Plain Scones Recipe
Prep
Cook
Total
A classic recipe for classic scones.
Ingredients
Instructions
Flour (not grease) a baking tray; set aside.
Start heating your oven.
Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add the butter, and rub it in just using your hands. Stir the sugar in, then add the milk reserving a little. You should end up with a soft dough; if you need all the milk, put the rest in.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead two or three times only until the mixture holds together well. Press the dough out to be about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.
Cut into 2 inch (5 cm) rounds or squares. Press the leftover dough together, then pat it out again to the same thickness and finish making scones from it. Put them on the baking sheet.
Let the scones rest for 5 or 10 minutes. Then brush with milk, and put them in the top shelf of the heated oven. The total cooking time should be 12 to 15 minutes, but after 6 minutes, transfer them to the middle or lower shelf for the remainder of the cooking time, until they are risen and their tops are golden.
Transfer the scones off the baking sheet onto a wire rack to cool.
Notes
If you want to use self-rising flour, use the same quantity of flour but omit the salt and baking powder. The theory about using the two oven racks is this: the top rack helps to brown and puff them; the middle rack time helps make sure they are nicely cooked all the way through. If you were to grease the cookie sheet instead of flouring it, that might encourage them to spread out rather than rise.
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