my kitchen counter

Scones

I have returned to England permanently. Well, perhaps not permanently, but at least for a while… a long while… and I have decided to come to terms with it. I decided there was no better way to lure my American friends across the pond for a visit than the promise of homemade scones, so I set out to learn. I am sure I have confessed on this blog before that I am not much of a baker. Or at least I have never thought of myself as a baker since I was 10 and recycled Alice Waters’ famous 1-2-3-4 cake for everyone I knew’s birthday. Someone once said that “Baking is a science, cooking is an art”, and I have always thought of myself as much more of an artist than a scientist. See… the thing is… I like to improv. Can you tell? I’ve never been one for exact measurements, and I’ve never been so good at precision. However, I have decided not to let any of that hold me back any longer. Who says I can’t learn to be a better baker? Who says there isn’t an inner scientist inside of me waiting to show herself over a perfectly cooked tray of scones? So I set aside some time on a Saturday afternoon to learn to bake PERFECT scones. Not just “eh looks good enough” Juliane style scones, but Queen of England approved (or at least his English highness, my fiancé, approved) scones. And by jove, I did it!

The recipe was from Rose Bakery’s beautiful cookbook Breakfast Lunch Tea. They are lovely and simple and a definite crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour, plus extra for dusting

1 handful wholewheat (wholemeal) flour

2 very heaped tablespoons of baking powder

2 heaped tablespoons of caster sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of butter, cut into pieces

zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange

2 handfuls of blueberries

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

1 tablespoon light brown (demerara) sugar

Preheat the oven to 400°. Sift the plain flour into a bowl and add the caster sugar and salt, then add the butter and rub with your fingers until the mixture is grainy like breadcrumbs. Mix in the lemon or orange zest. Add the blueberries and mix well. Beat one of the eggs into a measuring cup and add enough milk to reach the 300 ml mark. Make a well in the middle and pour the liquid in. Use a fork to work the liquid into the dry ingredients. Finish by hand, but be careful not to overwork the mixture— just lightly bring everything together to form a softish but firm dough. If it is too dry add some milk (I usually needed an extra splash) or if it is too wet add some flour. The finished dough should not be sticky at all. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a solid shape about an inch thick. Cut the dough into shapes, either using a cutter to create round scones our a knife to draw triangles like I did. Beat the remaining egg and use as a glaze for the top of the scones. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Serve warm!! Enjoy!