Since I've rediscovered the fun of baking, scones have been a favourite. They are quick, they are easy, they are inexpensive, and you don't have interrupt your Television viewing to make them - by that I mean you don't need to use a Mixmaster which destroys all other sound in the (immediate) universe.
My basic scones consist of:
- 3 cups of sifted self-raising flour
- 80grams of butter (cut into cubes)
- 1 and 1/4 cups milk
It is as easy as:
1. Take off all your rings and wash your hands. Plop the flour in a large mixing bowl with the cubed butter, and use your fingers to press the butter into the flour. Don't let your finger-tips touch when squishing the butter - you want to combine the butter with the flour, not melt it. It should look like nice soft sand when its ready.
1.1 Make a well in the sandy looking flour-butter. (Now you can wash your hands... so often I wash my hands then remember to make a well... rookie mistake!)
2. Pour 1 cup of the milk into the well, and combine this with the flour-butter mixture using a round edged butter knife.
The reason I don't say "Put all the milk in the well" is because some days flour doesn't take the milk as easily as others. It sounds odd and esoteric but its true. I've found that on humid days I rarely need the 1/4 cup. If you add it though, and it seems too sticky - panic not! Just add a little more flour until its workable (doesn't matter if it is a bit too sticky, it still works).
3. Lightly dust a clean smooth surface and turn out your scone dough. Now KNEAD! Well, I shouldn't capitalise it, because you should only knead until it seems well combined - you don't want to overwork it.
(*Fun Fact - knead with the heel of your hand as it is the warmest part. Kneading helps to activate something-something in the dough (yes I'm technical like that)).
Most often I don't take the dough out to knead it - I have a big enough bowl that I can get it done with one hand in the bowl itself - less cleaning!
4. Make the scones into little balls using your hands, or by cutting the dough with a cookie-cutter of your choice. They can be big or small but try and make them consistent (just for cooking time reasons... an unexpected undercooked scone is a bit blegh).
5. Pop them on a baking tray (I use non-stick, but feel free to use baking paper with a little flour) and cook them in a 180C oven for about 12-15 minutes. (Check them after 10 minutes - once they've got a little golden colouring on them they're good to go!)
All up it takes only 20 minutes to make these. While they're baking you can wash the three dishes you made (is that all??) and feel like a domestic goddess when you remove them from the oven to your sparkly clean kitchen!
This recipe is awfully budget friendly too:
3 cups of flour= .45c
1 cup-ish of milk= .45c
80gm butter = .65c
=$1.55 for about 10 scones. If my maths serves me, that's less than 20 cents a scone. Sell them to your friends for $1 and you've made a mighty profit! Or eat them all and drink tea (the option I choose).
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