Wholemeal Spelt Flour Scones
Wholemeal spelt flour has a slightly nutty sweet flavour which lends itself well to making these wholemeal spelt flour scones.
Wholemeal flours as the name suggests contain the wholemeal meaning the body has to work harder to break the flour down and digest compared to a white flour which has be more processed. This makes these scones better tolerated for diabetics than white flour versions.
The brand of wholemeal spelt flour that I use is Doves Farm.
To get a good rise on a scone, you need self raising flour, or plain flour with baking powder added as a raising agent.
Wholemeal flours require larger amounts of raising agents and so this is why you will see higher amounts of baking powder being used in my wholemeal recipes. Please do not panic that there is too much baking powder in these recipes – it’s there for a reason!
To make a plain flour ‘self raising’ it is advised to add 2 tsp of baking powder per 150g of flour, but for scones and for wholemeal flours there is extra baking powder added on top of the recommended 2 tsp per 150g.
If you love jam with a scone, you need to bear in mind that this is increasing the carbs and making the scone harder to tolerate. Even low sugar, no added sugar and diabetic jams contain high amounts of fructose and so if you really want some jam with your scone, try out my raw chia seed jam recipe and serve alongside lots of butter, clotted cream or thick coconut cream!
Ingredients
- 450 grams wholemeal spelt flour (or wholemeal flour) plus extra for dusting
- 22 grams baking powder (1 tbsp & 2.5 tsp)
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 grams cold unsalted butter diced
- 45 grams xylitol granulated sweetener or erythritol
- 2 medium eggs
- full fat whole milk add to eggs and make upto 300ml in liquid
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°c and line a baking tray with baking parchment paper and place in the oven to heat (this helps to bake our scones well on the bottom)
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl (this helps to create a more light & fluffy scone texture). You will find small bits which will not fall through the sieve which can be added into the scone mix to incorporate the fibre, so tip this on top of the sifted flour
- Sift the baking powder & salt into the bowl and mix well so that the baking powder is evenly spread throughout the flour
- Add the cold butter in small chunks into the flour mix and rub the butter between your fingers into the flour until it disappears and creates a breadcrumb like texture
- Add in the sweetener and mix through
- Whisk the 2 eggs in a jug with a fork until the egg easily passes through the fork when held up (scoop up some egg with the fork and it's ready when it easily falls through the prongs)
- Pour milk into the jug to make the volume up to 300ml and stir well to combine the egg & milk
- Pour most of the milk/egg into the flour (but reserve a small amount for brushing on top of the scones before baking) and use a knife to bring the dough together. Do not knead and overwork the dough. It should be slightly sticky and should just come together with minimal handling
- Dust a surface with some more spelt flour and turn out the dough. Using your hands, gently pull the dough together just enough to form a dough ball. Dust a rolling pin (or you can use a glass or tin can, or just pat gently with your hands) and gently roll out the dough so that it is at least 2cm thick
- Cut out your scones (I use a 6cm fluted cutter, but a cup or glass can also be used if you do not have cutters, or you can simply cut and mould the dough into rustic triangles). Dip your cutter into spelt flour and push down firmly. Avoid twisting the cutter as this hinders the raising of scone when baking. Gently remould the dough to get as many scones out of the dough as possible
- Place each scone onto the heated baking tray and brush the tops with the leftover egg/milk wash, then place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the tops are golden
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Scones are best served warm, serve with butter and/or clotted cream, coconut cream and/or chia seed jam or sliced fresh strawberry
Notes
Erythritol sweeteners are what I recommend using in this recipe if you struggle with IBS or gastric issues. Whilst xylitol is fine for most if eaten in small amounts, those who have any gastric conditions such as IBS may find that xylitol can trigger their symptoms. The brand of erythritol I use is NKD Living powdered erythritol.
Artificial powdered sweeteners such as sucralose (like Splenda) or aspartame (like Canderel) can be used in this recipe but they may raise blood glucose levels and can leave a nasty bitter aftertaste and you need to use MUCH MUCH LESS (approx. 3.5 tbsp but please double check your sweeteners label as they can all differ). Total Sweet xylitol weighs the same as granulated sugar, so you need to work out the equivalent amount to use if using these sweeteners instead. If using Truvia, use this Truvia conversion chart to help you work out the amount required.
