I made these scones (and photographed them) a couple of weeks ago but never made it onto the computer for long enough to blog them. Now there is a lot I could say about gluten free scones. I actually have a scar on the first finger of my left hand from an early attempt at baking them using a "scone mix". Let's just say that you should always break scones open rather than cutting them and if for some reason you can't break them open easily it is not a good idea to try to cut them open to get a look at the inside. You won't be able to eat it anyway. My fellow orchestra members were quite fascinated by the special dressings I had for the injury but that is another story.
So this recipe actually does work. It works really, really well. My gluten eating husband loves them which I take to be a sign that they are pretty authentic.
It is a recipe from a very lovely lady called Dianne Boyle who I knew as "Aunty Di" and who was an incredible gluten free cook back when good gluten free products were very hard to find. I have very happy memories of days spent at her house together with her grand-daughters and the lunches and treats she would make. I know that she would have been very happy for this recipe to be shared far and wide so here it is, just as she wrote it down.
Scones- Plain or Raisin
Ingredients:
2 cups gluten free bread mix (Di used Orgran)
2 cups potato flour
1/2 cup pure icing sugar
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 Tb gluten free baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
pinch of salt
80g butter or margarine, melted
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (approx)
flour for kneading (potato or corn)
reserve 1Tb of buttermilk for glazing
note: you can't substitute the buttermilk for ordinary milk but Di did leave a note that you can use dairy free milk if you need to. I have never tested that.
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 210C-220C.
Now here I have to interject and say that Di baked these scones as one big slice in a cake tin and broke them up into individual serves later. If you want to do that you will need to line a 20cm square tin with paper.
If you want to make scones by cutting them out with a floured glass and placing them on a tray then line a tray with baking paper.
1. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Add eggs to melted butter and whisk, add to dry ingredients and cut through with a knife (or use a dough hook on a stand mixer at a very low speed).
3. Stir in the buttermilk a little at a time until you get a soft, slightly sticky dough (you will probably not need the whole cup). This can also be done with the dough hook but be careful not to overmix.
4. Knead on a lightly floured board (do not over knead).
5. Form your scones. If you are using Di's method, place the dough in the tin and using your fingers to press it out to fit evenly. Use a butterknife to cut the dough into 12 even rectangles in the tin. 3 cuts in one direction and 4 in the other. This will make it easier to break the scones apart later.
If you are using the alternative method, roll the dough to about 5cm thick between 2 sheets of baking paper and cut out circles using an upended glass making sure you have adequate flour on the rim of the glass to allow the scones to come away and place these close together on a baking tray. Continue re-rolling the remaining dough until you have only enough to form the last scone. Either way you will get 12 scones.
If you like you can make jam scrolls by rolling some of the dough out much thinner (1-2cm) and spreading it with strawberry jam, then rolling it up firmly and cutting it into about 5cm lengths. Place these on their end on the tray to bake.
6. Glaze with reserved buttermilk
7. Bake for 15-18 min or until golden and risen.
note: cooked scones, even gluten-free ones should sound hollow when tapped on the top.
For Raisin Scones- add 1/2 cup raisins before forming up the scones.
Note: Scones should be separated and halved by breaking, not cutting. Wrap in a clean tea-towel if not serving immediately. These freeze and thaw incredibly well.
No comments:
Post a Comment