Though I do a fair bit of baking and have done over the years, I realised that I had never made scones.
I enjoy eating scones, and though I can never remember which way you should do the cream and jam when having a scone. I know that it is different in Devon to the way that it is done in Cornwall. One of them puts the jam down first, then the cream; the other puts the cream down first and then the jam!
I know I could use the Google to find this out, but I am not sure that even if I did I would remember. The real question is does it really matter, especially when you are in Somerset?
Anyway back to baking scones.
I used a simple recipe from an old cookery book that we have in the house (which is from the 1970s or 1980s).
8 oz self raising flour
2 oz butter
2 oz sultanas
1 oz caster sugar
1/4 pint of fresh milk
You can add salt if you want.
Rub the butter into the flour until all the butter is rubbed in and the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Now add the sultanas and the sugar.
Add the milk all at once and then mix with a knife to a soft, but not a stick dough.
Having made the dough, it was stickier than I thought it should be so added a little more flour. Using a pastry cutter I cut the scone dough into scone rounds.
These I placed on to a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Now you can placed them onto a greased tray, but I usually use baking parchment. One tip I picked up from Jamie Oliver was after cutting the parchment was to screw it up into a ball and then flatten the screwed up parchment. What this does is make it much easier to line the baking tray, otherwise the parchment as a tendency to roll back into a roll.
These were baked in a hot oven for ten minutes until golden.
They were smaller than I would have liked, but then I was the one who rolled out the dough!
I had one with strawberry jam and clotted cream and it was delicious. I my mind scones really need to be eaten fresh and preferably warm from the oven.
