Baking might seem intimidating if you don’t do it often, but if you’re feeling motivated to try, scones are an excellent choice. The wonderful thing about baking scones is that you can prepare the mixture in just one bowl – add in all your ingredients, mix them up, and you’re almost ready to enjoy.
Most scone recipes rely on a standard set of ingredients, such as flour, caster sugar, milk, and a beaten egg. However, in Chef Lesego’s recipe, he recommends that you ditch one of those ingredients listed for a simple alternative – milk for buttermilk. He said: “Buttermilk is key. It makes for a softer scone and a moist crumb that melts in your mouth.”
The buttermilk in them helps break down the gluten, and that results in an incredibly fluffy and light texture.
If you’re desperate for scones but have no buttermilk, mix regular milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for five minutes to curdle and thicken slightly before using.
As well as replacing milk with buttermilk, the chef also said that it’s vital to avoid kneading the dough too much, as the more you knead and press it, the denser it becomes.
Ingredients
- 240g of plain flour
- One teaspoon of baking powder
- One quarter teaspoon of salt
- One large egg
- 50g of butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 50g of caster sugar
- Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 100ml of buttermilk
- Milk, for brushing
Method
Start by preheating the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7 and lightly grease a baking tray.
To make the dough, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl before pouring them out onto a clean, dry surface.
Chop the cold butter into the flour with a palette knife and rub the butter into the flour with your hands, until the flour resembles fine breadcrumbs.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk together. Create a well in the middle of the flour and pour the buttermilk mixture in and mix in slowly, little by little, until the dough comes together. Make sure not to overmix.
Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it flat with a rolling pin. Cut into rounds with a cookie cutter.
Rest the cut scones in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes before baking them.
After, brush the surface of the scones with milk and bake on a greased tray in the oven until golden brown.
