MAKES 1 DOZEN

The Old Cottage Tea House, in southwestern England, served us scones like these as well as savory ones flavored with bacon and cheese.

6 3⁄4 cups self-rising flour
1⁄2 cup sugar
1 lb. cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Whisk flour and sugar together in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, 2 table knives, or your fingers, work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

2. Whisk egg and milk together in a small bowl or a liquid measuring cup (mixture will yield 1 1⁄4 cups). Add 1 cup of the milk mixture to the flour-butter mixture and gently mix together with your hands just until soft (not tacky) dough forms, adding 1-2 tbsp. more milk mixture, 1 tbsp. at a time, if dough is too dry. Reserve remaining milk mixture.

3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Pat dough out to a 1"thickness. Using a 3" round cookie cutter, cut out scones, gently rounding off edges with your hands. Gather dough scraps together and repeat process, making 12 scones in all. Put scones on a lightly floured baking sheet 1⁄2" apart. Brush tops with the remaining milk mixture.

4. Bake scones until golden brown, 20-25 minutes (Tent baking sheet with foil if tops brown too quickly). Transfer scones to a wire rack to let cool briefly. Serve scones warm or at room temperature with clotted cream and black currant jam, if you like.