Simple Scones

By mikeimmell

Ingredients

• 2 cups self raising flour or 2 cups all purpose flour with 3 teaspoons of baking powder added to the flour and 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• chunk of butter (about 30g) or approximately 2 heaping tablespoons of butter
• extra milk for glazing

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from nattycook.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven. About 190 degrees Celcius or 375 farenheit is good. I use a flat oven tray or cookie sheet to cook them on and I just spray it with some cooking spray so they don’t stick. Always do this first because it saves washing all the dough off your hands later!

Sift the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. You can use a wire whisk and whisk the flour lightly if you don’t have a sifter!

Add the butter, chopped into pieces, to the flour and rub it in until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the milk, vanilla and about 1/2 of the water. Grab a flat bladed knife and use it to mix until a soft dough is formed. You can add more liquid if you need to. The dough will be a little sticky at first but will come together when kneaded.

Spread a little self raising flour or all purpose flour onto the bench and turn out the dough. Knead the dough lightly, dusting with a little flour if still a bit sticky. It will come together nicely and feel quite soft and pliable. Be careful not to add too much additional flour when you are kneading the dough as it will make the scones come out heavy after they are baked.

With the palm of your hands gently pat the dough out into a neat little round flat circle and use a biscuit cutter to cut about 12 scones. You may need to scrunch up the remainder and pat it out a few times to get the 12 scones.

Place them on the baking tray or cookie sheet pan and brush with the milk. Pop them in the oven for about 12 minutes or until they are golden brown and you can smell their deliciousness!

When they have finished baking, place a clean tea towel over them and let them cool for a bit. The tea towel traps a bit of the steam and keeps the outer crust soft.

Serve with jam and cream or honey and lashings of butter.

Enjoy!