Scones are such an admired délice anglais I had to have them in this week’s issue. This gorgeous recipe is a rather international take on the theme since I adapted it from a recipe given to me by the wonderful Chicago-based Swedish Bakery, which made the meanest scones I ever bought. Be prepared to knead and thread, have flour up in your nostrils and your hair and feel like the absolute baker.
My truly delicious almond and chocolate chip scones
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Recipe by: scone recipe from The Swedish bakery, Chicago, US Busy:30 min, Total prep time: 45 min Serves: Makes 16 scones |
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Cut the chocolate into small chunks of about the size of a 1p coin.
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Chop the soft butter into small pieces and mix with the flour mixture until reaching a texture that looks like ground almonds. I do this by sifting the flour and butter through the palms of my hands and fingers, but you can also use a stand mixer.
Add one egg and about half the milk to the mixture. Stir quickly and lightly with a wooden spoon until no dry mixture shows (do the absolute minimum of stirring otherwise the dough will not rise as well). If not all the flour mixture has been wet, add the rest of the milk little by little. The dough should be soft, possibly a bit sticky but not too wet and hold itself into a ball.
Place the dough onto a floured surface and press it down with the palms of your hands to a flat rectangle of about 1 inch thick, the larger side laying sideways in front of you.
Sprinkle some of the chocolate and ground almonds on top of the rectangle.
Divide mentally the rectangle into three smaller ones sitting side by side, and fold the external flaps onto the middle one so that all three sections lay on top of each other.
Check the surface under the dough and sprinkle a bit more flour if necessary to prevent it from sticking.
Turn the dough by a quarter of a turn and press it again with your hands into a rectangle laying in the same direction as before. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle a bit of flour on top before pressing. Sprinkle more chocolate and almonds, and repeat the folding.
Repeat this operation about 10-12 times altogether.
Cut the dough in half, and form each half into a ball. Press each ball down with your hands into a disk of about 1 inch thick, and cut each disk into 8 slices like a pie.
Lay a sheet of baking paper on an oven tray and place the scones on the paper, leaving at least 1/2 inch between them.
Brush the tops with a lightly beaten egg and bake until deep golden, for about 12 minutes.
Leave the butter to soften at room temperature for one hour or soften in the microwave on very low power for 30 sec.
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Cut the chocolate into small chunks of about the size of a 1p coin.
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Chop the soft butter into small pieces and mix with the flour mixture until reaching a texture that looks like ground almonds. I do this by sifting the flour and butter through the palms of my hands and fingers, but you can also use a stand mixer.
Add one egg and about half the milk to the mixture. Stir quickly and lightly with a wooden spoon until no dry mixture shows (do the absolute minimum of stirring otherwise the dough will not rise as well). If not all the flour mixture has been wet, add the rest of the milk little by little. The dough should be soft, possibly a bit sticky but not too wet and hold itself into a ball.
Place the dough onto a floured surface and press it down with the palms of your hands to a flat rectangle of about 1 inch thick, the larger side laying sideways in front of you.
Sprinkle some of the chocolate and ground almonds on top of the rectangle.
Divide mentally the rectangle into three smaller ones sitting side by side, and fold the external flaps onto the middle one so that all three sections lay on top of each other.
Check the surface under the dough and sprinkle a bit more flour if necessary to prevent it from sticking.
Turn the dough by a quarter of a turn and press it again with your hands into a rectangle laying in the same direction as before. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle a bit of flour on top before pressing. Sprinkle more chocolate and almonds, and repeat the folding.
Repeat this operation about 10-12 times altogether.
Cut the dough in half, and form each half into a ball. Press each ball down with your hands into a disk of about 1 inch thick, and cut each disk into 8 slices like a pie.
Lay a sheet of baking paper on an oven tray and place the scones on the paper, leaving at least 1/2 inch between them.
Brush the tops with a lightly beaten egg and bake until deep golden, for about 12 minutes.
I bake these scones wth many different fillings. Try raisins and walnuts, for instance, or bluberries and oat for breakfast. Whenever using frutis, always freeze them beforehand, This will allow you to incorporate them into the batter without crushing them. Only insert them in the last 2-3 folding rounds as they would not resist being kneaded 15 times. Last, because the dough can be a bit sticky, I would advise keeping a clean tea towel tucked into your waist while working on it in order to be able to wipe your hands easily when needed.
Ingredients
140g dark chocolate at 70% cocoa
250g flour + flour to spread on kneading surface
80g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch of salt
75 g butter + butter to grease baking paper
2 eggs
10 cl milk
80g ground almonds, or half ground, half flaked
140g dark chocolate at 70% cocoa
250g flour + flour to spread on kneading surface
80g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch of salt
75 g butter + butter to grease baking paper
2 eggs
10 cl milk
80g ground almonds, or half ground, half flaked
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