I never feel very confident making yeast-leavened bread, so when I feel like baking something that resembles it, I make a batch of scones. They are so effortless, any novice cook can pull them off. Although mostly seen with sweet fruity toppings, savory versions are a beautiful thing. Here I use basil and cheddar but you can totally play around with this – I’e made them with sundried tomatoes and parmesan, herbs and feta, and sometimes I go decadent and use crumbled bacon with a sharper cheddar, old comte or mimolette. The key to good scones is to not overmix and to use buttermilk – which almost nobody has in their fridge – so I replace it with a mix of milk and vinegar.
These delicious baps are delightful served warm right out of the oven with a nice bowl soup. I usually make 2 batches: one to scoff down right away and another to freeze for days when I have no time.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups of gluten free flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 tbsp cold butter, diced
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 cup basil leaves, finely chopped – alternatively you can use 4 tbsp of fresh basil pesto
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt
- With you hands or a fork, break up the butter into the dry mixture and mix well until it resembles a coarse crumble
- In another bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes and then whisk in the egg. Add this to this to the flour and butter crumble and toss together until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Stir in the pine nuts, basil and cheddar and with your hands, form the dough into a ball, using a little bit of extra flour if it is too sticky
- Place the it onto a clean surface (board, counter, etc) dusted with a bit flour. Flatten it with your hand or rolling pin to form a disk that is about 3 cm thick. Place the disk onto the baking sheet.
- Using a knife cut the disk into 8 wedges, and space the wedges apart a slightly
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly and serve warm.
