Freshly bakes scones should be just that – freshly baked! When you break open a warm scone, it should be fluffy and flaky. Scones are really not difficult to bake, but for the best results, it always helps to follow a few basic baking guidelines.
Some secrets to successful scones
Scones are typically baked with cake flour, but Heleen Meyer says she loves to bake a slightly more rustic, farm-style scone with a combination of cake and wholewheat flour. The wholewheat flour lends a lovely nuttiness to the scones and she also prefers to bake with stoneground flour as it’s less refined and typically contains less preservatives. These wholewheat scones can be enjoyed with butter and your choice of cheese and jam. Have you ever tried plain smooth cottage cheese on a scone with a small dollop of jam? It’s a great alternative for cream and so good!
Scones are a very basic combination of flour with fat, like butter and a liquid worked into the dry flour to create all those flaky layers. One big secret to the best results, is never to overwork the scone dough, as this may result in a more solid, dense scone. The butter is typically rubbed into the flour until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. The colder the butter, the easier it is to rub in and disperse the butter evenly – all part of the secret to a fluffy end result.
Heleen adds plain yoghurt, as another interesting twist in her scone recipe and says that the yoghurt results in an extra light and fluffy texture.
For a savoury scone, mix 2,5 ml (½ tsp) cayenne pepper or paprika into the flour mixture. Sprinkle extra paprika or cayenne pepper on top before baking the scones. These scones are delicious with cheese or with a dollop of plain smooth cottage cheese.
Baked scones, fresh from the oven is such a lovely way to treat those around your table and although it looks like a lot of effort, it really isn’t. Scones are never the same when reheated, so follow Heleen’s easy recipe to spoil loved ones (and yourself) with a plate of warm scones from the oven, sometime soon.
Wholewheat farm-style scones
Recipe by Heleen Meyer
Makes 12 scones
250 ml (1 cup) wholewheat flour (preferably stoneground)
250 ml (1 cup) cake flour
15 ml (1 tbsp) baking powder
80 ml (80 g) cold butter, cubed
1 egg, beaten
200 ml plain yoghurt
extra milk, for brushing
1. Preheat oven to 180 °C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and dust with a little cake flour.
2. Mix flours and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips, until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Or use an old-school pastry cutter, if you have one.
3. Beat the egg and yoghurt together. Use the back of a butter knife to ‘cut’ the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Mix just until a soft dough forms and take care not to overmix.
4. Gently press dough out onto a lightly floured surface to about 2 cm in thickness. Take care not to handle the dough too much.
5. Cut out scones using a small cookie cutter or water glass. Dip the cutter or glass in extra flour if necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to it.
6. Place scones on baking tray and brush the top of each scone with milk. The leftover dough can be gently pressed together and cut into more scones.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with butter, cheese and jam of your choice, or try smooth cottage cheese instead of the cheese.
For more recipes like this visit Heleen’s website https://heleenmeyer.co.za/
Image by Adel Ferreira