Buttermilk Scones

Directions

• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture. Don’t process the mixture in a machine or overwork it; the mixture should look like uneven bread crumbs. Lightly stir in the sugar.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and jumbo egg and add to the flour mixture. With a round-bladed knife, “draw” and “pull” the dry mixture into the wet mixture until you have soft dough. You may need to add a sprinkling of water or flour to achieve this but do not over-work the dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently press it out by hand until about 3 cm thick. Press out scones with a 6 cm cookie cutter and place onto a baking tray (or trays) lined with baking paper. Leave about 2 cm between each scone. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash, if using or dust with a little flour.
• Bake in an oven preheated to 200° C for 15 – 20 minutes until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a scone comes out clean. Remove the scones from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
• Serve with butter, jam and whipped cream or grated cheddar cheese.
  
  Yields about 20 medium scones.