Queen Elizabeth II Scones

It was a stumble over this recipe that places it on my blog today. While visiting Washington D.C. in December of last year, my husband and I made a trip to the Archives in order to see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and a copy of the Magna Carta (which happened to be unavailable for display at that point). In The Archives, they have a rotating display that, in December 2011, was on food. In the midst of a number of memorabilia, was a handwritten note from Queen Elizabeth II to a United States president (I believe it was President Reagan, but I could be mistaken). In it, she detailed the recipe below, which the President had enjoyed and requested the recipe for. Since pictures were not allowed, I hastily wrote down the recipe. Who doesn't want to try scones approved by Queen Elizabeth II? 

The Recipe:

4 cups flour

4 tbsp sugar

2 cups milk

2 whole eggs

2 tsp bicarbonate soda

3 tsp cream of tartar

2 tbsp melted butter

1. Beat together eggs, sugar and 1 cup of the milk.

2. Add flour, bicarbonate and cream of tartar to the milk mixture. Mix well, adding more milk as required. Fold in melted butter.


3. Bake at 450ºF until browned on top (about 12-15 minutes)


Makes 12 large scones or 24 small scones.

The Process:

Dry ingredients sitting atop the 1 cup milk, eggs and sugar before mixing.

Mixed.

Ready to bake. 

Nicely browned.

My Notes & Tips:

I found myself with a sticky dough after just 1 cup of milk, so refrained from adding even part of the second cup. Regardless, I opted for drop scones, instead of forming them into the traditional scone shape. Had I added more milk, they would have turned out to be more attractive drop scones.

Served with a little raspberry curd.

Results:
These were great scones. Plain, yet not eggy or too salty, etc. They came out just right, in my opinion. They were also incredibly simple to make and fast to bake. They would work well if you wanted to add some currants, cranberries or any other type of dried fruit. They tasted wonderful with a dollop of raspberry curd in the middle. Would also taste good with some Devon cream or fresh fruit. Went well with tea and coffee as well. A wonderful, quick, all around scone.

Swedish Rye Bread

In honor of my Swedish heritage, I decided I just had to try this Swedish Rye Bread recipe. 


I found this recipe in Beth Hensperger's Bread Bible, 300 Favorite Recipes, a book that I would highly recommend after trying a few recipes.




The Recipe:


1 3/4 cups warm water (105º-115ºF)
1 tbsp active dry yeast
pinch of light brown sugar or honey
1/4 cup light or dark unsulfured molasses
1/4 cup (packed) light or dark brown sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp caraway or fennel seeds
grated zest of 1 large orange or lemon
2 1/2 cups medium rye flour
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose bread flour
melted butter (for brushing)


1. Pour 3/4 cup of the warm water into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and sugar (or honey) over the surface of the water. Stir to dissolve and allow to sit until foamy (about 10 minutes).


2. In your KitchenAid, combine the rest of the water, molasses, brown sugar, melted butter, salt, seeds, zest and rye flour. Beat with the paddle attachment for about one minute, or until smooth and creamy. Stir in the yeast mixture. Add the unbleached flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft, shaggy dough forms.


3. Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough in your KitchenAid for 3-4 minutes or until the dough is springy. The dough will have a definite tacky quality, but will be soft and springy. Do not make the dough too dry.


4. Place the dough in a greased container and grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until double in size (about 2-2 1/2 hours).


5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter to deflate. Grease or parchment-line a baking sheet. Do not work the dough further, but divide into two pieces and shape into ovals. Pull the bottom center together to make the loaf extra taut. Place the loaves on the baking sheet with the seams side down. Brush the tops with melted butter or dust with flour. Put a loose cover of plastic wrap over the loaves and allow to rise at room temperature until the dough is fully doubled (about 2 hours).


6. Preheat the oven to 375ºF twenty minutes before baking. With a razor blade, slash the loaves decoratively, no more than 1/4 inch deep. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Place immediately on a cooling rack. Loaves are best slightly warm or at room temperature.


The Process:

After being kneaded, with considerable flour used to keep from sticking.

First rise.

I think it rose a little much...

Second rise.

Finished! 

Results:

What a beauty.

This turned out a slightly sweet bread with a wonderfully tender texture. I'm not crazy about fennel, but used it anyway. I would have preferred the loaf without the fennel seeds, and I think it would still have a good taste. It's best with a light spread of butter or plain.


I did not have dark rye flour, as my grocery store did not carry it, so I used light rye flour instead, and the result was a mild rye flour.

Crumpets

So I've been researching recipes from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum before purchasing this book. I checked out two versions of The Bread Bible (the original edition and an edition of 300 favorite recipes) from my local library. I'm excited to be trying this crumpets recipe.





Ingredients:


unbleached all-purpose flour: 1 cup plus 1 & 1/2 tablespoons (156 grams)
nonfat dry milk: 2 tablespoons (20 grams)
instant yeast: 1 teaspoon (3.2 grams)
sugar: 1/2 teaspoon
salt: 1/2 teaspoon (3.5 grams)
water, at room temperature or warm: 3/4 cup liquid plus 2 tablespoons, divided (198 grams)
baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon
melted butter: 1 teaspoon (4 grams)


Time schedule: 
1.5 hours


Necessary equipment: 
Heavy-Duty Stand Mixer
Griddle or Cast Iron Skillet or Heavy Pan
6 4-inch-by-1/4-inch-high rings


The Instructions:
1. Mix the batter. 
Mix the flour, nonfat dry milk, instant yeast, sugar and salt together in a Kitchen-Aid mixer with the paddle attachment. Add 3/4 cup water (198 grams minus 2 tablespoons). Raise the speed slowly until you are at the middle setting. Beat about five minutes, or until smooth.


