All Together Now
We go back to school once again for a scone-sational cookery shoot with mentoring charity Breakthrough
Scones, strawberries and great kids
Proper Scones
INGREDIENTS (Makes about 12)
◆ 450g plain white flour
◆ 3 teaspoons baking powder (or 450g self-raising flour plus 1 tsp baking powder)
◆ 1/2 teaspoon salt
◆ 2 tablespoons caster sugar
◆ 50g butter, chilled
◆ about 400ml buttermilk (or milk and 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice)
◆ extra milk or beaten egg, to glaze
1 Preheat the oven to 210C Fan/230C/450F/Gas 8. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment.
2 Sift the flour with the salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3 If you don’t have buttermilk then whisk the milk and lemon juice together and leave for 1 min to thicken slightly.
4 Pour enough buttermilk (or freshly soured milk) into the flour mixture and mix quickly to form a soft but manageable dough.
5 With floured hands, knead lightly on a floured sur face to form a soft ball, then pat or roll out to a thickness of at least 2.5cm – it’s important to roll it out thickly.
6 Using a 5cm biscuit cutter, stamp out scones placing them onto the baking sheet, re-rolling any trimmings and cutting out more if you can – you should manage 12.
7 Brush the tops with a little milk or beaten egg and bake for about 12-15 min or until well-risen and golden brown on top.
8 Remove from the oven and wrap in a clean tea towel to keep them warm and soft. Best eaten fresh on the day of baking, but they also freeze very well.
9 Serve split with whipped cream and fresh strawberry jam (see recipe on page 26).
“One of the joys of teaching cookery with kids is to see them engage. The secret is to make the lesson fun and relaxed” – Maxine Clark, Cookery Stylist