Basic Soda Bread Or Scones
Over a year ago
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Ingredients
- 1 lb flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 level tsp bread soda sieved
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 oz butter
- 10 fl oz approx buttermilk or milk plus 1 ½ tbsp. lemon juice
Accompaniment
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Description
Back to my favourite Gran Aunt - she makes these scones every morning, back in the day made them while men were milking!!
Method
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1
This is a basic recipe. It is most likely to make scones ready in 15mins. You can turn it into one large loaf or enjoy any of the variations listed below. For urgent moments when the cupboard is bare of buttermilk, it works just as well to sour ordinary milk with lemon juice.
- For a light brown mix use about ¾ lb. cream flour and ¼ lb. course stoneground wholemeal
- For a delicious slightly sweeter flavour use ½ granary malted flour and ½ cream flour
- For a sterner brown mix use ½ wholemeal and ½ cream flour
Preheat the over to 220c/425f/gas 7. (If using milk, mix it with lemon juice now.)
In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients well. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it’s dispersed through the flour in tiny pieces. Make a well in the centre. Check the oven is fully heated! Pour all the buttermilk or sour milk in. With a spoon gently and quickly stir the liquid into the flour. It should be soft, but not sticky. You may need an extra few drops – or even an ounce or two – of buttermilk. Flour the work surface. Turn the mix out onto it and pat into a 1” high round. Cut into scone shapes. Lightly flour a baking tray and place the scones on it. Bake immediately for about 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Eat within hours, or freeze. I like to add a fistful of sultanas to this mixture.
Variations:
To bake a loaf: Shape the dough into a round. Place on a floured baking tray. Cut a deep cross with a sharp knife. Bake in the preheated over for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200c/400f/gas 6 and continue to bake. It should take about 40 minutes in total.
Scallion:
Add ½ bunch very finely chopped scallions to the mix before adding the buttermilk.
Richer:
Place 1 beaten egg, or a few fluid ozs cream, in the measuring jug, add buttermilk to bring it up to 10 fl oz.
Nutty:
Add 1-2 tbsp. very finely chopped nuts, or toasted sesame seeds, or pinhead oatmeal to the mix before adding the buttermilk
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