I love scones. I really love scones. Our holiday to Cornwall last year seemed to mainly be about scones - we accidentally ate cream teas almost every day. I love baking them - I love the look of them, the smell of them, the way the crumbly mixture falls through your fingers, and most of all I love their yummy taste. Spread with lashings of jam, and some naughty cream... maybe even clotted cream if you're lucky.
However, despite my excitement at the idea of baking scones, today's efforts were awful.
Baking rule #1: Always pay attention.
Baking rule #2: Make sure you use the right type of flour.
In my excitement and haste, I reached into the cupboard for my self-raising flour. I saw the plain flour, though "no, that's not it..." and reached for the packet of flour above it. La la la, I merrily continued to make the scone mixture, rolled it out, cut the little scones out.... And then, just as I was popping the little buckets of sconey deliciousness on to the baking trays, I realised I had used Strong Bread Flour. Strong Bread Flour!!! For God's sake. It was too late to try to limit the damage by adding any raising agent into the mix.... I had to just stick 'em in the oven and hope for the best, which I knew wouldn't happen.
Out they came 10 minutes later. They looked like little fruity weapons.
They didn't taste very good.
But, with enough jam and clotted cream, anything can be made edible.....
If you'd like to make scones, follow the recipe below, and PLEASE use the right sort of flour - if you do, these turn out lovely!
250g self-raising flour
pinch salt
50g caster sugar
50g marg
1 egg
100ml buttermilk
Sift the flour, salt, and sugar together. Add the butter and rub into the flour using the tips of your fingers - raise your hands up as the crumbs fall through your fingers to get lots of air into it. Mix the egg into the buttermilk, then mix into the butter/flour mixture using a knife. Once it starts to come together, get your hands in and form the mixture into a ball of dough. Roll out on a floured surface and cut out rounds. Bake on baking trays for about 10 minutes until nicely golden.
Serve warm, with jam and cream. Lovely.
But use the RIGHT FLOUR!!!
