Bak Kwa Scones

Moist and buttery scones studded with bits of salty-sweet bak kwa.

Haven't posted anything here for a very long time (oops)- I've been caught up with school work, making new friends, and CNY feasting I haven't really had much time to do some good proper baking and blog-updating.

One thing I did manage to do though, in between pockets of free time visiting relatives and friends is make my own sourdough starter. :D Sourdough has been on my list of things to bake for so long I'm glad I've finally managed to make my own starter successfully. My last few attempts resulted in vomit-smelling starter and way too actively growing bacteria. My sourdough-making journey has taught me that:

1) Have a little faith- because if you don't get it right the first time, you might get it right the next

2) Baking isn't all that finicky - it really depends on the ingredients you use and where you live, because yeast, especially wild yeast, grow much faster in warm humid climates like here in Singapore, and sometimes the starter feeding schedules don't work as well here when you follow the guidelines for people making sourdough in much cooler climates.

3) Be patient. All living things need time to grow and develop, give your starter some love and attention and they'll love you back :D

My first loaf of sourdough bread turned out a bit gummy and dense and too sour for my taste, so I'll give you more details on sourdough baking once I can master the perfect loaf!!

But for now here's a super quick recipe using some of those leftover Chinese New Year treats. These would make excellent gifts- I mean it's not very nice to give people bak kwa after Chinese New Year right (like its leftovers) so bake it into delicious scones and they'll thank you for it. These take literally 15 minutes to put together- rub in cold butter into flour, salt, sugar and baking powder, add eggs, milk and finely chopped bak kwa, let the dough chill slightly if you have the time, then cut and bake. The bak kwa adds sweet and savoury notes to the scone, it's sort of like maple bacon scones :D If you don't have bak kwa, you could most certainly add in cooked, chopped bacon and brush the scones with maple syrup. This scone recipe is also the perfect base for whatever fillings you like in your scones- raisins or chopped figs or grated cheese would all be wonderful additions.

Bak Kwa Scones

Makes 20 small scones

170g cold butter, cubed

3.5g salt

85g sugar

405g cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg, beaten

55g cold milk

60g finely chopped bak kwa

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Using your fingertips, rub in the cold butter till coarse crumbs.

Add in the bak kwa and the egg, slowly add in the the milk until it forms into a dough (not too sticky or dry).