Daring Baker January 2012: Scones (aka Biscuits)

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!

Quick clarification from the challenge - being a North American girl, the treat we made this month were biscuits - our host was Australia, where the same tasty treats are called scones. That said, I wouldn't have found this month's challenge very unusual/ challenging if it weren't for all the information and tips that Audax provided in addition to the basic recipe. I appreciate the time host put into researching how small differences in performing different steps in the recipe make differences in the final product, and all the work that went into creating the recipe we used.

For the challenge, I went with basic biscuits, no additions, because I expected to make more than one batch in the month, but my outside obligations ended up with other plans. The substitutions I made to the provided recipe were using Earth Balance Non-Dairy butter, and soy milk.

I put the butter in the freezer, first, and this step really helped with getting to small chunks of butter - it was much easier to work with. Next, I triple sifted the dry ingredients together, then added the cold butter to that. Because the butter was already in chunks, and I wanted more control over the mix, I used my hands to get to the size I wanted - the goal was flaky biscuits.

Frozen butter in dry ingredients

Larger chunks of butter mixed in for flaky biscuits.

Next I added the liquid, and worked with the dough on a floured cutting board. The dough was very wet, and I would have found a second set of hands useful, if only to take pictures and to flour things (the cutting board, the dough, hands, etc). One thing I neglected to do was to get out all the tools I needed before I began, and I ended up washing my hands free of dough several times as I realized I needed to fetch something else from one drawer or other. I think this is definitely a lesson I should be applying to all my baking endeavors - set out all the tools you need, in addition to all the ingredients, before you begin.

A very wet dough.

Added some flour to keep my hands from sticking.

I kneaded the dough the fewest times I could, in order to prevent the dough from getting tough. I pressed the dough out, and realized I didn't have the biscuit cutters out, so I just used a knife to cut them into quasi-squares. The dough was so wet, though, that they ended up being more of a drop-biscuit than any defined shape.

Biscuits, pre-baking.

It was a messy process, but delicious results

Once the biscuits were out of the oven, I enjoyed three of them warm, for breakfast. The result was a very delightful, light and buttery biscuit. I look forward to trying the variations that were provided, and making up my own, and I know that armed with all of Audax's hard earned information that I should have great success with those, as well.

Out of the oven - nice and golden.

Cooling.

Soft and flaky.

With raspberry preserves- a delicious breakfast.

New tools/ ingredients:  pastry scraper
Recipes used:  Basic Scone (a.k.a Basic Biscuits) - provided by Daring Baker challenge
Co-bakers:  solo mission
Date: January 14, 2012