Unusual Scones both Tender and Light

Unusual Scones? Well, I describe them this way because not everyone will have the flours I used, nor necessarily be able to replicate. I just had to put this recipe out here though, simply because these have to be the absolute lightest and most tender scones I have ever made.
 

Buckwheat Spelt Scones with Craisins & White Chocolate

I love scones. If they are rather dry, as with store-bought ones at times, I simply sip coffee or tea with them. No problem. If they crumble? No problem at all. I expect them to crumble a bit. But light? Even with all the awesome scones I have made to date, I don't think I have ever been able to describe them as "light." But these? They are light as feathers. Well, almost. But close enough.

You know how a really great pie crust has lightness, tenderness, flakiness? I would not go so far as to say these scones are flaky, exactly, but the tenderness and lightness is truly beyond amazing to me. Do they crumble? Oh yes. Not horribly. They just need a light hand, because they are that tender. 

One thing I did differently than usual, and I don't know how much difference this may have made: I used Kerrygold unsalted butter, instead of Land O'Lakes, as I usually do. I know European butters have less water content, and I had some Kerrygold on hand because I had made croissants recently and wanted the best butter possible.

(Oh, and Happy St. Paddy's Day to all my readers!)

So What are these Scones Made of, Anyway?

This morning I was thinking of making scones. My initial thought was to grind some whole Kamut grain and use that whole meal flour, since it is so light colored, it doesn't feel or taste like you are eating a whole grain. And then I thought about some organic white spelt flour in my freezer and went that direction instead. 

Buckwheat Spelt Scones
with Craisins & White Chocolate

But - I really didn't want just white flour scones. Granted, spelt is an alternative wheat, sometimes tolerated better than our modern-day wheat. But this spelt flour was not whole grain. So, whether modern wheat or not, it is still white flour. Empty carbs. And I sat there a few minutes looking around the kitchen wondering what I could add to the spelt flour to make these less "empty-carb." And I thought, "Buckwheat!" Buckwheat (read more about buckwheat here) is not a grain at all, not is is in any way related to wheat. Nor is it a grass. In actuality, it is a seed encased by its fruit, and related to rhubarb. I digress.

I happen to love the flavor of buckwheat. I have eaten it as a breakfast "cereal" instead of oatmeal. I often grind it in my grain grinder and make pancakes or waffles. Or even just soak the buckwheat with other seeds to make waffles or pancakes without added flour of any kind. I know buckwheat may not fall into everyone's favorite category, but it is in mine. 
 

A Template for Really Great Scones

I used a very similar base template recipe to what I have been using for a couple of years now, since this template really turns out some fantastic scones. I only altered the base template a tiny bit. This is the base template for great scones:

• 2 cups flour (I play with the flour combinations a lot, but keep to 2 cups)
• 2 - 3 tablespoons sugar (depending on other flavors going in)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 5 tablespoons cold butter
• 1 cup heavy cream

The mixing is pretty much the same no matter what you are mixing. Mix the first 5 ingredients, cut in the cold butter, finishing with fingers to break down into very small bits, add cream and form into dough. Presto. 

The alterations I made were using a tablespoon less sugar, since I wanted to add white chocolate, always over-the-top sweet. I also went with 1 teaspoon of salt. The half cup of white chocolate and half cup of craisins (dried cranberries) were the flavors I chose this morning. And without further ado, here is my recipe:

Buckwheat Spelt Scones with Craisins & White Chocolate

Makes 8 scones 
 

Buckwheat Spelt Scones
with Craisins & White Chocolate

1 cup (preferably freshly ground) buckwheat flour 
1 cup white spelt flour (or substitute all-purpose flour)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
½ cup white chocolate bits, lightly chopped
½ cup craisins, lightly chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Place the first 6 ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add in the cold butter, cut into small cubes and cut in as for pie pastry. If the pieces stay too large, finish by using fingers to break up the butter into the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate and craisins, then pour the cream over all at once and stir , tossing slightly, with a fork until the mixture starts to come together in a mass. Oil or spray a counter or smooth surface with cooking spray. Turn out the dough and pat into a ball, then do a quick knead, twice, just to bring the mass together. Pat it out to an 8-inch circle. Use a large knife and cut the circle across 4 times, making 8 wedges. Use a spatula to transfer the wedges to the parchment lines baking sheet, setting them at least an inch apart.

Bake the scones for approximately 15 to 17 minutes, until set and golden. Serve warm. 


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Grain Salad with Barley using Ferments

Last week I used up some leftover wild rice to make a side "salad" dish for a really wonderful Kalbi Flank Steak; both recipes were posted 3 days ago. I love grain "salads" though I don't make them terribly often. I had gone for labs last week also, and found my cholesterol is a bit high. In researching foods that help with the LDL side of things, barley was mentioned in many different sites, because of its soluble fiber. While my husband will not go straight for a grain salad, he will eat them. Yesterday when I made this salad he ate other things he preferred, so it was my side dish. Tonight it will be my main dish as he will not be home for dinner and I often go meatless.

