What better way to be British than with a scone, topped with an English staple – strawberry jam. This simple recipe will yield many a scone, perfect for a pre-Wimbledon tea.
Ingredients
- 350g self raising flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3tbsp caster sugar
- 85g sultanas (optional)
- 175ml full fat milk
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 egg
Method
- Preheat your oven to 220 °C, or gas mark 7.
- Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.
- Add the butter and rub into a fine crumb like consistency.
- Add the sugar and sultanas to the crumb mixture and stir.
- Pour the milk into a heat proof jug and heat in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds. The milk should be warm, but not hot.
- Add the squeeze of lemon juice to the milk. This will make the milk curdle slightly but will give you a liquid that is more like buttermilk in consistency. Set this aside.
- Grease the baking tray and put it into the oven to pre-heat. This means when the scones are placed on the tray, the rise will begin to happen before they are even in the oven.
- Make a well in the mix of dry ingredients. Add the liquid and use a cutlery knife to combine everything together into a smooth dough.
- Tip the dough onto a surface scattered with flour, now dredge the dough with a little more flour to make it smoother.
- Pat the dough into a round about 4cm deep. Dip a round cutter into flour and cut as many scones as possible out of the dough.
- Get the pre-heated baking tray out of the oven, and arrange the scones on it with a little space between them to allow for the rise. Beat an egg in a small bowl and brush the top of each scone with it.
- Bake for ten minutes until risen and golden. Lavish with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and enjoy with a cup of tea in front of the tennis match.
Katie Dawtry