SCONES (or BISCUITS?) - Daring Bakers' Challenge - January / 2012

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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!

First off, let's make things clear. Scones or Biscuits? According to the information our host Audax gave us, to clear up any confusion, the recipe presented here is called "Scones" in Australia and England, but "Biscuits" in America. Whatever the name, they are delicious, very easy to put together, and versatile since you can flavor them with just about anything that suits your fancy, sweet or savory.

As a Brazilian, I wasn't familiar with scones (biscuits) until recently, but they brought me fond memories of my childhood when my sister and I used to wake up very early on weekends to make a very similar recipe. These could be translated as "One Minute Bread", because they resembled bread but were made with baking powder and didn't need yeast or resting time.

I had two ingredients that I wanted to use and thought they would pair well together for my scones (biscuits): Some Herbes de Provence I bought in Paris on our way back from Brazil to Korea (oh yes, there had to be something good about travelling such a long distance, and in our case being Paris our connection city!!); I also had a large piece of French Brie that had been left in the fridge before our vacations and when we came back it was dried out but still smelled really good. I removed the white outer layer and coarsely grated what was left. Perfect!

HERBES DE PROVENCE & BRIE SCONES (BISCUITS)

(for about 20 small scones)

Ingredients:

90 g (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour

50g (1/3 cup) whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder***

1/2 tsp baking soda***

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp Herbes de Provence

30 g (2 tbsp) frozen grated butter

60g grated cheese (I used dried out Brie)

1/2 cup (120 ml) cold milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9. (Mine browned too fast at this temperature, so next time I will try 220°C instead)

Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt and triple sift into a large bowl. Stir in the Herbes de Provence. Refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.

Rub the frozen grated butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Stir in the grated cheese.

 Add all of the milk at once into the flour/butter mixture and mix until it just starts to come together into a sticky dough, using a rubber spatula. Do not overmix!

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. Pat the dough into a rectangle and fold in three (like a letter), and turn the dough. Repeat about 3 or 4 times until it has formed a smooth texture.You may use a floured plastic scraper to help you fold and turn the dough.

Pat or roll out the dough into a 6" X 4" rectangle 3/4" thick (about 15 X10 cm rectangle 2cm thick). Cut out the scones (or biscuits) using a round cookie cutter (I didn't have one so I used a flower shaped one). 

Stack the scraps of dough (as you would with puff pastry) and make more scones. This time I decided to pat it into a circle and cut wedges using a sharp knife so that I wouldn't have scraps again, as the more you handle the dough, the tougher the dough gets.

Place the scones (or biscuits) on a baking dish lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart.

Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 8 to 10 minutes until they are well risen and are lightly browned.

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

***Using fresh baking powder and/or soda is essential for successful scones (biscuits). Again, Audax came to our rescue and taught us how to check them before using.

HOW TO TEST YOUR BAKING POWDER or SODA

How to test your single action baking powder:

1. Place a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup, add 1/4 cup room temperature water it should bubble a lot.

How to test your double action baking powder:

1. Place a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup, add 1/4 cup room temperature water it should bubble a lot.

2. Wait 30 secs and then place your cup into the microwave heat for about 30 secs until about 180F it should bubble again.

3. If it doesn't then discard and buy a new jar.

How to test baking soda:

1. Place a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda into a tablespoon of vinegar it should bubble a lot.

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Thanks so much, Audax! This was a great challenge, you provided so much detailed information and gave such remarkable support during the month. I can see many scones (biscuits) coming out of my oven in the near future!

To check out the amazing results of the other Daring Bakers, please visit THE DARING KITCHEN where you can also find the original recipes and guidelines for this challenge.