Scones in North American are nearly always triangular in shape have a slightly crisp crust usually covered in sugar and have a soft interior crumb and sometimes are laced with dried fruit (these baked goods in Australia and England are called “rock cakes” since they are usually made to look like “rocky” cakes not wedges), meanwhile biscuits in North American are a round shaped buttery slightly flaky baked good usually eaten with meals (these items in Australia and England are called “scones” and are eaten with butter and jam usually with cups of tea or coffee as a sweet snack). So this challenge (using the North American name) is to make biscuits. Or using the Australian or English name this challenge is to make scones.

Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)

 Servings: about eight 2-inch scones or five 3-inch scones Recipe can be doubled

Ingredients:

1 cup  plain (all-purpose) flour

2 teaspoons  fresh baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons frozen grated butter (or a combination of lard and butter)

approximately ½ cup  cold milk

optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F

2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)

3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.

4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough).  Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire. Great for little hands to help out

7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.

8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes  (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

Variations on the Basic recipe

Buttermilk – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with buttermilk, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, increase the fat to 4 tablespoons, in Step 3 aim of pea-sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 fold and turn the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with buttermilk.

Australian Scone Ring (Damper Ring) – follow the Basic recipe above but decrease the fat to 1 tablespoon, in Step 3 aim of fine beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, in Step 7 form seven rounds into a ring shape with the eighth round as the centre, glaze with milk.

Cream – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with cream, add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, in Step 3 aim of beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with cream.

Cheese and Chive – follow the Basic recipe above but add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, after Step 2 add ½ teaspoon sifted mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon sifted cayenne pepper (optional), ½ cup (60 gm/2 oz) grated cheese and 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives into the sifted ingredients, in Step 3 aim of beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, rounds are widely spaced in the baking dish, sprinkle the rounds with cracked pepper.

Fresh Herb – follow the Basic recipe above but after Step 3 add 3 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (such as parsley, dill, chives etc).

Sweet Fruit – follow the Basic recipe above but after Step 3 add ¼ cup (45 gm) dried fruit (e.g. sultanas, raisins, currents, cranberries, cherries etc) and 1 tablespoon (15 gm) sugar. Wholemeal –  follow the Basic recipe above but replace half of the plain flour with wholemeal flour. Wholemeal and date – follow the Basic recipe above but replace half of the plain flour with wholemeal flour and after Step 3 add ¼ cup (45 gm) chopped dates and 1 tablespoon (15 gm) sugar.

I thought it was a fun project, however I did not enjoy the taste of this sour dough as much as I have with other recipes.  Sourdough is always fun to make it.  Sourdough starts with a ‘starter’ or ‘leaven’, basically a flour and water dough that is fermented over  4 or more days. The older your starter, the more flavourful your bread will be. This is because the lactobacilli in the dough help digest the flour, adding the strong, sour flavour and making it more digestible; kind of like yoghurt.  I know of people that have their start for years and it is always delicious to taste what we can make with it.  I have yet to keep my starter for that long, but who knows, someday…

French Country Bread Servings: 1 large loaf plus extra wheat starter for further baking

Wheat Starter – Day 1:

4 1/2 tablespoons  stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour

3 tablespoons  water

Total scant ½ cup

Directions: 1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste. 2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected! 3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer.

Wheat Starter – Day 2:

4 1/2 tablespoons stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour

3 tablespoons  water

scant 1/2 cup  starter from Day 1

Directions: 1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter – Day 3:

4 1/2 tablespoons  stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour

4 teaspoons  water

scant 1 cup  starter from Day 2

Total 1⅓ cup

Directions: 1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter – Day 4:

3/4 cup plus 1½ tablespoons  unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup less 4 teaspoons water

1⅓ cup starter from Day 3

Total scant 2⅔ cup (625 ml) (440 gm/15½ oz)

Directions: 1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

Stage 1:  Refreshing the leaven

1 cup less 1 tablespoon  wheat Leaven Starter

6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon  stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons  unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup water

Production Leaven Total 2¾ cups plus 4 teaspoons

Directions: 1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

Stage 2: Making the final dough

3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dustin0g

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons  unbleached all-purpose flour

1¼ teaspoons  sea salt or ⅔ teaspoon  table salt

1 ¼  cups  water 1

¾  cups production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.

Total 6 cups less 2 tablespoons

Directions: 1. Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough. 2. Knead on an UNFLOURED surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.  Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.  Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing.  Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.