Barley Salad with Fermented Red Onion

I initially set some barley to cook without any true idea of what I was going to do with it. As it cooked, I started thinking of how good the Wild Rice and Corn Salad turned out and realized I still had the other half of the red and green bell peppers I had used in the Wild Rice and Corn Salad, so obviously I would use those in this Barley Salad. The other thing I thought of, after the fact, was that I had a jar of fermented Red Onion Relish in the fridge and had yet to use it. I am sure it would have made an excellent addition to the Wild Rice and Corn Salad, had I remembered it. I also have a jar of Fermented Jalapeno Slices in the fridge and I love a little bit of piquant heat in my foods. 

With these two fermented foods in mind, I decided that this time I was going to use them in this new salad, so these items went into my list. Since I am making fermented foods all the time, I have a lot of them to eat so I may as well use them in recipes. Please understand, if you have not

Pickled Red Onions

jumped onto the fermented Foods Bandwagon, it is no big deal. Another relish of choice would also work, as well as chopped up Pickled Red Onions, which are much quicker to make. If neither of these is available, they can be left out completely. 

A few of the ingredients in the Wild Rice and Corn Salad went into this new Barley Salad, though with small variations the flavors went in a completely different direction. I eliminated the corn completely, kept the Feta cheese, scallions and cilantro. I substituted the pine nuts with pumpkin seeds and added in some dried cranberries (craisins). The dressing started out basically the same, using olive oil and lime or lemon juice. I also used the Sichuan peppercorns, just because I have them. These can easily be left out. 

One other ingredient that occurred to me at the last moment was probably one that just absolutely "made" this dish: Kalamata Olive Tapenade. I posted this recipe in April of this year, but will post it here again, because if you like olives, you really must try this out. It is so good, and so very easy to make. And, what an amazing thing to add to this vinaigrette-type dressing!

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

7 - 8 ounces pitted Calamata/Kalamata olives, drained
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely minced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup olive oil (more, or less, as desired)

Place the olives, parsley and garlic in a food processor to finely chop. With processor running, add in olive oil until the mixture is at the consistency you prefer. 


Here is the recipe I made last evening for Barley Salad with Fermented Red Onion:

Barley Salad with Fermented Red Onion

Serves 8 or more

Barley Salad with Fermented Red Onion

1 cup pearl barley (long-cooking kind)
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
½ green bell pepper (about ¾ cup), chopped
½ red bell pepper (about ¾ cup), chopped
½ cup Fermented Red Onion Relish
½ cup crumbled Feta cheese
½ cup cilantro, chopped (or as desired)
¼ cup Fermented Jalapeno Peppers, minced
¼ cup dried cranberries (craisins)
¼ cup green pumpkin seeds
¼ cup finely chopped fresh ginger root
4 scallions, chopped
½ teaspoon more salt, if needed


DRESSING:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon Sichuan Peppercorns, crushed, optional
1 tablespoon Kalamata Olive Tapenade

Set the barley to cook in a saucepan with the water and the teaspoon of salt. Lower heat and cover. Cook for about 50 to 55 minutes or until the barley is cooked to your taste.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.


In a large mixing bowl, combine the bell peppers, Red Onion Relish, Feta cheese, cilantro, Jalapeno peppers, craisins, pumpkin seeds, ginger and scallions. Once the barley is cooked through, drain any excess water and allow the barley to cool slightly. Once cooled, combine the barley with the ingredients in the bowl and toss. Pour in the Dressing and toss well to coat. Taste for salt, adding more only if needed. The salad is best served at room temperature.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Making Muffins on this Cold Day

This morning with temperatures at -12 degrees, I was in the mood for muffins. I have had some white whole wheat pastry flour in the pantry for a while and hadn't gotten around to using it. This flour is ground from white wheat berries, instead of red wheat, so the color is only a little off of the white of unbleached flour. My first intention was to use half cake flour and half all-purpose, but it just happened that I was out of cake flour. There wasn't enough to make the 1 cup I wanted for the recipe. This was when I noticed the white whole wheat pastry flour. Aha! Inspiration. The recipe can easily be made without the white whole wheat pastry flour; just use the whole 2 cups of all-purpose flour. If you do, try using only ½ cup of buttermilk. Whole wheat flours tend to soak up more moisture, and I used ⅔ cup of buttermilk. Just be advised.

Next step was to create a recipe. Usually I just sit there on my own and compile what I think will work. Sometimes these things work better than others, and this morning the muffins turned out just perfect. They were tender and light, with a nice amount of sweetness and lots of flavor. I wanted to use sour cream in these muffins, but I was out of sour cream, too. All the holiday cooking and baking just wiped out my pantry. I did still have buttermilk in the fridge, so I used that. The rest was simple.

Cranberry Walnut Muffins

Cranberry Walnut Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon dried orange peel, or 1 tablespoon fresh
2 eggs
⅔ cup buttermilk
½ cup craisins (dried cranberries)
½ cup walnuts, broken

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (350 on Convection). Cream together the butter, sugar and orange peel until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Separately, sift or whisk together the flour(s), baking powder, baking soda and the salt. Add this alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed ingredients, mixing just until combined. Fold in the craisins and walnuts.

Grease a 12-well muffin tin, or use muffin papers. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
This worked so well, I will likely be trying other combinations soon. I hope you will try these out sometime soon.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.