My dear friend has inspired me today by baking a pie she made up and put in the freezer. I was originally planning on making an enriched bread dough today but my plan was not what my heart wanted to create! Besides I busied myself earlier today cleaning out my mothers pantry while she is away on a cruise. OH to be so lucky and see the hot sun, though I can not complain as this winter has been the mildest I have seen in years. I digress. So while cleaning out the said pantry I discovered some wonderful almonds and had wanted to make biscotti but upon having no vanilla I decided against such an option. I decided though I made scones yesterday for the kids on their first day of the new semester that I would indeed make scones yet again.
Scones are a serious subject. Not to be taken lightly. I have baked a great many scones in my day and have used a great many recipe! The ingredients for scones varies greatly among bakers. I have a few different favorites but my old standby scone recipe that I will use till I die calls for NO eggs and the secret ingredient is buttermilk! I love baking with buttermilk. I have found that because of its acidity it works to make the dough rise just a bit more and make it flaky due to the high fat content! I even bought Bavarian buttermilk once that had an even higher fat content than that of the regular lowfat buttermilk option!
So I am currently baking up the moist delicious scones and put in 1/2-3/4 cup of cocoa and some slivered almonds and some frozen raspberries. I can not wait to try one!
3 comments:
What about dehydrated buttermilk? Good results too? When I use it I add it with my dry ingredients. Should I mix it with the water first?
Also, I have thought about mixing up a batch of scones and dividing and freezing on waxed paper for individual cooking. Thoughts? Would they still rise? I would thaw first since they are not so dense.
Also, for future columns: the illusive flaky bottom crust for fruit pies such as peach! My freezer peach pie was delicious like summer but I encountered two problems.
1. Bottom crust never cooked properly, which is a common problem. I am considering baking on a low rack on the well-reheated pizza stone next time. Please advise.
2. Do you use a pie bird? Much of the sweet bubbly juice from my pie oozed out onto the foil during baking. The pie was not as sweet as it might have been. Do you think a pie bird would solve that?
WOW I have never heard of dehydrated buttermilk. Dry milk yes but not buttermilk. As a general rule of thumb I always like using the freshest ingredients possible.
As far as freezing scones. I do this all the time. I find that if I let them sit for only a few min I have to watch that they dont get too brown and not done in the middle. If I let them sit for 20 min. they turn out PERFECT!
Will post more on pie crusts later but am thinking of giving coconut oil a try instead of shortening! I am hearing more and more about the potential risks of using shortening. I have tried butter but not been happy with the results.
Have not heard of a pie bird.
The pie bird is kind of an old fashioned thing. You put it right in the middle of the top crust-put it's feet under the crust on top of the filling and it allows steam to escape. I got one for each of the mom's at the Kitchen Engine-they are shaped like black birds with their beaks pointed straight up.
Post a Comment