The salted chocolate blog : Scones

Showing posts with label Scones. Show all posts

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).

Pat the dough into a rough circle, let chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Cut the dough into your desired shape.

Bake for 20-25 minutes till lightly golden on top.

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 be...

Not overly sweet, but moist, flakey scones packed with the flavours of pumpkin pie and the hidden earthiness of Wholewheat flour.

There's something really so comforting about pumpkin and cinammon and nutmeg combined into one. It's my second most favourite smells in the kitchen, closely tagging behind number 1 apple pie.

But really making these scones is a smaller price to pay. It's healthier, easier, requires no preparation beforehand, and easy to make! The Wholewheat flour gives these scones a wonderful nuttiness and flavour, put feel free to use all purpose flour instead.

Wholewheat Pumpkin Scones

Adapted from http://www.mykitchenaddiction.com/2012/10/whole-wheat-pumpkin-scones-unprocessed/#sthash.etYvubPv.dpuf

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup organic unrefined raw sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk, divided
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 185 degrees celsius. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cardamom. Cut the butter into small chunks, and add it to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry blender (or your fingertips) to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles the consistency of wet sand.In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup of milk, and egg until smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the butter and flour mixture and use a spatula to gently toss them together until they are just mixed. The mixture will still be a bit crumbly. Use your hands to gently knead the dough a few times until it comes together.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Shape each half of dough into a disk approximately 3/4-inch thick. Cut each disk into 6 wedges. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet.

Brush the scones with the remaining tablespoon of milk and sprinkle with some additional coconut palm sugar. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Not overly sweet, but moist, flakey scones packed with the flavours of pumpkin pie and the hidden earthiness of Wholewheat flour. There...

Soft, tender scones swirled around in a sweet and salty Sundried tomato chutney and cheddar cheese.

I was thinking of making cinammon rolls, but I simply couldn't wait for bread dough to proof. Then I realised I had some Sundried tomato and olive chutney in the fridge.

And tadaa these scone rolls were born.

I got the inspiration to make these savoury rolls from the Bake with Anna Olsen series, where she made different versions of these savoury scone rolls by using garlic cream cheese and Sundried tomato bacon.

I used my favourite scone recipe, added less sugar and more salt, rolled it out to a large rectangle, slathered on the chutney and sprinkled on the cheddar. Then you roll it up and cut, just like you would cinammon rolls, but without all that extra effort :P