Preheat the oven to hot 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F 6 after 10 minutes.  Cool on a cooling rack.

Ingredients
1¼ teaspoon of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)
3 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon  sugar
1 3/4 cups of  flour
2 teaspoons  sugar
1½ teaspoon salt
½ cup  milk
2 tablespoons  oil
½ cup  chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:

1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.
2. Measure out the other ingredients
3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar
4. Place the flour in a large bowl.
5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour
6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute while you wash out the bowl
8. Knead the dough eight to ten times only. The best way is as Julia Child does it in the video (see below). It’s a little difficult to explain, but essentially involves smacking the dough on the counter (lots of fun if you are mad at someone) and removing it from the counter using the pastry scraper.
9. Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag

10. Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size.

11. After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, pulling it away from the sides of the bowl with your fingertips.

12. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or countertop, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches

13. Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter (fold the top third down, and then the bottom third up)

14. Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag.

15. Leave the dough to rise for another 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge

16. Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter.
17. Once the dough has doubled, it’s time to incorporate the butter
18. Place the block of chilled butter on a chopping board.
19. Using the rolling pin, beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat.

20. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. You want the butter to stay cool, but spread easily.

21. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured board or counter. Let it rest for a minute or two.
22. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14 by 8 inches

23. Remove the butter from the board, and place it on the top half of the dough rectangle

24. Spread the butter all across the top two-thirds of the dough rectangle, but keep it ¼ inch across from all the edges.

25. Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up.

26. Turn the dough package 90 degrees, so that the top flap is to your right (like a book).

27. Roll out the dough package (gently, so you don’t push the butter out of the dough) until it is again about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

28. Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up.

29. Wrap the dough package in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.

30. After two hours have passed, take the dough out of the fridge and place it again on the lightly floured board or counter.
31. Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little
32. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes
33. Roll the dough package out till it is 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

34. Fold in three, as before
35. Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
36. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough package to the fridge for two more hours (or overnight, with something heavy on top to stop it from rising)

37. It’s now time to cut the dough and shape the croissants
38. First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready
39. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for ten minutes on the lightly floured board or counter
40. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 5 inch rectangle (51 cm by 12½ cm).

41. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each 10 by 5 inches)

42. Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold
43. Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15 by 5 inches
44. Cut the rectangle into three squares (each 5 by 5 inches
45. Place two of the squares in the fridge
46. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit in the meantime. Roll it out again till it is nearly square
47. Cut the square diagonally into two triangles.

48. Stretch the triangle out a little, so it is not a right-angle triangle, but more of an isosceles.

49. Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle up towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape.

50. Place the unbaked croissant on the baking sheet

51. Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants in total.
52. Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour

53. Preheat the oven to very hot 475°F.
54. Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water
55. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants.

56. Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely
57. Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

This one I filled it with chocolate! YUM

Esfihas

1 c milk

1 egg

1/2 c oil

1 T sugar

1 t salt

1 T yeast (I used the instant dry yeast)

Flour until the dough is soft and stays together. (it was about 3-4 cups or so of flour. I just add until it forms a dough)

Mix it all together, then make small balls (or big ones depending on the size of esfihas you want)

Open the dough flat into a triangle.

Fill with the meat filling (recipe bellow) or any other filling you may like.

Close the dough into a triangle shape.

Brush with egg wash and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 F or until golden brown. This recipe will be around 40 small esfihas.

For the meat filling:

1 lb ground beef

salt

pepper

2 tomatoes (diced)

1 diced onion (diced very small, or you can shred it)

2 T ketchup or tomato paste

4 small potatoes (shred them using the cheese shredder)

drizzle oil

1-2 limes (drizzle juice on top)

Mix it all together and fill the bread with this mixture.

If you would like you can also make esfihas abertas (open esfihas). Follow the recipe until you turn them into balls, then open them into a circle, leaving the sides a little thicker.

Fill (meat, or cheese) and Bake.

YUM

This was a cheese filled one topped with a bit of fresh salsa!

Homemade bread is one of my comfort foods. I love the smell, the texture and especially the taste.  This Wednesday is homemade bread day!  Why not make your favorite homemade recipe to celebrate this wonderful day?  I have been playing with a potato bread recipe and I thought this would be great to share in case you want to try it. In Brasil, it is very common to find Pao de Batata recheado com Catupiry (potato bread filled with catupiry-my favorite cheese from Brasil).  We were lucky to find catupiry cheese in Florida and I just had to make some potato bread to go with it! Enjoy!

