Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 40g cold butter cubed
- 1 cup milk
How to make perfect scones
- Heat the oven to 220 Celsius and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper by firstly lightly buttering the tray and then sticking the paper to the tray.
- In a large bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the butter cubes and with your fingertips, rub the flour and butter together until you get a breadcrumb consistency. Be patient here, you want to be gentle while rubbing so that you don’t add any more heat to the mixture.
- Now add the sugar and give it a final rub through with your fingers.
- Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the milk.
- Use a metal knife and with a cutting motion mix in the milk. Rotate the bowl as you cut through the mixture until the dough comes together in clumps and is slightly damp.
- Flour your hands and a board or kitchen surface, gently gather up the dough, place on the floured surface and pat down with a light hand to about 2cm thick.
- Use a floured 6cm round cutter to cut out the scones and place them on the baking tray fairly close together, they will rise up and not much out. This also means you’ll have softer edges which is what you want.
- Gather up the bits left over and pat down again for the last 1 or 2 scones.
- Brush the tops with milk and place in the top half of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until the tops are golden and they have risen well.
- Delicious, eat straight away.