The Baker Man's scones

I am a big fan of scones and look forward to Cheese Scone Friday each week. Although I'm not so keen on dates, sultana or cheese scones really hit the spot for me. However, it is no secret at all that I am what some friends and I refer to as 'scone challenged'. While I can bake many other things with relative ease, including some things that are fiddly or require fancy decorating, scones are my nemesis. I know I'm not alone, as I have found at least two other scone challenged bakers like me, but one of them laughed at me yesterday by saying, "I can't believe you can do all these other things but not manage a simple scone." Hmm. A challenge? Ok ...

Another friend shared this 'non-fail' recipe from someone she knows who is a professional baker. This friend is also similarly scone challenged but proclaimed success with this recipe. This morning, I looked at the ingredients in my pantry (check!) and decided to take the plunge, adding sultanas for variety. Success! Although they were not quite as golden as they could be, they weren't dry and tasted great. Maybe I've found a way to break my scone challenged streak?

The Baker Man's scones

Ingredients

• 600 g plain flour
• 60 g sugar
• 5 g milk powder
• 2 g salt
• 35 g baking powder
• 100 g butter, softened
• 360 ml water

Method

1. Mix dry ingredients together. Crumb the butter with the dry ingredients. (I started out using a scone rubbing tool thingie but reverted to mixing it with my hands.) Mix in the water but be careful to not overmix (approx 1 minute).
2. Shape into a large rectangle and cut into 10-12 pieces. Arrange on a baking paper lined tray with a small gap between each scone.
3. Bake at 200°C for 15-18 minutes, depending on the size of your scones.

Variations

• Add fruit like sultanas or dates for sweet scones.
• For savoury scones, double the salt and remove the sugar. Add about 2 g black pepper for flavour.

Sultana scones straight out of the oven