Plain scones recipe

From across the border in Cambridgeshire, Anglesey Abbey’s head chef Peter Marsden shares his basic recipe for plain scones. Peter has the delight of using flour milled freshly at Lode Mill on the Anglesey Estate. Wheat from neighbouring Wimpole Home Farm is used, so the scones couldn’t get more local. It’s well worth a visit to Redwoods Restaurant, but if you can’t make it, here’s Peter’s recipe:

40g (1.5oz) slightly salted butter225g (8oz) self-raising flour25g (1oz) caster sugarLarge pinch of salt150ml (5fl oz) milk

1 Preheat the oven to 220C or 425F.

2 Mix the flour and salt together and rub in the butter. Then mix in the sugar, followed by the milk until the dough is soft.

3 Turn on to a floured board and knead very lightly. Roll out the dough into a round about 2cm thick.

4 Using a scone cutter (about 5cm) cut into rounds and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly knead the rest of the dough and continue cutting scones to use it all up.

5 Brush the top of the scones with a little milk, then bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden. These are best eaten warm served, of course, with jam and clotted cream.