Figure 1: Image Source: Scones

Scones are simple, easy to make and very budget friendly. No wonder we are seeing an upsurge in domestic scones production. Simply by topping our scone halves with jam and whipped cream we can still have our little luxuries even in these troubled economic times. In Fig.1 above is a plate of different varieties of scones.

Ingredients:

• 1 Egg
• 4 Ounces (about 120 Grams or 1 Stick)
• 2 Cups of Self Raising Flour
• 1 Cup of Cold Water
• ½ Cup of Powdered Milk
• 1 Tablespoon of Confectioners’ Sugar (icing sugar)
• Salt to Taste

Method:

1. Prepare Wet Ingredients – Melt the butter/margarine in a small sauce pan and beat the egg (keep the beaten egg in a separate bowl as we are going to be using it to glaze the scones rather than adding the egg into the dough mix proper.
2. Preheat Oven – Preheat oven to 375 degrees F for a fan forced oven and to 400 degrees F for a conventional oven.
3. Prepare Baking Tray – Grease or line an oven tray with parchment paper
4. Combine and Sift Dry Ingredients – In a medium sized bowl roughly combine flour, powdered milk, salt and confectioners’ sugar (icing Sugar). Now sift this mix at least three times to ensure that no lumps remain. If lumps persist it is most likely that moisture is the cause. Don’t worry; use a fork or your fingers to break them up and continue sifting.
5. Add Wet Ingredients – Once you are satisfied with your sifting efforts put the dry ingredients into your medium sized bowl then add the melted butter and water to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until well combined.
6. Kneading – Once ingredients have combined, flour a flat work surface and tip your dough onto it. It’s now time to start kneading. Use both hands and knead well. Bang the dough often (hit it with your hands and pick it up and slam it down onto your floured work surface). You must really work this dough over very well. The end results are worth it.
7. Shaping – Now roll your dough to the desired height. Then cut into rounds (I generally use a round pastry cutter or a glass with a mouth of the desired size. Use a wet knife to cut the dough if you want elongate scones. Once cut place your dough portions onto a greased or parchment paper lined oven tray. Do not overcrowd the tray.
8. Glaze – Brush tops with a beaten egg (this will result in the tops of your scones turning a wonderful golden color)
9. Baking – Once all of the tops of the scones have been glazed with the beaten egg place them into a preheated oven (375 to 400 degrees F) and bake until golden (around 15 to 20 minutes).
10. Cooling – Once cooked transfer your scones to a rack to cool for a bit (Fig. 2). Cover the cooling scones (I usually use a clean tea-towel that I keep specifically for this purpose).

Figure 2: Image Source: Scones

Serving:

There are multitudes of ways in which the humble scone can be presented and eaten. Here are but a few:

• Hot Buttered Scones – Once the scones have cooled a bit and are no longer very hot to the touch you may wish to cut them in half. Then butter both halves, place top on bottom and eat.
• Scones with Butter, Tea and/or Coffee – As depicted in Fig. 3 below scones are commonly served with coffee and tea.

Figure 3: Image Source: Scones

• Jam Topped Scones – You could also spread some jam or fruit conserve on each half and eat as open halves.
• Jam and Whipped Cream Topped Scones – You might also add a dollop of whipped cream on top of the jam or conserve and eat as open halves.
• Minced Chocolate, Jam and Whipped Cream Topped Scones – Prepare the scones as above by cutting them in half and buttering both halves. Spread the jam or conserve of your preference onto both halves. Now top with a dollop of whipped cream. Finally sprinkle some of the minced chocolate over the toppings.

Myself I find the above buttered scones with strawberry jam, whipped cream and minced chocolate to be my favorite. It’s that chocolate thing.

Note: These scones are very freezer friendly. Use a zip-lock freezer bag making sure that you squeeze out as much of the air as possible.

Anyhow; whatever way you do your scones enjoy!