Recipe : Scones
There are few things nicer than coming home to a plate full of freshly made scones. Quick and easy to make, plain or fruit, served warm or cold they are the quintessential English teatime treat.
175g bread flour
150g plain (See Tip below)
1 teaspoon baking powder
60g salted butter
75g caster sugar
120ml milk
2 eggs
1 egg, lightly beaten, to glaze
baking sheet lined with baking parchment
5cm round cookie cutter
Makes 15-20
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Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) Gas 7.
Sift the flours and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub together with your fingers to achieve a fine crumb texture, then stir in the sugar.
In a separate bowl, whisk the 2 eggs and milk together. Add three-quarters of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Quickly beat all the ingredients together, adding extra egg mixture if necessary, to give a soft dough.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, work the dough into a ball, then roll it out until about 2cm thick. Use the cookie cutter to stamp out scones and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll any leftover dough and cut out scones, as before, until all the dough is used up. Brush the tops with the egg glaze.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until pale golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Eat or freeze the same day.
TIP: We use strong bread flour in this recipe to help maintain height and shape during baking. If you don't have any to hand, using plain/all-purpose flour will work too.
VARIATION: For fruit scones, add 80g sultanas/golden raisins at the same time as you stir in the sugar.
