Pull-apart scones with za’atar and feta
These are perfect just as they are, or split them while they’re still warm, slather with butter and serve with soup or as part of a breakfast or brunch. They’re best eaten on the day, but if you have any left over, they’re brilliant split and fried in butter to go with scrambled eggs.
Prep
20 min
Rest
30 min
Cook
1 hr
Serving size
Makes 9 scones
Ingredients
80g whipping cream, plus extra for brushing
115g full-fat Greek yoghurt
1 egg
250g gluten-free plain flour, plus extra for stamping out – we use Doves Farm
2½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp powdered pectin
1 tbsp za’atar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tbsp caster sugar
100g cold unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes
3 tbsp (15g) finely chopped chives
½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
125g feta, roughly crumbled
60g cheddar, finely grated
1½ tsp sesame seeds, to finish
Method
1. Line the base and sides of an 18cm square x 4cm deep baking tin. In a small bowl, whisk the cream, yoghurt and egg, then put in the fridge to chill.
2. Put all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter, chives and lemon zest, and pulse seven or eight times, until the butter is about the size of small peas. Pour in the cream mixture and pulse again until the “crumbs” are moist but not quite coming together, then tip out on to a clean work surface and use your hands gently to flatten the mixture into a rough, 23cm-long rectangle without compressing it too much. Sprinkle the feta and most of the cheddar evenly over the top and gently fold over the sides to bring the dough together into a round; don’t work it too much, because you want some of the feta to stay intact.
3. Now switch to a rolling pin. Gently roll out the dough into a roughly 18cm circle about 2.5cm thick, rotating the dough as you go. If it starts cracking around the edges, use the palm of one hand gently to squeeze it back together again and smooth out the cracks. Have ready a bowl of flour, to dip the cutter into between each stamp, which will ensure a clean cut. Using a 6cm plain round cutter, stamp out about four scones, then bring together the scraps, roll out and repeat – you should end up with nine scones in total and about 80g pastry left over – bake this separately for a cook’s treat. Arrange the scones in three rows of three in the lined tin and refrigerate for 30 minutes, to rest and firm up.
4. Ten minutes before you are ready to bake, heat the oven to 210C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Brush the tops of the scones with the extra whipping cream, sprinkle over the reserved cheddar, and top that with the za’atar and sesame seeds. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the tin, turn down the oven to 190C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and bake for another 10 minutes, until the scones are nicely browned and the middles spring back when lightly touched. Remove, leave to cool in the tin for five minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then serve.