WITH THEIR CREATIVE USE OF ALTERNATIVE FLOURS AND GRAINS, THESE GLUTEN-FREE RECIPES ARE ALL ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN HAVE
PORCINI, THYME AND OAT SCONES
Jo Pratt, food writer, presenter and author of The Flexible Baker, says: ‘Savoury scones are really delicious served alongside soups, stews, salads, or if you need to eat on the go. I wanted to include a savoury scone recipe that is both vegan and gluten-free. Unlike the more traditional scones, these are slightly denser in texture, due to the nature of the ingredients, and the flavour is rich and punchy.’
Preparation time 30 minutes Cooking time 20 minutes Makes 8
15g dried porcini mushrooms 4 tbsp freshly boiled water 175g oats (gluten-free), plus 1 tbsp 75g ground almonds 2 tsp baking powder (gluten-free) 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 tsp thyme leaves, roughly chopped, or 1 tsp dried thyme ½ tsp paprika 1 tsp flaked sea salt 125ml almond, oat or soya milk, plus extra for glazing 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar 100g almond or cashew nut butter 2 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
1 Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and pour over the hot water. Set to one side to absorb the liquid for 15 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, put the oats (keeping back the tablespoon of oats) in a food processor and blitz until you have a fine powder that resembles flour. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix in the ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, half of the thyme, the paprika and salt.
3 Strain the mushrooms (reserving any remaining soaking liquid) and roughly chop. Add to the bowl of dry ingredients along with the soaking liquid. Add the milk, vinegar, nut butter and oil to a food processor and blitz briefly to mix together. Pour into the bowl and bring everything together to form a soft dough. Tip out onto the worktop, flatten with the palm of your hand and roll out with a rolling pin to 3cm thick. Use a pastry cutter (I use one that’s 5cm in diameter) to cut out 8 scones, re-rolling any trimmings until all the dough is used up. Alternatively, shape the dough into a large disc and cut into 8 wedges. Arrange the scones on the baking tray, brush the top of them with a little plant milk and scatter over the remaining oats and thyme.
4 Bake for 15 minutes until golden. Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving warm. Best eaten on the day they are made.
Flexible
FLAVOUR SWAP: To transform these into red pepper and wa