2. Let the batter rise.
Scrape the batter into a 1 quart-sized bowl. Allow to rise for 1 hour or until doubled.


3. Add the baking soda and the remaining water; let the dough rise again.
In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda and remaining 2 tablespoons water together. Stir the baking soda mixture into the dough, which will deflate it. Allow the dough to rise until almost doubled (about 30 minutes).


4. Preheat the griddle or frying pan.
If using an electric griddle, preheat it to 275F. If using a skillet, heat it over low heat until a drop of water sizzles when added.


5. Fry the crumpets.
Brush the griddle or pan and the inside of the crumpet rings lightly with the melted butter or coat the rings liberally with cooking spray. Place the rings in the pan and, using a ladle or spoon, fill the rings about two-thirds up the rim. The batter will puff up to the top while it cooks. Once the crumpet is dull on top, it should be nicely browned on bottom. Then turn the crumpets over and cook on the other side until it is also browned.


6. Cool the crumpets.
Remove the crumpets from the rings, using a knife if necessary, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.


Store: The crumpets can be stored overnight in a paper bag or frozen, well wrapped, for up to three months. Thaw before toasting.


Serve: Toast the crumpets until they are warmed through and the outsides are crispy.


The Process:

Measured everything out: Water, flour (I used whole wheat), Nonfat Dry Milk,
Baking Soda, Salt, Yeast, Melted Butter

Dough mixed and reading for first rising.

Post first rise.

Adding the Baking Soda flattened the dough, but now it's ready for the second rise.

Post second rise. If you watch the dough here, bubbles will rise through it.

To form the crumpets, brush the melted butter around the edge of the cookie cutter and ladle dough into the middle. I filled my cutters too full and only obtained five crumpets from my dough, so aim for a little less fill than shown. The crumpet here is shiny and not ready to be flipped yet.

This crumpet has turned dull on top, meaning it is ready to be flipped over to brown on the topside.

Completed crumpets cooling. Mine turned out quite fat, so I had to brown them  a bit longer than I otherwise would have.

A toasted crumpet. 

Results:
These were fantastic, homemade crumpets. I only wish that the recipe made more than six crumpets. I enjoyed mine with almond butter, but they would probably taste good with just butter or peanut butter. They could be used for an egg breakfast sandwich or taste fine toasted and consumed plain, too. 


My Tips & Suggestions:

• I substituted whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour and it worked without a hitch. Usually when I substitute whole wheat flour for something, the recipe turns out dense, but these crumpets were light and spongy.
• Make sure that you grease the cookie cutter well all the way to the top, or else pieces of the crumpet will stick to the cutter when you try to remove them.
• Don't overfill the cookie cutters, as then you'll only get five and you'll be forced to over brown them in order to cook the middles.
• If you don't use the "bagel" setting on the toaster, you're apt to burn the outside of your crumpet.

Bannock Bread

Branching out from my habitual scones, I decided to try "Bannock Bread", also having extra buttermilk in the fridge I needed to use. I was pleasantly surprised with this recipe, found here. I did not have currents, so I substituted dried Montmorency Cherries instead, and they tasted excellent in this bread. I imagine almost any dried fruit would suffice here.

All purpose flour, Granulated sugar, Butter, Buttermilk,
Archer's Farm Montgomery Cherries, Baking Soda,
Baking Powder & Salt

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup dried currants

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. 
2. Combine dried ingredients except currants. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, mix butter in until it looks like sand. Stir in currants. Add buttermilk until dough is soft.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Shape dough into a 7 inch round. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On top of the loaf, cut 1/2 inch deep cross.
4. Bake for 40 minutes.

The Process:

Dry ingredients plus butter rubbed in.

This is my "soft dough". My dough only required 3/4 cup of buttermilk in order to reach this
consistency, so don't add it all at once.

Stirring in the Cherries. It was difficult to stir them in well, so depend on the kneading for a little bit more mixing.

After being kneaded for a few minutes (my dough also did not require five minutes of kneading in order to reach this elastic state). The Cherries tended to stay towards the top of the dough, despite my best efforts to mix them in well.

Flattened the dough ball into a disc while on the baking sheet.

I scored the top of my loaf with a cross using a razor blade and then brushed the top with a bit of extra buttermilk. 

My loaf emerged looking beautiful and mouth watering!

Notes & Tips:

• Like I said, I used dried Montgomery Cherries here (Archer's Farm, found at Target), and they tasted excellent in this bread. 
• In order to make a prettier loaf, I brushed the top of my loaf with a little bit extra buttermilk.
• I only needed 3/4 cup of buttermilk in order to get a soft dough, and liked the result. However, if you added more of the buttermilk, the loaf would be moister.
• I found that the fresh bread tasted best plain, without any type of butter or curd, etc. It does, however, taste excellent a couple days later toasted, with a light spread of butter to moisten it up again.
• This Bannock Bread had a taste reminiscent of Irish Soda Bread, but was softer, moister and a touch sweeter.

Look at that bread!

Results:


I will definitely make this again, even bought currants to try it as directed! The loaf was moist and not crumbly at all. It did have an Irish Soda Bread flavor to the dough, but the Cherries and little bit of sugar sweetened it up nicely.