• Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Chop the cold butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter or fingertips to cut the butter into pea-sized crumbs, ensuring the pieces stay cold and don’t melt into the flour.
• Stir in the grated cheese and chopped chives.
• Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Fold it together using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, then switch to using your hands to form the dough into a shaggy soft dough ball.
• Add in a little milk if the dough is too dry, but it shouldn't be wet or too sticky.

Laminating

• Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and push it into a ball. Use a rolling pin to roll this out into a rectangle of about 7x10 inches (17cm x 25cm). Don't make it too long, you want to work the dough as little as possible.
• Lift the top third of the dough and bring it into the middle. Bring up the bottom third of the dough and fold this over like you're folding a pamphlet.
• Turn the dough 90°, then push or use a rolling pin to push it into another 7x10 inches rectangle. Fold it up once more.
• Turn the dough 90° again and roll one last time into a 7x10 inches (17cm x 25cm) rectangle.
• Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into eight pieces for large scones or ten pieces for smaller scones.
• Place the scones in the refrigerator while preheating the oven to 430°F/220°C.

Baking

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cold scones on the prepared baking sheet.
• Brush the tops of the scones with milk and top them with a bit of cheese. Bake for around 15 minutes until golden brown.