FLOUR POWER
CLASSICALLY TRAINED PASTRY CHEF NADINE INGRAM SHARES HER SIGNATURE RECIPES IN A NEW BOOK
I was never very good at herding cattle on the farm. In fact, when it came to outdoor pursuits I was a constant disappointment to my family, except for a brief encounter with Little Athletics when I made it to the regionals in high jump. If you’ve met me, you know I’m 5’3, so my prowess as a champion high jumper was fairly short-lived. As a consequence, I decided it was probably best for all concerned if I stayed indoors. These scones are the result of half a lifetime of relishing the feel of flour between my fingertips, and a personal goal to get over the finish line having made a blue-ribbon scone.
BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK SCONES Makes: 10 large scones INGREDIENTS
450g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
80g unsalted butter, firm but not too chilled, diced
100g caster sugar
250g blueberries
300ml buttermilk (for Pepe Saya buttermilk use 230ml) Whipped cream and jam (optional, to serve)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Sift the flour and salt twice into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs with no butter lumps remaining. Add the sugar and blueberries and toss them through the flour using your fingertips. Pour the buttermilk evenly over the dry ingredients and, using a gentle touch, mould the dough into a ball. At this stage the dough will be slightly sticky on the outside and soft and pillowy to touch. Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and gently flatten it to a thickness of 3cm, using a little extra flour if necessary. Try not to handle the dough too much or the scones will be tough. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, then dip an 8cm round cutter into some flour to stop the dough sticking to it. Cut as many scones as you can from the dough and place them on the prepared baking tray about 4cm apart. Gently squish together the trimmings left behind, then flatten to 3cm and cut to yield a couple more scones. Pop the scones in the oven for 20 minutes or until evenly golden, then remove and serve immediately just as they are or with jam and cream. At Flour and Stone, we love our scone days. I always make extra and we all stand there in the middle of the kitchen, scoffing them straight from the oven.