Plain and savory scones with feta cheese and parsley, just baked
I love the British teatime tradition and all the treats that come with it. Scones are a special favorite; I simply can not resist them with clotted cream and jam over the top. So I was delighted to see their appearance on the Telegraph food writer Rose Prince’s Baking Club a few weeks ago.
What I also loved seeing at the column was that Rose Prince provided recipes for plain as well as the savory scones, which is quite unusual. Savory pastries, pogaca as we call it in Turkish, (with various fillings e.g. with cheese, grated potatoes, courgettes, onions) are very common in Turkey, and one of the favorite accompaniments to our afternoon tea. I vividly remember my mother baking pogacas with various fillings for afternoon teatime gatherings in our home. The savory scone recipe here therefore has a Turkish influence to it, as I added crumbled feta cheese and flat parsley to mine (you can replace the feta cheese with fresh goats cheese for a less salty and milder flavor, as Rose Prince did).
Cheese and parsley scones (peynirli pogaca), lovely with a cup of tea
Though there are only a few ingredients that make the perfect scone, it can be of a challenge to get that tearable soft inside, that wouldn’t go dry.Rose Prince gave two recipes using plain flour in one and strong stoneground strong white flour in another, which makes the scones lighter with a slightly elastic crumb. I had a go with the plain flour, as that was the one available, and we all very much enjoyed the end result.
Makes about 12 scones
Preparation time: 20 minutes Baking time: 15 minutes
390gr plain flour
200gr butter
1 tsp (5gr) – or a little less, if you prefer – salt
2 tbsp baking powder
300ml butter milk
If you’d like to make half of the scones savory, please include:
80gr feta (or fresh goats cheese or cottage cheese for milder flavor), crumbled
Handful of flat leaf parsley (or fresh dill), finely chopped
Clotted cream and jam to accompany the plain scones
Preheat the oven to 220 C/425 F/Gas 7
Put the flour in a bowl and rub the butter into it until it has a crumbly appearance. Add the baking powder and the salt and mix lightly but well with your hands. Add the buttermilk, mix with a spoon, until it just about holds together and tip out onto a floured work surface. Fold the dough onto itself two or three times. (Work the dough as lightly as possible, and keep it cool. Too much kneading will make the dough tighten up and the scones will not be airy.) Bring the dough into a ball shape and dust with flour.
Work feta (or any other cheese of your choice) and parsley into the dough
Divide the dough in two halves, if you are making savory as well as plain scones like I did. For savory scones, dust first half of the dough with a little more flour and work the cheese and parsley into the dough until it ripples through. On a floured surface, roll lightly with a rolling pin to a thickness of 3cm. Use a straight edged round cutter, 4cm in diameter, to cut out the savory scones.
Shake them out of the cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
For plain scones, roll the other half of the dough and repeat the same procedure as above.
Bake the scones for about 15 minutes , or until pale gold and nearly doubled in size.
Teatime favourite; plain scones with clotted cream and jam
Afiyet Olsun!
Tuesday, March 20th; Offical Start of Spring
My diary showed Tuesday, 20th March, as the offical start day of spring. All the wonderful blossoms, newly emerging buds, daffodils are all around to prove it, so wonderful and uplifting to look at.
Beautiful daffodils are everywhere at the moment
Spring; beginning of new life, new growth, new hopes, beginnings. I hope you enjoy the spring shots from the RHS Wisley Gardens, England.
Magnolia tree with lovely pink blossoms
