Wool and Spice

We like scones in this house. My success rate in baking scones, however, has been no more than average, edible but not memorable. I always end up adding more flour because of the stickiness of the dough. Adding more flour means more mixing which means tough flat scones. Not a recipe for success.  

I was flipping through a pile of old magazines recently  and came across an article by Corby Kummer in The Atlantic about Camp Bread in San Francisco: ” a three-day jamboree of classes and visits to bakeries, restaurants, and flour mills in the Bay Area” put on by the Bread Bakers Guild. The last half of his article was a recipe for Irish tea scones made with raspberries and raisins. There were several intriguing parts to the recipe:

• - the use of olive oil instead of butter (healthier and no cutting in),
• - adding an egg to help the dough to hold together and reduce the sticky factor,
• - and starting the scones in a super-hot 500 degree oven.

So first thing this morning, I brewed a pot of coffee and got out the sifter. An hour later, we had them for breakfast with scrambled eggs and fruit salad. They’re a keeper. The dough was well behaved and except for having to sift the flour 5 times, the whole process went quickly.  (And actually, sifting the flour takes less time than if I’d had to cut in butter.)

Thanks to the buttermilk, they were light and tender but with a chewy texture that was just what I was looking for. Not too sweet but with plenty of flavor. Even though I put jam on the table we used only a touch of butter. I’ll make these again and next time I’ll try other fillers. Maybe cinnamon and nutmeg with a few pecans. Blueberries and lemon zest. Cranberries and orange.

Below is my version of  the recipe. Read “The Secret of the Irish Scone” from the September, 2007 issue of The Atlantic to get the original recipe and some entertaining insights into bread baking.

Raspberry Raisin Scones

Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenreit

Combine and sift together five times before placing in a large mixing bowl:
1 3/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk together:
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

and then add
1/2 cup raisins to the liquid mixture to plump a little. I didn’t have enough raisins but I had some dried cranberries so they went in too

Measure out
1/2 cup frozen raspberries, but don’t thaw. IQF please, no syrup

Whisk together and set aside
1-2 eggs with a pinch of salt (glaze) (the original recipe called for 2 eggs, I think one egg is plenty)

Grease a cookie sheet or use parchment paper or Silpat. Get out a biscuit cutter and some extra flour for dipping the cutter in.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk/oil/raisin mixture. Blend with a wooden spoon, mixing gently and just till all ingredients are incorporated. The dough will come together much easier than any other scone dough you’ve tried before. Stickiness begone! 

Turn the dough out onto waxed paper and cover it with a second sheet to pat the dough out to about 8 x 10 inches. Remove the top sheet, sprinkle the raspberries over half the dough and cover them with the other half. Put the wax paper back on and pat the dough out until it’s about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Remove the top sheet again, and using the biscuit cutter, cut rounds, dipping the cutter in flour each time. Place the scones on the cookie sheet, and pat out the leftover dough into more scones.  I got about 10 3-inch rounds and used every bit of dough.

Glaze the scones with the beaten egg mixture and put in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes (mine stayed in there for more like 25 minutes) or in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Glaze the scones a second time before putting them in the oven. Immediately turn the temperature down to 425 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes for medium size scones or 18 minutes for larger 3-inch scones. Don’t overcook them, they won’t be dark brown but the egg wash will give them a golden color.

Cool on the baking sheet for 10 mintues to let the bottoms brown a little more, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Enjoy with butter or jam for breakfast, tea or whenever.

Tags: baking, recipe, scones