Purple Straw Whole Wheat Scones

To celebrate the arrival of the wonderful Purple Straw wheat from Burrum Biodynamics earlier this year, we decided to try our hand at scones! They are always popular, very easy to make and this recipe can be made with regular milk and butter or with plant-based/vegan substitutes. It works beautifully either way!

Purple Straw is an heirloom soft red wheat (a biscuit/cake wheat) variety originally from the south-eastern states of America and is one of the oldest wheat crops in Virginia, established in the years following American independence in 1776. It has a surprisingly high protein content, for a cake wheat, but is not generally recommended for bread baking, at least not in large proportions in your recipes. Soft/cake wheats have a different protein structure than hard/bread wheats, and are less elastic and textured differently to bread wheats (such as the Yecora or Scout wheats from Burrum farm).

Purple Straw wheat makes a soft, light flour with large golden-pink coloured bran flakes and has a beautiful, sweet flavour. It's perfectly suited in the whole form, or sifted, in all kinds of cakes, biscuits, scones, pastry or quick bread recipes.

What is a scone? Many Australians will know what a scone is, but in case you’re unfamiliar, scones are small, semi-sweet, enriched quick breads made with minimal flavourings, baked in the oven and enjoyed sliced in half and topped with jam and cream.

In the USA, a scone is very similar to a ‘biscuit’ (which in Australia means a cookie), however Australian scones are sometimes sweetened and are usually consumed with sweet toppings. 

We made a few different scone recipes with our Purple Straw whole wheat flour, and they were all a success! This gives us confidence to say that if you have a favourite scone or biscuit recipe of your own, it would be worth trying with Purple Straw wheat as a direct substitute for your regular flour of choice, or as a blend with regular plain or all purpose flour. We also suspect this recipe would be great with flours milled from other heritage, heirloom or ancient wheat grains. 

Ingredients

• 350g / 3 cups Purple Straw wheat flour (plus a bit extra for the bench)
  OR 
  175g / 1.5 cup each of Purple Straw and plain (all-purpose) flour
  Note. Purple Straw wheat is fantastic in this recipe, but you could also try freshly milled Scout, Spelt, Khorasan or other pre-milled whole wheat flours.
• 25g / 5 teaspoon baking powder
• small pinch of salt
• 15g / 1 tablespoon sugar
• 80g / 1/3 cup butter or non-dairy buttery spread, chilled
• 200-220 ml/g milk
  Regular or plant based milk can be used. Use the higher amount if using all whole wheat flour.
• A small amount of extra milk for brushing on the scones before baking.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C / 430°F
2. Mill the Purple Straw or other wheat flour into a bowl. Measure and mix thoroughly with plain flour if not using all whole wheat.
   
3. Sift in baking powder, then add sugar and salt and mix these through very thoroughly. 
   
4. Add chilled butter, in small chunks, to the flour and rub in with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse sand or breadcrumbs.
   
   
5. Add milk and stir until just combined. There's no need to knead the dough, it will come together with minimal stirring with a spoon or fork. Over mixing will result in a tough scone.
   
   
6. Tip the dough onto a floured surface, sprinkle the top with more flour, and gently flatten the dough out to about 2.5cm or 1 inch thick. 
   
   
7. Using a clean knife or cookie cutter dipped in flour, gently cut straight down (without twisting!) and place each piece onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Gently re-form any leftover pieces and continue cutting until all the dough is used (you can roll the final piece into a ball and flatten it out if that's easier).
   
   
8. Brush the tops with milk, then bake for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. You may need to remove the cooked scones from the outside of the tray at 10 minutes and continue cooking the remainder for another 5 minutes, depending on your oven.
   
9. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy while fresh and still warm!
   
   
   These were wonderful with a generous spread of butter and Ugly Duck Fine Foods delicious Strawberry Fruit Spread.

Other options for your homemade scones

1. Add half a cup of sultanas, raisins or a couple of finely chopped Rosnay dried figs for a fruit scone.
2. Add another tablespoon of sugar if you'd like your scones sweeter.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of honey instead of sugar (dissolve into the milk) for a honey scone.
4. Leave out the sugar and add half a cup of grated cheese and/or some lightly fried onion for a cheesy savoury scone.
5. Add some chopped, fresh herbs (chives and parsley would be nice) for a savoury herb scone.

We hope you enjoy this recipe, make sure you visit our main recipes page for more of our favourites and visit the shop page for ingredients. 

Please leave a comment below, share your thoughts or suggestions, we'd love to hear from you!