Scone Recipe From The River Cottage Bread Handbook

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into ½- inch cubes
• 3½ tablespoons superfine sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup heavy cream
• Milk, for brushing

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a food processor, blend the flour with the baking powder, salt, butter and sugar until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. (Alternatively, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl, and rub the butter in with your fingers, then stir in the sugar.) 2. In a separate large bowl, beat the egg with the vanilla and cream. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with your hands to form a soft dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead very briefly, about 10 seconds, to make it a little smoother. Dust the dough with more flour and pat or gently roll it out to a thickness of about 1½ inches.
3. Using a 2-½-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 8 disks of dough. Press the cutter straight down, rather than twisting it, to give the scones a better chance of rising straight up.
4. Place the disks on a lightly greased baking sheet and brush the tops with milk. Bake them for about 15 minutes oruntil a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes. Serve warm.