Crannberry Scones

I found this recipe at this wonderful webpage (Joy of Baking) of Stephanie and Rick Jaworski with uncountable number of mouth watering scones recipes. There you will also find the history of baking scones.

Here is one recipe I tried which turned out superb. I have modified the recipe slightly to adjust to my needs. Otherwise the recipe is perfect.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 15-20 minutes
Baking temp.: 190°C (165°C in convection oven)

Ingredients:
250 g all purpose flour
65 g (granulated) sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda (I used cream of tartar baking powder instead, which also contains soda)
1 tsp baking powder
100g cold butter, cut into pieces
60 g whole rolled oats
40 g cranberries (or dried cherries)
zest of 1 orange ( I used packed orange zest instead of lemon, made a wonderful combination)
150 ml Buttermilk
Milk for brushing over the scones (Instead of the egg wash: 1 egg, 1 tbsp milk or cream)

Method:

• In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
• Add butter cubes and knead the dough together with the hands till it is evenly combined, but crumbly.
  
• Add the oats, cranberries and zest of orange and combine.
• Add buttermilk and quickly knead the dough.
  
• Pat into an 18 cm circle. Cut out 8 wedges out of the circle.
• Bake in the preheated oven at 190°C (165°C in convection oven) for 15 -20 minutes.
• I used milk to replace egg wash, which I never like because of the smell, but don't know if milk does any good
• Serve with whipped cream. Although, typically scones are served with clotted cream (which is nothing but malai in true sense, as we know it as Indians)
  

Note: Next time I would like to add only half the quantity of salt to the recipe.

Herb scones

We had these scones for breakfast this sunday along with scrambled eggs. I still have this lovely aroma of the fresh hebs in my mind. It is a wonderful recipe from my old cookbook, it being one of the first cookbooks with a lot of baking recipes. And I had made these scones before, about 5 or 6 years ago. While going through the book, I found it again. This is the original recipe with my modified version at the end. So, here it goes:


Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes
Oven temp: 225 ° C (convection oven: 200 °C)

Ingredients:

6 tbsp mixed fresh herbs, washed and chopped finely (like oregano, lemon balm, cress, other wild herbs)
200 g flour
50 g wheatflakes
1 tsp baking powder
1 level tsp salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
50 g butter
5 tbsp sour cream (10 % fat)
1 egg
butter for the baking tray

My eggless recipe:
6 tbsp herbs - oregano, lemon balm and mint (all from my garden), washed and chopped finely
200 g wheatflour
50 g oatflakes, soft
1 tsp baking powder
1 level tsp salt
1 pinch chilli powder
50 g butter, cut into small cubes
3 level tsp sourcream (10 % fat)
3 level tsp sourcream / schmand (24 % fat)
4 tbsp milk
butter for the baking try


Method:

• wash and finely chop the herbs.
• Preheat oven to 225 °C (200°C). Put butter on the baking tray.
• Mix flour, oatflakes, salt, pepper and baking powder thoroughly.
• put small cubes of butter over it.
• add both the sour creams and the herbs.
• Knead the dough and roll out 2 cm thick (1/2 ") on a flat surface with the help of some flour.
• Cut out 12 circles and put on the baking tray. OR:
  
• make 12 balls and press them flat with the help of some oil on the hands.
• I skipped this step: whisk the egg a little bit and brush the scones with it.
  
• Bake them in the oven for 15 minutes.
  
• Instead of the eggs I used: After about a minute, put some milk over the scones with a brush.
  
• Serve warm with chutneys, or sauces or just fresh cheese.