Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 12-18 minutes
You'll need...
225g (8oz) Self Raising Flour
55g (2oz) Butter
25g (1oz) Caster Sugar
150ml Milk (I use skimmed)
1 Free Range Egg (to glaze)
Preparation...
1. Start by pre-heating the oven to 220C (Gas 7) and lightly grease a baking tray - I cheated slightly here and used a cupcake tin (for more uniform shape) which I sprayed with 1Kcal Spray (here) but of course, alternatively you can use butter or olive oil on a flat baking tray
2. Mix together the flour and salt, then rub in the butter (I like to let mine go a little soft before adding into the mixture as it save in painful wrist mixing action)
3. Stir in the sugar and then slowly add the milk as you keep mixing. You should get a soft dough once you've mixed thoroughly enough
4. Scoup out the dough onto a pre-floured surface and knead lightly (you don't want to overwork it!). Once this is done, roll out the dough until it's about 1cm thick - try to get this bit as even as possible, but don't worry if the mixture is a little springy.
5. Cut the dough into 2/3inch (ish) diameter circles (I use a glass to do this part) and place onto the baking tray. You can re-ball the dough and roll it out again until you've used it all up. Once that's done, brush the tops of the scones with egg yolk or milk (this makes them have a nice glaze and go brown in the oven... I, however, forgot to do this part, and the scones ended up looking a little pasty, so I'd definitely recommend not missing this step!)
6. Bake for 12 - 18 mins dependent on the oven and brown-ness - take them out after around 13 mins to check if they're done just to be on the safe side. They should have risen considerably!
7. Finish off by placing them on a wire rack to cool down, or alternatively, like me, rustle out the jam and tuck into one when they're still piping hot! I never have been patient when it comes to food...