4-5 medium size Potatoes

1 cup Milk

1/3 cup Butter

3 T  Honey

4-5 cups Flour (start with 4)

2 T instant dry Yeast

1 1/2 t Salt

1/4 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Water (if needed)

First you want to peel and boil your potatoes. (make sure you salt the water)  Once the potatoes are soft, mash them either using a ricer, fork or food processor.

Add the mashed potatoes, milk, butter and honey into your mixer (with the bread attachment). You could mix this bread by hand as well. I used my kitchen aid mixer (also known as FRED).  Mix it for about 1 minute.  Add 4 cups of flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix for a little bit then add the eggs (one at a time).  Mix for about 4 minutes and check the consistency. Here is where you will use either the rest of the flour (if dough is too sticky) or some of the 1/2 cup of water (if dough too dry).  I usually end up adding about another 1/4 cup of so of flour and 1 T of water.  The consistency will be wet, soft but not too sticky.  Let it mix for about 5-10 minutes. If doing it by hand, kneed it until soft.

Transfer the dough to a bowl drizzled with oil. Cover and let it rest until it doubles it size. It will take about 1 hour.

Punch the dough and transfer it to a floured surface.  Shape your bread and let is rise until double size. It will take about 30-40 minutes.  I like to make rolls filled with my favorite cheese, catupiry!  I also make loaves and hot dogs and hamburger buns.  Just let your imagination go wild!

Bake for about 25-30 minutes at 350. If you like a more gold-ish brown color, use 1 egg (beaten) and coat the top of the bread before putting it in the oven.

This recipe will make either 2 loafs, or 1 loaf, 6 dinner rolls and 4 hot dog buns.

Here are the hot dog buns:

Here are the dinner rolls:

And the best for last, filled with catupiry:

YUM!

Mix together:
1 tsp salt
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Cut in 1/4 c margarine or butter with a pastry blender.
Add: 3/4 – 1 c warm water, stir until dough is formed.

Divide the dough into 8-10 equal size balls.
Roll them thin and round.
tip: If you want them nice and round, use a small plate and cut around it.

or you can have fun and make it in any shape you like!

Cook on a hot frying pan or gridle about 30 seconds each side.
Suggestions: Serve with taco meat and toppings, make deli rolls or serve with salad.

Depending on the weather they may harden after cooked.  To soften the tortillas, just keep them warm. You can use the microwave for a couple of seconds to warm them up. Or you can gently wet a clean dish towel with hot water (damp, not soaked) and keep the cooked tortillas inside while you cook the rest. (It will be just like using one of the tortilla warmers)

This is a traditional bread we make in Brazil. We use Polvilho to make it.  Polvilho is basically tapioca flour/starch. I was so happy when a friend of mine told me I could purchase tapioca flour at the health food store in bulk. You can also find small bags at the grocery store in the health food aisle.  Since then I have been “playing” with recipes, this one is the closest one I have from the Brazilian taste.  Now all I have to do is try with different cheeses. This bread is very good warm.  It is also yummy to cut it in half and make sandwiches or even add a little bit of butter! YUM Enjoy!

1 cup whole milk
½ cup water
4 T. butter
1/4 cup oil
1 t salt
2 ¼ c tapioca flour
2 eggs
1 ½ cup shredded cheese*
¼ cup Parmesan

Boil milk, water, butter, oil and salt.  Take off heat and add flour.  Mix well. It will be clumped together. 

Add eggs (one at a time) Mixing well after each egg.  Add the 1 1/2 cups of cheese and half of Parmesan cheese. 

Let mixture cool a little bit. Roll into balls using the rest of the Parmesan in your hands so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands.

Spray a cookie sheet with oil or butter, and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until golden on top.

*I used a white cheese called queso panela (pan cheese)- I bought it at Sams. It will also taste very good with a Cheddar, Colby  or even all Parmesan.

I love leftovers. One of the main reasons why I love them so much is because I can go back and recreate! This recipe is an example of that.  I had a little bit of puff pastry left and what do you do with that?  Definitely not throw it away… so here it is! Twisted Bread Sticks, yum!

Puff Pastry (they are so good you may use the whole sheet)   For this recipe I had about 1/4 of a sheet of puff pastry

2 t garlic powder

2 T Parmesan cheese (or any other cheese of your liking)

Spread half of garlic and half Parmesan in one side of pastry, press the mixture with your fingers.  Turn pastry over and repeat. Cut into strips. I used a pastry cutter.

Now twist them gently.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until they are nice and golden!