Scones

First, Thank you Peter for posting your scone recipe under Celia's Easiest Scone Thread! Thanks especially for all the tips. I wondered how your scones rose up so high. I will certainly try kneading my dough a bit.

After making Celia's scones and and looking at different recipes on the web, I was curious about several things. First, for any country that does not have salt in their self-rising flour, aren't your scones bland? Peter, is there salt in the UK's self-rising flour? I know you said you add a pinch of salt...is that on top of salt already in the flour?

I checked different Australian recipes for scones and muffins using self-rising (sometimes called self-raising?) flour and none of the recipes call for salt. I don't know why this bothers me so much, I just can't imagine baking any kind of item with no salt at all.

Also, I found several recipes for "fluffy" scones in the US that use eggs. Has anyone ever tried this? I would think the end results would taste more like cake.

I like my scone recipe pretty well. But, when I went to Hawaii several yrs ago, we stayed in the Four Seasons and they had the most amazing scones I have ever tasted. Super light, fluffy, flakey. I have never been able to duplicate them, nor have I ever had anything like them, in England or here in the US. I guess I am on a quest for the perfect scone recipe!

I have tried all kinds of things in my scones...buttermilk, heavy cream and butter, sugar, spices, sugar on top, etc. Also, does anyone know the difference between a "rock cake" and a scone?

Maria, due to a medication issue, I never use salt in baking or cooking. And I don't miss it.

If one cuts back on it in general, pretty soon one gets very sensitive to it and will find most foods in the US over salted, certainly when dining out most places or when using any prepared foodstuffs. It's a real challenge to avoid it!

First, Thank you Peter for posting your scone recipe under Celia's Easiest Scone Thread! Thanks especially for all the tips. I wondered how your scones rose up so high. I will certainly try kneading my dough a bit.?

Don't roll them too thin

Peter, is there salt in the UK's self-rising flour? I know you said you add a pinch of salt...is that on top of salt already in the flour?

The ingredients of the packet of self raising flour I used, Waitrose own label (as pictured in the other thread) are listed as

Wheat flour, raising agents monocalcium phosphate and sodium bicarbonate

The nutrition information shows sodium as 0.26g per 100g

I checked different Australian recipes for scones and muffins using self-rising (sometimes called self-raising?) flour and none of the recipes call for salt. I don't know why this bothers me so much, I just can't imagine baking any kind of item with no salt at all.

The original recipe I used, which is Delia Smiths, called for 3 table spoons of caster sugar and a pinch of salt. I don'tuse sugar for reasons stated on oter thread, and I don't add any salt when cooking -- however scones seem to need a pinch of salt so that (and bread) is an exception.

Also, I found several recipes for "fluffy" scones in the US that use eggs. Has anyone ever tried this? I would think the end results would taste more like cake. . Also, does anyone know the difference between a "rock cake" and a scone?

I think it is language and culture at work. The scones I have bought in the USA, such as in Starbucks, are nowhere like what I know as scones and are akin to rock cakes. The cakes known as a 'biscuit' in the USA is the closest I came to a plain scone there. And indeed very similar to the 'easy scone' I made without fruit or sugar in the other thread.

I think a rock cake is basically a scone mix (e.g. flour with rubbed in fat mixed to a dough with milk, but with with an added egg and currants and sugar. Its the egg that makes the difference.

But, as I say, the same names have different recipes in different countries.

I am wondering whether to try making the 'easy' scones using plain Greek yoghurt instead of cream.

Maria, the salt thing puzzled me too. When I first made the cinnamon buns in the other thread, I followed the recipe exactly, and was astounded by how salty they were ! There was 2/3 tsp salt in the caramel, and a whole tsp in the filling ! I remade it with no salt at all in the filling, and 1/4 tsp in the caramel, and it was great. There was already a little salt in the bread. A similar thing happened when I made bagels - the NY cookbook recipe I used was sooo salty to me, yet I have a couple of friends here from NY, and they wanted me to make the same recipe, with rock salt sprinkled on the top ! There must be a cultural difference with regard to breads in general. I know we Aussies certainly love our salt in other areas - vegemite is our national spread, remember ! On the other end of the scale - isn't there a group in Europe who make their bread with no salt at all ? Is it the Tuscans ? See, I don't think I could eat completely unsalted bread..ugh...

Over here, our scones are generally pretty plain, and served with jam and cream. I, like Sue, will sometimes make the lemonade scone recipe with savoury fillings, but even then I don't add salt - that's provided by the ham and cheese.

Peter, I'm not sure there's a high enough fat content in greek yoghurt to make those scones. Remember our cream is 35% fat.

Celia