More Scones Please!

It's scones craze for me lately. Probably because there was demand for it, by my sisters. When there is demand, there'll be motivation to bake. That explained why I've been baking so much scones lately. I "discussed" with NEL about baking scones and she also shared some tips with me. Thanks NEL again! :)

I had wanted to try her recipe, but changed my mind as I had a baking book with me. I tried this Leon's Scones from bake-a-boo bakery cookbook.

Previously, I read some information about scones like, don't knead, don't use your fingertips etc. However, this book seemed to do all the opposite about what I knew! Out of curiousity on how it will turned out, I tried it. Surprisingly, besides being really bland, it smell milky and nice. You definitely need some whipped cream and jam to go with this scone.

Recipe for Leon's Scones, extracted from bake-a-boo.
(Makes approx. 18 mini scones)

Ingredients:
375g Self raising flour
1.5 tsp Baking powder, heaped
75g Unsalted butter, cubed
2 Eggs
110g Whole milk

Method:

1. Sift the flour and the baking powder in a large mixing bowl, then rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Make a well in the centre and pour in the beaten eggs and milk. Mix with a wooden spoon, starting from the centre of the well and stirring outwards until you have a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with clingfilm or a damp cloth and leave to rest for 5 mins.
3. Lightly dust a work surface with flour, then knead the dough vigorously for 2 mins until it is smooth and elastic. Rest the dough for another 5 mins.
4. Roll out the dough to approximately 1/2 inch thick and use a 2 inch fluted cutter to cut out the scones, rerolling the trimmings as necessary.
5. Place it on a baking tray and brush with milk. Bake in the preheated oven of 200C for 10-12mins or until it's golden brown.
6. Serve warm with whipped cream and jam.

I also proceed to try NEL's recipe. However, I tweaked it and added more ingredients to make it more interesting. This definitely tastes better than the plain scones I made earlier!

Recipe for Wholemeal Cranberry Scones, modified from NEL's scones.
(Makes approx. 15 regular scones)

Ingredients:
105g Unsalted butter, cold and cubed
230g Top flour
100g Wholemeal flour
6 tsp Baking powder
1/8 tsp Salt
70g Caster sugar
180g Whole milk
37g Instant oat
80g Cranberries

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift together top flour and baking powder. Add in wholemeal flour.
2. Mix in sugar and salt.
3. Using a scraper, mix in the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Mix in the instant oat and cranberries.
5. Make a well in the centre and add in milk. Stir with a spatula until just combined. Knead gently a few times. The mixture will be a little sticky, moist and lumpy. If dough is not firm enough, chill it first. (Though I proceed to roll it out on a flour-dust top, which explained the shape of my scones).
6. Roll the dough into a round disc about 3/4 inch thickness.
7. With a round cutter, cut out the doughs into 15 pieces.
8. Place the scones on a greased baking tray, place them close to one another. Brush the tops with some milk.
9. Bake in preheated oven at 190C for about 15 minutes or until they are well risen and the tops are a light golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

This is good enough to eat it on its own!