Now let’s cook
Scones. No buttermilk for tea today: katyk takes its place in the dough. Katyk is a thick fermented milk made from milk cooked down over low heat.
Ingredients
- 225 g plain wheat flourwhite wheat flour, called all-purpose in the US
- 2 tsp baking powdera raising agent for dough
- 2 pinches fine saltordinary table salt
- 2 tsp sugarwhite granulated sugar
- 70 g buttermade from cow’s milk
- 200 ml katyka thick fermented milk, thicker than ayran: milk is cooked down over low heat, then soured with a starter (the recipe uses ready-made katyk from a shop)
- 2 tbsp whole milkcow’s milk, a splash of it loosens the thick katyk
- 100 ml thick creamserved with the warm scones
- 80 g jamany fruit or berry jam
Method
Heat the oven to 230 °C and line a baking tray with parchment. Sieve the flour into a bowl together with the baking powder and a pinch of salt, then add the sugar and stir.
Add the diced butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre.
Loosen the katyk with the milk so that it is less thick, and pour it into the well. Mix with a table knife, drawing the flour into the liquid, until the dough is soft but not sticky. If it is dry, add a little more milk.
Tip the dough onto a floured board and bring it together gently with your hands. Pat it out to a thickness of about 2.5 cm and cut out the scones with a round cutter. Move them to the tray.
Bake near the top of the oven for 12–15 minutes, until the scones have risen and turned golden.
Move the scones to a wire rack and serve them barely warm, with thick cream and jam.
