ART OF THE JOURNEY

Country Cooking

Richard Whillas

Posted on May 07 2016

A little country cooking lessons from the best authority - Aunty Janet!

It's a long standing tradition that at least once (more if your lucky!) during the visit a tray of freshly baked scones will appear for morning tea. It will be either the fluffy white scones or (our favourite) date scones, served with a range of toppings that include butter, fresh cream, homemade jam and Vegimite, and best enjoyed on the large verandah overlooking the macadamia farm with a pot of tea.

Oh and if you're wondering how to make these delicious scones, the recipe can be found at the bottom of this post ;)

Burrinja Country Scones

Ingredients:

4 cups Self-Raising Flour
Pinch of salt
4 ozs chilled Butter grated (I use frozen…grates well & keeps the mixture cold)
1 1/2 cups mixture of milk & cold water 1/2 each, plus extra to brush
squeeze of half a lime or lemon juice, add to milk mixture
Homemade Strawberry or Blackberry jam ;) or whatever you desire ;)
King Island Double cream ;) or Whipped cream
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Pour in the milk mixture and use a butter knife (I use an old long flat edge knife) in a cutting action to mix (turning the bowl at the same time) until a soft but sticky dough forms (add more milk if necessary to make the dough soft).
3. Turn dough out on to a lightly-floured surface and gently knead until dough just comes together - it is important to knead very lightly, as heavy, long kneading creates
tough/heavy scones. Use your fingertips to gently pat the dough into a 1” thick disc
shape. Do not use a rolling pin, as it can be too heavy-handed.
4. Lightly flour or use gladbake on scone tray. Use a 2” diameter round pastry cutter
dipped in flour to cut out scones, or a sharp knife dipped in flour to cut into squares
‘bush style ;) Arrange scones side by side in the prepared tray. Gently brush the top of
each scone with a little extra milk to glaze; or else you can dust the scones lightly with
flour for a softer finish.
5. Bake scones on the top shelf of preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and scones sound hollow when gently tapped. Turn scones out on to a clean tea towel and cover lightly with another tea towel and place in a wicker/cane basket/tray to serve.
6. Scones are delicious straight from the oven with jam and cream, or butter ( savoury – tomato, cheese & avocado) and with a pot of your favourite tea or coffee ;)
Notes
- Buttermilk can replace the milk/water/lime mixture.
- A high oven heat is important to get the raising agent in the flour working straight away. Use the top shelf of the oven for an instant blast of heat.
To keep scones light, ensure flour is sifted. Have cold hands when rubbing in the butter, and lift hands during this process to aerate the mixture.

 

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