I’m a baker — I add 1 unusual ingredient to my delicious scones for the perfect rise
I've baked lots of scones over the years - here's how I get the perfect rise.
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Scones are delicious, simple to make and can be made both sweet and savoury. I’ve made many scones over the years and have trialled different recipes to find the best results.
Whilst they aren’t tricky to make, they do require some patience, especially when it comes to them rising. Luckily, I’ve found my go-to recipe and I’ve not used any other recipe since. Whether you put jam or cream on first, this recipe is so easy and requires the addition of lemon juice which I think makes the scones much tastier.
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Ingredients:
350g self-raising flour
Half a teaspoon of baking powder
90g butter, cold, cut into cubes
Three tablespoons of sugar, ideally caster sugar
175ml of semi-skimmed milk
A handful of sultanas, optional
One teaspoon of lemon juice
Beaten egg, to glaze
To serve:
Clotted cream
Raspberry or strawberry jam
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Method:
Start by heating the oven to 220C or 200C Fan and then mix the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt together in a bowl.
Add the cold butter and rub it into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then, mix in the sugar.
Warm the milk and then add in the lemon juice, and a little vanilla if you fancy. Pour this into the breadcrumb mixture and quickly combine. The lemon juice adds a slight acidity to the mixture. This helps to give the rising agents in the flour and baking powder a little boost to get a perfect rise.
Scatter some flour onto the work surface and tip the dough out, gently kneading it until smooth.
I love sultanas in my scones, so I’ll gently press them into the dough at this stage.
Take a 5cm cutter and then cut as many rounds out as possible, the dough may need rolling again slightly, but they should be quite thick.
Place on a lined baking sheet, brush with the beaten egg and then bake for 10 minutes.
I personally think scones are best enjoyed warm so break one open, place the jam and then the cream on.
