Preheat oven to 230C Gas Mark 8. Preheat a baking sheet. Sift the flour, salt, cream of tartar
and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, then run in the butter until
the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre and stir in
the milk to give a fairly soft dough. Turn it onto a lightly floured
surface, knead lightly to remove any cracks, then roll out to about
12mm thick. Cut into rounds with a 5cm in cutter
and place on the hot baking sheet. Brush with the beaten egg and bake for
about 10 minutes, until golden brown and well risen. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then
serve split and buttered.
Replace half the flour with whole meal
flour. Add 50g mixed dried fruit, chopped glace cherries, chopped dried
apricots or chopped nuts to the dry ingredients.
