New Zealand-Style Scones

New Zealand scones are similar to American-style biscuits and are best eaten hot with butter or jam. When making scones, always start with cold ingredients. Put your butter in the freezer for 15 minutes before you begin, refrigerate your tools and ingredients before baking, and make sure that even your bowl is nice and cold.

Yield: 8 scones Time: 30 min.

Ingredients

• 3 cups (375 g) Janie’s Mill All-Purpose flour
• 3 T. (30 g) baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1 T. (12 g) sugar (optional)
• 9 T. (127 g) very cold grated butter
• ½ cup (113 g) very cold milk
• ½ cup (113 g) very cold water

Instructions

1.  Heat oven to 450F.
2. In a cold bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, (sugar), and any additional seasonings.
3. Using a cheese grater, grate your almost frozen butter into the flour mixture and toss lightly with your fingers as you grate. Keep the butter cold, making sure not to overmix.
4. Make a well in your bowl and pour in the cold milk and water.
5. Mix until you have a cohesive, doughy ball.
6. Working quickly, separate the dough into two balls, turn one ball of dough out onto the counter, and place the other half on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Pat out each ball of dough to a 1 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Transfer the dough from the counter and stack it on top of the dough already on the baking sheet. Pat together.
7. Cut a grid into the slab making roughly six scones, brush with more milk for a crispy top, and bake without separating.
8.  Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes, until browned underneath, break apart, and enjoy while hot or wrap in a dish towel to keep warm.

Notes:

• As a change you can take out a portion of the All-Purpose and replace with the same of Janie’s Mill Light Rye flour or Janie’s Mill Turkey Red flour.
• This basic scone recipe is flexible and provides a great canvas for experimenting with new flavor combinations, both sweet and savory. Add extra ingredients (such as cheese and chives) after step two. When adding cheese, decrease the butter a little and don’t forget to sprinkle some cheese on top. Date or raisin scones are my favoritStacking two layers of dough (biscuit-style) makes it easy to break apart the scones after baking and slather butter or jam inside. For a more traditional scone, use a glass or cookie cutter to punch out rounds in one layer of 1.5 inch thick dough.
• In New Zealand on special occasions we cut a sweet scone in half and top each half with jam and whipped cream. My mother used to call this Thunder and Lightning.