The Scones of the 70′s

happy new year … from sydney, australia.
let me just say, as a person of the future, new years eve rocked my socks off. 2012 is a blast already.
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let’s start the new year off with a banging recipe. i have made several batches of these scones recently & just had to share them with you because of their simplicity.

when i made these scones for our new years eve party, we got ourselves into a heated debate about the pronunciation of the word “scone” so my question to you is … how do you say it? i say it SCones whereas the others say scONe.

moving on … this recipe is from the 70′s, from the australian womens weekly test kitchen june 24, 1970 to be exact. i found this booklet while browsing through my mothers baking book. i have been wanting to bake from recipe books again for the last several months & finally got my act together.

after several calculations on the iphone i was able to convert the imperial measurements. i weighed & measured my ingredients accurately; preheated my oven; greased my scone tray before starting because scones should be mixed quickly.

these scones blew my mind, i have never had a scone quite like these. the very best part was breaking the piping hot scone open fresh from the oven, with my fingers.
*remember – never cut a scone*

basic scone recipe

recipe from the australian women’s weekly, the complete scone book 1970.

makes approximately 1 dozen

ingredients:

2 cups self-raising flour

1oz. butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

approx . 3/4 to 1 cup combined milk & water

directions:

preheat oven 190 degrees, grease 11in. x 7in. tray (choose tray with low or no sides; this will ensure even browning, because hot air can circulate freely round scones), measure out ingredients.

sift flour & salt. rub in butter using the tips of fingers. rub thumbs over fingertips in a circular motion, so flour falls through fingers (this aerates & lightens mixture) until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

pour nearly all the milk/water in at once. lightly stir and cut liquid with a knife for this mixing; it is light, functional, makes it easier to avoid over-mixing dough. add remaining milk, if necessary. dough should be soft, sticking to sides of the bowl.

place on floured surface; using fingertips, knead gently turning dough into center, turning dough around, then turning edges in again. repeat until dough is smooth, free from creases underneath.

turn the smooth side of dough uppermost, press out the dough lightly to approx 3/4in. thickness. (don’t use a rolling pin). dip plain, sharp-edged 2in. cutter into flour; press sharply & evenly into dough, without twisting cutter. (twisting cutter would retard or cause uneven rising.) shake scones out of cutter. cut as many scones as possible from first rolling, each successive kneading toughens dough.

to obtain even cooking, place in center of lightly greased tray, close together but not touching. as scones cook & rise they will be close enough to support each other, yet will retain their individual shape. brush tops of scones lightly with milk; this gives a glossy golden brown.

bake in very hot oven, in the hottest part of oven, 12 to 15 minutes. when cooked, they should be golden brown on top, sound hallow when tapped with fingertips. remove from tray to wire cooler.

note: if you prefer soft scones, wrap them as soon as they come from oven in clean teatowel; trapping steam with soften the crisp top.