Pickle, chive and dill scones 

By plant-based baker, Jai, from Better Now Bakes

We’re excited to share this recipe with you from Jai over at Better Now Bakes. Jai is a Melbourne based baker specialising in all things plant-based. They’ve also just announced that they are a season 8 contestant on The Great Australian Bake Off, which is airing now! Absolutely unreal. Go Jai! The Thieves team is backing you all the way.

We caught up with Jai and they shared their best-selling farmer’s market scone recipe with us and took us through why they love them so much.

Follow Jai over on Instagram (@betternow_bakes) to keep up with their monthly market and event circuit and don’t forget to catch them on Bake Off AU.

THE INTERVIEW

Why did you decide to share this dish with us and our subscribers?

These scones are undoubtedly my favourite thing I bake and have become one of my best-selling items at farmers markets.

What is your go-to breakfast dish?

I personally am not a huge breakfast person, so these are a great smaller option for when I’m a little snacky and want to eat something on the go.

Do you have any tips for us when baking this recipe?

Tip 1

While this recipe is not super speedy, it can be prepared in advance. I like to let my dough rest overnight, and when baking them the following day I cut up all the dough and then separate the cut scones I don’t want to bake into an airtight container in the fridge. That way all you have to do in the morning is brush them with soy milk etc and bake! I’ve found that the dough keeps for up to 4 days in the fridge before baking.

Tip 2

I have also tested freezing the scones after baking and they work great! Make sure they’re completely cool before freezing and then treat them as you would frozen bread - put them straight in the toaster from frozen and serve with a little butter.

THE RECIPE

Method

1. Slice the butter into roughly 1.5cm cubes and place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

2. Drain the pickles but reserve 40g of the brine.

3. Roughly chop the pickles into thumbnail pieces.

4. Slice the chives and dill (use the stems and leaves).

5. Add the flour, baking powder, cracked pepper, salt and nutritional yeast to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

6. Add the frozen butter to the flour mixture and toss them together. Press the butter lightly with your fingers to break it up slightly, but ensure some large chunks remain.

7. Add the pickles, chives and dill to the flour mix and mix so they are evenly distributed.

8. Add the pickle brine to the soy milk and whisk until thickened.

9. Use one hand to mix the flour and the other to pour the soy milk into the dough. Gently incorporate until the ingredients are just combined. If you have poured all the milk in and some dry patches remain, feel free to add a little more soy milk. Don’t overwork the dough though!!

10. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour (but ideally overnight).

11. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 175C fan-forced.

12. Grease and line a baking tray with baking paper.

13. Lightly flour your bench and place your dough on top of it. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and roll it out until it’s about 2.5cm thick.

14. Dip a 10cm ring cutter into some flour and cut out your desired amount of scones. Dusting your cutter with flour helps to prevent the dough from sticking to it. 

15. If you have excess dough after cutting, brush off the excess flour and press the dough scraps together before re-rolling and cutting again.

16. Place your scones on the prepared baking tray and lightly brush the tops with a little soy milk, and sprinkle with sesame seeds and flaky salt.

17. Place your scones in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. After this point they should have risen significantly and the edges should be nice and golden brown. 

18. You can eat them as-is on the day, but they are also lovely toasted with some butter. If you don’t eat all of them at once you can keep them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.