Singing hinnie
“What has happened to afternoon tea?”
- 250g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 30g butter, and a bit extra for greasing the pan
- 30g lard, and a bit extra for greasing the pan
- 1 1/2 tbsp currants
- 2/3 cup of fat-reduced milk*
- extra butter to serve
* This would originally have been made with the skim milk remaining after separating the milk to make cream
Instructions in the old baking books tell that these hearthstone breads are baked on a "girdle". There are pictures of round iron girdles with high hooped handles. I take that to mean in contemporary parlance a very solid heavy pan. In my grandfather's day it meant the flat top of a fuel-burning Aga stove. This is very hearty food. Go the whole hog and have it with fried eggs and bacon - once a year.
Method
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Rub in the fats and stir in the currants. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk.
Stir to make a softish dough (about the consistency of scone dough)
Divide and form into rounds. Roll each round on a floured board to a thickness of one centimetre.
Heat a heavy pan. When hot, grease the pan with a bit of butter and lard and when it is "singing", lower heat, put in the hinnies and cook over moderate heat, turning after five minutes.
Expect the cooked side to be speckled with darker patches.
Cook the other side, cool briefly and either slather with butter and cut into wedges or cut into wedges, split carefully and put a knob of butter inside.
Makes 2 x 12cm rounds.
