Dairy-Free Spelt Scones

Scones have always been a 'staple' of our diet - we have them for breakfast or morning tea at least once a week. They're so quick and easy (pop them in the oven and they're ready to eat by the time you've had a shower)... And they are equally nice with jam and cream, or avocado, salt and pepper! (I never put sugar in my scones, so we can eat them with either savoury or sweet toppings.) We also like them with 'Eggs-a-la-Goldenrod' (chopped boiled eggs in white sauce), or white sauce with mince (ground beef). (I know, we have strange things for breakfast!)

Anyway, when I decided to go completely dairy-free for six months, the thing I missed most was butter in and on my scones - lots of it! Sigh. But I found that you can make really nice scones with oil instead of butter, and I'm enjoying them again for breakfast... often with fruit spread and cashew cream, as in the photo above. Yum!

(This recipe is written for Thermomix, but can be easily done by hand too.)

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees.

2. Weigh into Thermomix bowl and mix for 6 seconds, speed 6:

- 440g plain spelt flour (grind up to 200g of the flour from spelt grain first if you want wholemeal)

- 4 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

3. Add oil and mix in for a few seconds on speed 5:

- 60g macadamia oil, or light olive oil

4. Add and mix for 5 seconds on speed 5, or until dough almost comes together:

- 230g rice-almond milk, or other milk substitute

- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)

5. Set dial to closed-lid position and mix for 20 seconds on interval speed. Dough should be soft and slightly sticky - adjust flour and milk if needed.

6. Turn out onto lightly floured bread mat and pat into 3cm thick round. Cut scones out with the MC (cap in the top of the Thermomix lid), dipping it into flour after each one. Place onto floured/greased tray so that scones are touching each other. Cook in hot oven for about 15 mins, or until scones are lightly browned, and cooked through (pull centre ones apart to check).