Theresa May’s ‘thrifty’ scones family recipe slammed on Twitter


  • Prime Minister shared mother’s simple four-ingredient recipe for scones
  • It advises bakers to use butter or margarine, and a ‘very hot oven’
  • Recipe was slammed for saying butter is interchangeable with margarine
  • Bake Off finalist Holly Bell said the mix was too ‘thrifty’ and ‘old-fashioned’

Imogen Blake For Mailonline

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For advice on how to bake the perfect scone, Prime Minister Theresa May is perhaps not the first person we might turn to.

But in an interview touching on everything from Brexit to the Great British Bake Off, the 60-year-old told The Sunday Times that she loves to cook – and has shared her simple recipe for scones with the public.

The basic, four-ingredient recipe – passed down from her mother – advises bakers to use one-and-a-half ounces of ‘butter or margarine’, as well as ‘milk to bind’. 

Theresa May, pictured on the first day of the Conservative Party conference yesterday, has shared her mother’s recipe for scones in an interview with The Sunday Times

The Prime Minister’s scones recipe has been criticised by bakers and social media users for being too ‘thrifty’

It makes no reference to oven temperature either, simply stating the scones need to be put into a ‘very hot oven’. 

The recipe has not gone down too well on social media, with bakers criticising the mix for being too ‘thrifty’.

Among critics of the recipe published in The Sunday Times is series two Bake Off finalist Holly Bell. 

‘It is very much representative of the era from which it came,’ mum-of-three Holly, from Leicester, told FEMAIL.

‘The ratio of fat to flour is thrifty which is an easy way to reduce the cost of a bake during rationing years. 

‘Also, the offering up of butter “or” margarine is pretty standard during these times. 

‘As for the oven temperature instructions, this again is typical of a recipe used before we all had reliable ovens with excellent temperature controls.’

Great British Bake Off finalist Holly Bell, pictured with one of her pies, has joined in with criticism of the Prime Minister’s mother’s recipe, saying it is representative of a different ‘era’

Ciaran Jenkins? riffed on Theresa May’s ‘Brexit means Brexit’ slogan 

Grumpy Girdle 48% also criticised the recipe, who says it ‘needs real butter’

But the recipe has caused real outrage on social media.

Grumpy Girdle 48% wrote on Twitter: ‘Theresa May makes scones with not much margarine? No wonder she looks so bloody miserable. Needs real butter, you have to taste it.’

Food writer and baker Dan Lepard was also critical of the inclusion of margarine. 

Baker Dan Lepard and travel journalist Karyn Noble were among those who slammed the recipe for advising bakers to use butter ‘or’ margarine, advocating the use of butter only

He wrote online: ‘If we must live in #brexit Britain, then celebrate dairy farmers, millers + bakers that help make Britain great!’

He then told FEMAIL: ‘Scone success is in all the detail, missing from the recipe but a skill PM May’s mother would have known.’ 

He added: ‘PM May had an opportunity to give a shout to British dairy farmers, and insist on butter and fresh milk.  

Jack Edward Hillcox and Anthony Lorenzo also joined in with the criticism, using the recipe to make political points about the Conservative politician

‘For the best scones use full-cream milk, ideally the sort where the cream separates out to the top as that has bigger fat particles, they help make your scones light and soft.’

Others saw the humour in the situation, and even took the chance to make a few political digs. 

Ldwgf said the recipe showed ‘no generosity’ which she claimed was ‘typical of Tory policies’ while Susan Kelso said SNP scones were better than Conservative ones

Journalist Jack Edward Hillcox ?questioned why Theresa May was even offering baking advice.

He wrote on Twitter: ‘Grammar schools is one thing @theresa_may, but you don’t mess with scones!’  

Meanwhile journalist Ciaran Jenkins? riffed on Theresa May’s ‘Brexit means Brexit’ slogan when he joked: ‘”Isn’t this a bit like everyone’s scone recipe, Theresa?” “Scones means scones.”‘ 

BAKE OFF FINALIST HOLLY BELL’S SCONES RECIPE 

Holly Bell’s recipe for scones is a lot different to Theresa May’s family recipe passed down from her mother as it includes specific measurements and a precise oven temperature

Makes 5–6

Ingredients:

300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

15g baking powder

90g very cold salted butter, cut into 1cm cubes

145ml very cold whole or semi-skimmed milk, plus extra for brushing

Method:

Mix the flour and baking powder together until well distributed. Stir the very cold butter pieces through the flour with a blunt knife until all the pieces are well coated. Wash your hands in cold water and rub the fat into the flour. You can also use a pastry cutter for this job if you have one.

When you have a breadcrumb like consistency pour the milk over the butter and flour mixture and bring together with a blunt knife, then use your hands to pull it together by squeezing. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7 and check the rack is at the top of the oven. Cover a baking sheet with non-stick greaseproof paper. Flour your work surface, then pop the scone dough out onto it. 

Roll to about a 3cm-thickness then use a scone cutter dipped in flour to cut straight down, without twisting or turning it. Then place onto a baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used, you can re-squidge it but the scones won’t be as tender. 

Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk, making sure that none of it runs down the sides as it will stop a good rise. Bake immediately for 10–15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the scones are well risen. 

A good scone has a little split in the middle, ready for breaking in two with your hands. Knives only required for the jam and cream. 

From Holly Bell’s cookbook, Recipes from a Normal Mum, Quadrille, £20 

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