The Daring Baker's Scones...in search of the best!

When Camera Guy and I visited England and Scotland in July, we got into the habit of having afternoon scones. Oh yes...we were "Sconeheads"   And I mean we had the whole works- clotted cream, butter, jam and some wonderful tea for the finishing touch....  Each afternoon, he would mention " Isn't it time we stopped somewhere for scones?"  We considered ourselves experts, rating scones wherever we went- The Isle of Skye serving up the best ...but they would not share the recipe... too bad, because they were really good.   We actually had to end this foolishness when I started having difficulty fitting in the car!

And so we declared that every Sunday when we returned home to Canada,  we would have scones... We actually enjoyed this every Sunday for a month or so and then we moved and that is another story (Moving is not fun!)

The Daring Baker's challenge this month is scones!

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host.. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!


Basic scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)

Starring our fabulous ingredients

Add Flour to the sifter over a big bowl

Then Baking Powder

And Salt

Sift 3 times (I must confess - I only sifted once)

Introducing Graeta !  Grate frozen butter....

Doesn't she look proud?  We bought her in Vienna.

Rub in the Butter with your fingertips until  it looks like coarse bread crumbs

Add the blueberries and 1 tbsp sugar
then add the milk until a sticky dough

Pat into a rectangle 6 x4 inches

Cut out scones  (Biscuits) - I had a square cutter

Place on cookie sheet - just touching... so cute!

Bake and serve warm....

with homemade jam...I called this Strawberry Fields Forever...

So you may be saying- but they are blueberry scones why strawberry jam?  Because - who cares?  Warm scones, butter and jam - any jam! ...simply delightful.
I am going to surprise Camera Guy with breakfast in bed!
He ate four!....He really does love my baking.


Thanks again Audax for hosting this month!  
Until we bake again...
Penny


Here is the recipe:
Starring- in order of Appearance!


Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones
The recipe can be doubled:

• 1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour


• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (1/3 oz) fresh baking powder


• ¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt


• 4 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of crisco and butter)  


• 1/4 cup dried Blueberries (or strawberries or raisins etc) (45 gm)


• Approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold buttermilk


• 1 Tablespoon sugar (15 gm)


• Optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.


2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot

refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)


3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles

very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it

resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.


3A. Add the dried fruit and 1 tablespoon sugar


4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just

forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter

the scones (biscuits) will be!


5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve

an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not

press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead

very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4

times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you

knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)


6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10

cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out

without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm)

layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the

extra handling will slightly toughen the dough).  Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form

squares or wedges as you desire.


7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place

the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones.

Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you

want a more traditional look to your scones.


8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes  (check at 8 minutes since home

ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are

lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.


9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.


Variations on the Basic recipe


Buttermilk – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with buttermilk, add ¼ teaspoon of

baking soda, increase the fat to 4 tablespoons, in Step 3 aim of pea-sized pieces of fat coated in flour,

in Step 5 fold and turn the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with buttermilk.


Cheese and Chive – follow the Basic recipe above but add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, after Step 2 add

½ teaspoon sifted mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon sifted cayenne pepper (optional), ½ cup (60 gm/2 oz)

grated cheese and 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives into the sifted ingredients, in Step 3 aim of

beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, rounds are widely spaced in

the baking dish, sprinkle the rounds with cracked pepper.


Storage & Freezing Instructions/Tips:

Scones are best eaten warm. Scones (biscuits) are really easy to store – bag the cooked and cooled scones and freeze until needed then reheat in a moderate hot for a few minutes.

Les biscuits au citron...c'est si bon!

I fell in love with these cookies because they looked so pretty. I rushed to amazon to buy the little book which comes with the stamp!  Here is the link-   It is in french though, but I am translating the recipe for you below with some modifications.

It is a little book...soooooo cute.

The ingredients: - makes about 12 cookies

• One lemon zested
• 80 g of butter
• 120 g of sugar
• one egg
• 180 g of sifted flour
• powdered sugar
• jar of lemon curd

Grate the lemon zest

In a bowl work the butter with a spatula

Add the sugar and work until incorporated

Add the lemon zest and keep mixing

Add the flour a little at a time to mix in well

If it is difficult - work in with your hands

cover the dough with plastic and let it rest in the fridge for 30 min.

Preheat the oven to 350°

Line a cookie tray with parchment paper

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll with a rolling pin to 5 mm thick

Find a cookie cutter or glass that is roughly the same size as the stamp - if you are using it- you don't have to use these stamps of course and you can just make round cookies...but they are soooo cute!

Cut out the rounds and place them on the cookies sheet about 1 inch apart

 I put them in the fridge again for 10 minutes

Remove from the fridge and bake for 10 min.

Let cool on a wire  rack.  

When completely cooled, I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar

Spread the lemon curd on half of the biscuit and stick it together with the other half

Camera Guy and his cookie...

Until we bake again....
Rendez-vous à la prochaine recette....
Penny

My Mom's Honey Cake...

