Food | Fresh Slice – Classic Scones

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

  1. Preheat your oven to 220 °C, or gas mark 7.
  2. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.
  3. Add the butter and rub into a fine crumb like consistency.
  4. Add the sugar and sultanas to the crumb mixture and stir.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Tip the dough onto a surface scattered with flour, now dredge the dough with a little more flour to make it smoother.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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

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