I had a bit of a crazy moment today - stumbled across an old be-ro book and decided that now would be a good time to make scones! Considering I haven't baked since I was about 8 and helping my granny, it's been a bit of an adventure

They've come out tasting wonderful, but haven't risen properly. My suspicions are 1) flour's too old or 2) I was too rough with the dough, but wondered what the good people of DS thought?

Recipe was:
8oz self raising flour
2oz margarine
2oz flour
2oz fruit
1 egg + a little milk. 220C for 10mins.

Any tips? Ta

Did you leave the dough to rest for about 30mins in the fridge before shaping/cutting? if not it's probably that - if you did then it could be the flour, how old is old? is it still in date?

ETA: Is it the wee slender blue be-ro book that you could send off for? I have one of them from my granny too

That's the very be-ro book! I saw it in the supermarket a few years ago and snapped it up for about £1, in case I ever got in a mood like today It's full of scones, biscuits, cakes and pastry - I get hungry just looking at it.

And no, there was no mention in the book of leaving the dough to rest! The flour is out of date, but I was too excited to get baking to wait and go to buy more! I vaguely remembered that self-raising flour can go off, in that it won't rise properly, but thought they'd still taste good. Which they do...I've had 4

I'm not sure they put as much raising agent into flour today. I use this recipe which works very well.

Makes 8-10 scones

225g (8 oz) self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
25g (1 oz) caster sugar
50g (2 oz) unsalted butter
150ml (1/4 pint) milk
1 egg, beaten, or plain flour, for brushing or dusting

Preheat oven to 220*C (425*F).
sift togethre the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the sugar, add the slightly softened butter and rub quickly into the flour, creating a fine breadcrumb consistency. Add the milk, a little at a time, working to a smooth dough. This is now best left to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling.

Roll on a lightly floured work surface until 3/4 inch thick. Using a 2 inch pastry cutter, cut the dough, using one sharp tap and not twisting the dough as you cut. Twisiting the scone mix will result in an uneven rise.

Once cut the scones can either be brushed with the beaten egg for a shiny glaze, or dusted with flour for a matt finish. Be careful not to let any of the egg mixture drip down the sides of the scones.

Place the scones on a greased baking tray and bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and serve while still warm.

NOTE: An extra 50g (2 oz) butter can be added to give a richer finish.

50g (2 oz) of mixed sultanas and currants can be added for fruity scones. the sugar can be omitted for plain savoury scones, 50g (2 oz) of grated parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese can be added, with a good pinch of english mustard, for homemade cheese scones. Freshly chopped thyme can also be added to the savoury scones.

I agree about using the extra baking powder and that letting the dough rest might be a good thing.

My neighbour (a farmer's wife who is a brilliant baker) says you shouldn't use milk to mix the dough which is fresh from the fridge, it should be at room temperature.

I've tried it and it does make a difference!

Happy Baking!

Thanks all! I double checked the flour and it's definitely out of date....so I'll get fresh flour, add some baking powder, use room temp milk, and let the dough rest

I'll wait til the OH is at work to attempt a second batch. Don't want him laughing at me again

The Be-ro blue book is the one on my shelf that is so dog-eared now.

You can get the book still from the Be-ro site for £1.50 www.be-ro.com The daily recipes aren't bad.

Thank you for the info about the milk, I didn't know that and I don't think I've ever read it either.

The most important thing is not to overhandle the dough. Just bring it together lightly and try to ensure you roll it out only once !

Good point. I once tried making shortcrust pastry in a food mixer - it don't work.

Maybe scones are the same.

You can make shortcrust pastry in a food mixer. A close relative of mine is an excellent chef/baker and makes the pastry for large catering functions by using a Magimix.

my mum makes excellent scones, and reckons the secret is not to knead them. Just get the mixture together (I can't remeber what she uses, definitely sr flour, stork margarine and milk and no baking powder, but i don't know what else - i'll find out if anyone is interested lol), tip it onto the surface, roll so it's thick then cut.

yum!