It  has been a while since I posted my Mom's honey cake and had the pleasure of tasting it last night at my friend's Meredith and Dan, who welcomed me into their home to share a dinner with their family.  Meredith  has now made this cake every year and pointed out a little confusion in one section and so I have revised the recipe a little.  My sister Arlene in Montreal  is making it today so I have to make sure she gets it right!
Happy New Year to all who celebrate the Jewish Holidays at this time of year and good luck Arlene...I wish I could be there to taste it!

Here is the link - Sadies Honey Cake
Enjoy
Until we bake again...
Penny

Chudleigh’s Piefest –1st in Crust and 2nd Overall!

I am so excited!!!!  I won for Best Crust and 2^nd for overall pie.  I am so happy I won for best crust because the crust can be a very difficult component of the pie and has always been a challenge for me.

We had a great day at Chudleigh’s with hayrides and apple picking…ribs and corn  for lunch and of course the pie contest.  There were about 8 judges and it was quite tense as they sampled the pies – the crust – the filling and the combination.   When they presented the awards, I was thrilled.

I would like to thank my friends for coming out and supporting me- it was so much more fun because you were there – Meredith, Dan, Jacob, Jeremy, Anne and Sally!  And thank you Dan and Meredith for helping me peel and core the apples the night before.

Because this pie was baked during the apple picking season, we had a variety of types of apples to choose from.  I chose Ginger Gold and Red Cortland that I bought from my local market.  My goal was to bring out the flavour of the apples and not mask the taste.  Even a little flour or cornstarch or potato starch, that some people to thicken the juices, can reduce the flavour of the apples.  If I was baking the pie in the middle of winter, I would probably have made it with a combination of Macintosh and Granny Smith’s (more readily available) and maybe even added cream.  My son Elliot loves my sour cream apple pie! 

This is the recipe I used for the pie contest!

Sweet Sadie’s Apple Orchard Pie

baked by Penny Martin

www.sweetsadiesbaking.com

This recipe was adapted from America’s test kitchen

Pie Dough

·     2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour , plus extra    for dusting

·        1 teaspoon table salt

·        2 tablespoons granulated sugar

·        12 tablespoons unsalted butter , chilled, cut into 1/4-      inch pieces

·        8 tablespoons vegetable shortening (chilled)

·        8-10 tablespoons ice water

Apple Filling

·             2 pounds Ginger Gold apples (4 medium)

·        2 pounds Red Cortland apples (4 medium)

·        3/4 cup granulated sugar

·        1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

·        1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 medium lemon

·        1/4 teaspoon table salt

·        1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·        1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

·        1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

·        2  tablespoons butter

·        1 egg white, beaten lightly

·        1-2  tablespoons granulated sugar , for topping

Instructions

•       Pulse (three 1-second bursts) flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor work bowl fitted with the steel blade. Add butter and pulse to mix in five 1-second bursts. Add shortening and continue pulsing until it resembles coarse cornmeal, four or five more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
•       Sprinkle 8 tablespoons ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 2 tablespoons more ice water if dough will not hold together. Squeeze dough gently until cohesive and divide into two equal balls. Flatten each into a 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap separately in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling.
• Combine 3/4 cup sugar, lemon zest, salt, allspice, cloves and cinnamon in small bowl. 
• Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/2-to-3/4-inch slices and toss with lemon juice, then add sugar mixture and toss well. Let sit for 30 minutes. Drain and boil juices with 2 tbsp butter for 5 minutes to reduce.  Pour 1/3 cup of these juices back over apples.

• Remove dough from refrigerator. If stiff and very cold, let stand until dough is cool but malleable. 

• We will be placing the pie on the floor of the oven so if you have a pizza stone, you can place it on the floor of the oven or cover the bottom with foil to catch the pie juices so it doesn't make a mess. Heat oven to 500 degrees.
• Roll one dough disk on a lightly floured parchment paper into a 12-inch circle. Rest this parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
•    Roll 2^nd dough disk on a lightly floured parchment paper into a 13-inch circle. Rest this parchment paper on top of first pie disk. Cover with plastic and place this cookie sheet in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble pie.
• Gently press dough into sides of 9” pie pan (glass, foil, tin)  leaving portion that overhangs lip of pie plate in place.
• Turn fruit mixture, including juices, into chilled pie shell and mound slightly in center. 
• Place next dough round over filling. Trim top and bottom edges to 1/2 inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute edging or press with fork tines to seal.
• Make 1 medium sized hole in the top crust in the center of pie. Cut four slits at right angles on dough top. Brush egg white onto top of crust and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, (omit if freezing unbaked pie, see below). 
•   Reduce the oven to 425 degrees.  Place pie on floor of oven or on pizza stone.  (you can also preheat a cookie sheet and place the pie on that)  Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees; continue baking until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes longer.
• Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to almost room temperature, at least 4 hours.

·        Do-Ahead: Freeze the unbaked pie for two to three hours, then cover it with a double layer of plastic wrap, and return it to the freezer for no more than two weeks. To bake, remove the pie from the freezer, brush it with the egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and place directly into a preheated 425 degree oven. After baking it for the usual fifty-five minutes, reduce the oven to 325 degrees, cover the pie with foil so as not to overcook the crust, and bake for an additional twenty to twenty-five minutes.

IIf you have any questions, please email me at pennymartin1@gmail.com!
Until we bake again...
Penny