork it otherwise the dough will turn glutinous.) Press the dough out to a 2cm thickness and dip a round cutter (approx 5cm) into flour and cut as many rounds as you can from the dough. Place scones side by side, so they are just touching, in the pan. Gently knead the scraps of dough together and repeat cutting.

Brush tops with a little milk and bake scones for about 15minutes or until just browned and sound hollow when tapped on top. Serve with cream, jam and your favourite cup of tea. (Makes 20)

Photos by Krissie