To make the pastry for a batch of basic sweet scones you will need:

• 8 oz, 225 G, 2 cups of self-raising flour.
• 2 oz, 50 G, half a stick, butter or margarine, taken straight from the fridge.
• a quarter of a pint, 150 ml, 5 fl.oz, or 3-quarters of a cup of milk.
• 1 and a half level tbsps of caster or fine grade sugar.
• a tiny pinch of salt.
• flour for dusting.
• a little extra milk.
• a little extra margarine to grease the tin.

(If you want to make a cobbler scone topping for a stew or casserole, simply leave out the sugar).

1. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 7, 425 F, 220 C, 200 fan.
2. Grease a shallow, oblong baking sheet, (Swiss roll tin or cookie sheet).
3. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
4. Keeping your hands as cool as possible, rub the butter into the flour, using your fingertips, this will not take long with such a small amount of fat. (Please see my how do I do that, glossary section on making pastry for more detailed information).
5. Now, stir in the sugar.
6. Using a round bladed knife, mix in the milk a little at a time and when it has all been added, flour your hands and bring the mixture into a ball in your bowl. You may need to add a little more milk at this stage and then bring it together again, if you can still feel bits of dry flour in the bottom of your mixing bowl.
7. Put your dough on a floured board and knead it slightly.
8. Now, using a floured rolling pin, lightly pat and roll it out to a thickness of about three-quarters of an inch, 2 cms. Use a 2 inch, 4.5 cm pastry cutter, to make the scones.
9. Place them a little way apart on your greased tin and bake according to your recipe instructions.

(Please see my recipe for plain, sweet scones for more detailed information).