Scones
Ever since I moved to Ireland and got a taste of traditional Irish Scones, I have been in search of the perfect scone recipe. Whilst on the hunt for the best scone recipe I adapted to a mix of multiple recipes with my own touch and bingo!
The scones can be made with or without a variation of sultanas. If I’m biased about the choice between scones being served with cream or butter, I will choose the latter. Scones and butter is a match made in heaven!
Getting down to business I make my recipe with salted butter but also add a bit of salt to the full recipe stack for some extra (as you can tell) saltiness! Buttermilk used in the recipe associates with the bicarbonate of soda to give these scones a swift rise. I prefer to not over handle the dough to ensure these scones are light (and a little flaky), hence I ensure to be quick to rub the butter in. The egg wash over the scones gives them that lovely golden texture and colour. I usually enjoy making these on my days off or when I crave a scone or two, or five!
Ingredients:
450 grams of Plain All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon of Salt
2 tablespoons of Caster Sugar
1 teaspoon of Bicarbonate Soda
50 grams of Salted Butter (cut in cubes)
2 large eggs (beaten)
300 ml of Buttermilk
100 grams of sultanas (as per your liking)*
1 teaspoon of Granulated Sugar
Directions:
Firstly, you will need to pre-heat the oven on 200 degrees Celcius.
Using a fine-mesh strainer - sieve the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda in a mixing bowl and then stir in the sugar.
Gently but swiftly rub the butter with your fingers leaving a breadcrumb-like consistency once integrated.
Make an opening in the middle of the flour mix and add 1 large beaten egg and the buttermilk to it (add sultanas if you like). Now using a pastry knife stir the ingredients to form a dough.
Place the dough on a floured board and give it a quick knead. Using a rolling pin shape the dough in a round shape that is approximately 1 inch thick by pressing the dough by hand. Using a 2.5 inch round cutter should give you about 12-14 scones.
Place the shaped scones onto a floured baking tray and then brush each scone with an egg wash from the remaining (1 large) beaten egg and then sprinkle each of these scones with granulated sugar.
Place the scone tray in the oven to bake for about 20-22 minutes until golden brown. Take them out and let them sit on a wire cooling tray.
Viola! Serve with butter and jam of your choice.