Sultana Scones

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •5cm round pastry cutter
• •Heavy baking tray
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven and prepare

   Set the oven to 220C/200C fan and slide a baking tray in to heat. A hot tray gives the scones a head start from underneath, which is half the secret of a good rise. Line a second tray with baking parchment, ready to slide on top of the hot one when the time comes.

   A hot oven matters more than almost anything else here. Scones want a fierce, confident heat. A timid oven gives you sad, flat biscuits.
2. 2

   Rub in the butter

   Tip the flour, baking powder, and salt into a wide bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in with your fingertips, lifting your hands up out of the bowl as you work to keep everything cool and aerated. You're after the texture of fine breadcrumbs, with maybe a few slightly larger flecks of butter still visible. Don't overdo it. Warm hands are the enemy of a tender scone.

3. 3

   Add sugar and sultanas

   Stir in the sugar and the sultanas, making sure the fruit is well distributed through the flour. The sultanas should look properly plump. If yours look a bit tired, soak them in a splash of warm water or tea for ten minutes beforehand and pat them dry. Tired fruit makes tired scones.

4. 4

   Bring the dough together

   Warm the milk gently until it's just barely tepid, then stir in the vanilla and the squeeze of lemon. The lemon reacts with the raising agents and gives you a better lift. Make a well in the flour, pour in the milk, and bring it together quickly with a butter knife, cutting through the dough rather than stirring. Stop the moment it comes together into a shaggy, slightly sticky mass. The less you handle it, the better.

   Overworked dough makes tough scones. Treat it like you're not entirely sure it deserves your full attention. A bit of rough is what you want.
5. 5

   Shape and cut

   Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it gently into a round about 3cm thick. Don't roll it. A rolling pin is too aggressive here. Use your hands. Dip a 5cm round cutter in flour and stamp out the scones with a clean, decisive press. No twisting. Twisting seals the edges and stops them rising properly. Gather the scraps gently, pat them out again, and cut more. The second batch is always slightly less handsome than the first, which is the way of things.

6. 6

   Glaze and bake

   Slide the parchment with the scones onto the hot tray. Brush the tops with the beaten egg, taking care not to let any drip down the sides, which would also stop them rising evenly. Bake for twelve to fifteen minutes, until they're well risen and the tops are a deep, glossy gold. Tap the bottom of one with your finger. It should sound hollow. Lift them onto a wire rack and resist the urge for at least five minutes. They need to settle.

Chef Tips

• •Cold butter, cold milk, warm oven. That's the rhythm. Everything you can do to keep the dough cool before it hits the heat will give you a better rise and a lighter crumb. On a hot day, I sometimes pop the bowl into the fridge for ten minutes after rubbing in the butter.
• •Don't twist the cutter. Press straight down, lift straight up. Twisting pinches the edges shut and the scones come out lopsided, like they're trying to lean on each other. A clean press gives you straight, proud sides.
• •Plump up tired sultanas in a splash of warm tea or just-boiled water for ten minutes, then drain and pat dry before adding them to the flour. It's a small step that makes a noticeable difference, especially with a bag that's been sitting in the cupboard since Christmas.
• •Eat them the day they're made. Scones are not keepers. They're at their best within an hour of leaving the oven, when the outside is still slightly crisp and the inside is still tender and warm. Anything left over is best split, toasted, and buttered the next morning.

Advance Preparation

• •The dry ingredients with the butter rubbed in can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Add the sultanas, milk, vanilla, and lemon when you're ready to bake.
• •Unbaked scones freeze beautifully. Cut them out, freeze them on a tray until solid, then bag them up. Bake straight from frozen, adding two or three minutes to the cooking time. This is how I keep a tin of scones available at short notice.
• •Baked scones freeze for up to a month. Defrost at room temperature and warm through in a low oven for five minutes to bring back some of the just-baked feel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 95g)