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La Belle Cuisine
Scones
Classic English Scones -
Crisp Outside, Flaky Inside
by Jacquie Lee
Fine Cooking Oct/Nov 1995
“My mother was
half Chinese and my father was English, so naturally teatime
was important in my parents' home. Tea-drinking in our family, however, was
nothing compared with the tea rituals I experienced while visiting my
grand-mother in England. She would sit, rather regally, taking individual
orders
for tea, a silver pot of extra-hot water standing ready. But more
important
to me, she served scones.
My passion for this crisp-tender teacake began at my grandmother's table but
was
fueled by my later travels around England. From Salmon Leap in Devon,
where I
devoured marvelous round scones with strawberry jam and clotted
cream, to
ultra-upscale Harrod's in London, where the scones are served with
a side order
of pomp and ceremony, I tasted enough scones to develop my own
idea of the
perfect scone.
Judging a Proper Scone
For me, a scone
should be crispy outside and flaky inside; it should not have
a cakey texture.
Also, I prefer scones cut into triangles, probably because
they're
less likely
to be confused with American-style biscuits.
This Quick Dough Has Three Basic
Parts:
Flour, Butter and a Buttermilk Binder
Scones are made
from a few simple, basic ingredients, but it's the way those ingredients are
worked together that makes the difference between an ordinary scone and one
that's exceptional. The key to flaky scones is to mix the dough
as little as
possible, keeping the butter in large chunks.
Almost Any Flour Will Do
The basic scone
recipe requires no special flours. I've eaten wonderful scones
made with
all-purpose flout. But because baking is my business, I prefer to use
a blend
of organic, unbleached bread and pastry flours. In particular, I like to bake
with Giustos flours (available from Bob's Red Mill, 503 654 3215), a brand
of
organic flours that I believe makes the lightest and flakiest scones. Blending
bread flour and pastry flour helps me further fine tune the dough's strength and
tenderness.
It can be fun to try several different kinds of bread and pastry flour
and see
the characteristics each contributes.
For the Best Flavor, Nothing Beats
Unsalted Butter
I've tried many
scone recipes that use vegetable shortening or lard, but I always come back to
unsalted butter. The butter's flavor is an important part of the scone's rich
taste. It's also the ingredient responsible for the scone's crisp, flaky
texture. Chilling the butter - and keeping it chilled - is a critical step
towards a great scone: you want it to remain in fairly large pieces and not get
squashed
into the flour as you mix. When the scones are thrust into a very hot oven, the
butter will melt and bubble its way through the dough, leaving lots of little
crevices in its wake.
Buttermilk Holds It All Together
I make my
scones with buttermilk because I like the tangy taste; besides, with all the
butter in the scones, the fat in ordinary milk isn't needed. What is important
is that you don't overmix the dough when you add the buttermilk. This can be a
hard call if you've never made scones before. The difference in flours and
climates and how the liquid is absorbed by the dry ingredients can make the
critical moment difficult to judge. Just remember that when you add the liquid,
you should mix just until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the
bowl. If not all of the flour is getting moist, add a little more liquid.
A Crust of Coarse Sugar
I paint the
tops of the scones with a little more buttermilk before giving them
a sprinkle
of turbinado sugar. The large, unrefined grains of this sugar give
the scones a
really crisp top. You can find turbinado sugar at many natural-
and
specialty-food stores. Substitute ordinary sugar for the turbinado if you
like;
the tops just won't be as crunchy.
Currants,
Cranberries, Cherries and Other Accent Flavors
Currants are a
traditional favorite, but there are endless variations on the
basic scone. You
can add dried cranberries or dried cherries - simply add
a half cup or
so to the recipe. Grated citrus zest (particularly orange) lends
a wonderful
fragrance. Bittersweet chocolate bits make a delicious - if
un-traditional -
scone. Or, for an even racier scone, try a combination of
orange zest and
chocolate.
Add dried fruit and flavorings after the butter
and before the liquid. Fresh
blueberries are also delicious in scones, but
because fresh fruits are moist and
tend to clump together in the dough,
dust them with a little flour before mixing
them into the dough. As with
the dried fruit, add the blueberries after
the
butter and before the butter-
milk. You can use frozen blueberries; just don't
defrost
them or they'll
become mushy and you'll have purple scones.
Freeze Leftover Scones
If you have any
leftover scones, freeze them. Thaw them completely and
reheat
at 350 degrees F for about seven minutes. Served with a bit of tea
to get the
day started or as an afternoon respite, however, your freshly baked
scones
probably won't be around long enough to have any leftovers.”
Orange-Scented
English Scones
Add 1/2 cup
dried currants, dried cranberries, dried cherries, bits
of chocolate,
or fresh blueberries to create a variety of scones.
Yields 8 medium scones.
8 ounces (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour or
1 cup organic bread flour + 3/4 cup
organic pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Grated zest of 1 medium orange
4 ounces (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted
butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the flour, baking powder,
salt
and sugar in an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix in the orange
zest. Add the butter and mix until just coated with flour. The
butter chunks
should remain fairly large - no less than half their original
size. With the
mixer set on a slow speed, add 2/3 cup of the buttermilk
and mix until just
absorbed. Stop mixing when the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the
bowl.
Scrape the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball. With well-
floured
fingers, pat the dough into a 7-inch diameter disk. Cut the disk
into quarters
and then again into eighths. Set the scones on a baking
sheet lined with kitchen
parchment and brush the tops with the remain-
ing buttermilk. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake until well
browned, about 15
to 20 minutes.
Tips:
1.
Large chunks of butter in the dough make the flakiest scone. Chill
your butter
ahead of time and work quickly to keep the chunks from
being totally
incorporated into the dough.
2. Don't overmix the dough or your scones will be tough. Stop the paddle
when the dough just begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Use lightly floured fingers to gently pat the dough into a disk. Don't
worry if the dough doesn't look smooth - a rough, lumpy dough means
tender, flaky
scones.
4. Cut the disk into quarters and then again into eighths. Triangles are
the
traditional shape for scones, but you can shape the dough any way
you please.
*********************
Mock Devonshire
Cream
Courtesy What's Cooking in America
"Originally from Devonshire County, England, it [Devonshire cream] is a
thick, buttery cream
often used as a topping for desserts. It is still a specialty
of Devon, Cornwall,
and Somerset, as this is where the right breed of cattle
are raised with a high
enough cream content to produce clotted cream. It
is also known as Devon
cream and clotted cream. Clotted cream has a con-
sistency similar to soft butter.
Before the days of pasteurization, the milk from the cows was left to stand
for several hours so that the cream would rise to the top. Then this cream
was
skimmed and put into big pans. The pans were then floated in trays of
constantly boiling water in a process known as scalding. The cream would
then become much thicker and develop a golden crust which is similar
to butter."
Yields: 3 cups or 12 servings
3 ounces cream cheese,
room temperature
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and salt; stir until
well blended.
Stir in whipping cream.
With an electric mixer, beat mixture until stiff. Store in refrigerator.
Make approximately 3 cups or enough to serve 12.
A possible
alternative to Devonshire Cream
is homemade
Crème Fraîche.
Or you may choose
to purchase
Devon Clotted Cream.
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