Friday 10 April 2009

Soda Scone Recipe

This is for Vicky and her family who are allergic to yeast. Soda scones are quick and easy to make. Combining the ingredients while the griddle is heating is the best and quickest way to make them. The faster the ingredients are combined the lighter and tastier the scone is at the end of the day. Here is the recipe, sorry I cannot stand working with cup measures, and instinctively work in metric:

Soda Scone

250 grms Flour
1/2 tsp Sea salt
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
125 ml natural yoghurt or buttermilk

Heat a gridddle or heavy bottom frying pan for about 10 minutes, on a lowish heat.
Meantime, combine the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. About 2 minutes before the pan is ready to use, mix in the yoghurt or buttermilk quickly by hand. The more quickly you can do this the better, the mix should be sticky but not too wet
On a well floured work surface, roll out or pat out with floured hands the dough to a round about 2.5 cm thick. Quickly place it on the griddle or the pan, and cook for about 10 minutes. (I usually cover this with a lid, but be sure it allows enough space for the scone to rise without hitting the lid.) Turn the scone and cook for a further 10 minutes. The scone will come away freely when fully cooked, and is not burned.
Allow the scone to cool and serve with butter, or cheese, or your favourite jam.

Because it is cooked with soda and is small the scone will be better eaten within the same day of making it, as it will deteriorate very quickly, eventually becoming dry and hard.

You can make your own buttermilk, actually buttermilk equivalent very easily by making Ricotta. I can post a very effective recipe for making Ricotta Cheese. This cheese is expensive to buy in Japan, but is cheap to make with ordinary milk and some lemon juice, and an old shirt or towel to drain the cheese from the whey.