Scones for Tea

Scones, clotted cream and jam are mandatory for tea in Devon.  Flat Stanley enjoyed them so much he polished off two at one sitting.... not an easy thing to do when you are two dimensional! You may not be able to get clotted cream where you live but I think scones are lovely with only jam on them.  Why don't you give them a try!

This is a British recipe so you will need to use a set of kitchen scales to measure the ingredients.

All you need to make 5 scones are:

225 grams self-raising flour*

40 grams of butter or margarine

25 grams caster sugar (white sugar used for baking)

150 ml milk (5-6 ounces)

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of baking soda

Sift into a mixing bowl the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda.  Rub in the butter with your fingertips, until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.  Try to get as much air into the mixture as you can to make the scones light.  I pick up the crumbles and let them drop back into the bowl.... like sand through your fingers.  Think fairy fingers-fluttery!

Make a little well in the flour mix and pour in the milk a bit at a time, using a knife, gently combine the ingredients together until you have a soft dough.  You can add a few more drops of milk it it seems too dry. 

Leave the dough to rest for about 20 minutes while you heat the oven to 200 degrees C or 400 degrees F. and  grease a baking tray.

Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and gently pat it out with your hands until it is about 1 inch thick.  Dip a round cutter into flour and cut out your scones.  THIS IS IMPORTANT.... do NOT twist the cutter when cutting out the scones. Press the cutter straight down into the soft dough.  Twisting the dough will make them 'wonky' and result in an uneven rise.  ( Wonky is a British word, honestly!)

Place the scones on the greased baking sheet.  Gather the scrapes and repeat the scone cutting process.  Brush the tops of the scones with a bit of milk, this makes them shiny when they are cooked.

Bake for about 15 minutes until well risen and golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.  Serve with your favourite jam, I like strawberry, and butter or clotted cream and a cup of steaming hot tea. Cheers!

*If you don't have self-raising flour you can make your own. Mix together 1cup (125grams) plain flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.