firefly-dreaming - Recommended Diaries

Sunday Bread - Perfect Gingerbread Scones

Bill Egnor — Sun, 20 May 2012 13:09:44 GMT

Happy Sunday Bread Heads!

This week I'm going to share a recipe that I just finished perfecting, namely Gingerbread Scones. I found a recipe from an old B&B cook book for what they called Gingerbread scones, but when I made it, the result was horrible. I should have known better when the so-called gingerbread did not even have any ginger.

The scones turned out hard and dense and dry, everything you don't want your scones to be. As I was complaining bitterly, Mrs. Dog said "Well, hell, honey, you're a baker, why don't you just make your own recipe if you want them that badly?"

Sometimes we need the Shakaboku (that swift spiritual kick to the head) to get our asses in gear. But once you've received it, well you just have to roll up your sleeves and get baking!

So I started thinking about what I wanted in a gingerbread scone. It needed to be scone like, of course, so it was going to need to be the right kind of dense without being dry or too hard-tack like. And, of course, there had to be the elements of gingerbread, so that meant lots of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg, plus molasses.

The problem was going to be that the molasses were really viscous, and an additional liquid. I tried just subbing the molasses for some of the sour cream, but that was unsatisfactory, with the same problem of getting little rocks that would not rise. So I decided that what I needed was just more flour to balance out the liquid of the molasses and leave all the other proportions the same for a cream scone.

So simple, once you really think it through, but the result is a lovely brown scone bursting with gingerbread flavor, just firm enough to put butter or proper double cream on!

So now that I have your mouths watering, let's make some Gingerbread Scones!

Gingerbread Scones

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup light brown sugar (you can use dark if that is what you have on hand)
1 tablespoon baking powder (if your are making these at 5,000 feet or higher reduce by half)
½ teaspoon baking soda (likewise reduce by half above 5,000 feet)
3 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
5 tablespoons butter (unsalted preferred but not required)
2 eggs
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup unsulfured molasses (you want the full flavor for this recipe)
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons sugar

Baking Pan - 1 sheet pan lined with parchment paper

Method:

Set a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Give it few swipes with a wire whisk to make sure that everything is evenly distributed.

Now, let's talk about the butter. Last week some folks talked about the grater method of adding the butter to scones. If that is the technique you know, you can use it, but I am not a fan of this for several reasons. The biggest is that I find that it does not really replicate the action of rubbing the flour into the butter with your fingers.

The goal here and in pie crust is to cover small amounts of butter in flour. Then when it all bakes this provides a series of layers that are light to the teeth and tongue, giving the feeling of flakiness.

When butter is grated I find that it either too big and does not give a real lightness to the pastry or it is too small to rub in without melting too much and losing the same effect. I know that some folk find the idea of rubbing the butter in intimidating, but if you have every played with Play-Dough you've got the chops to do this.

Cut the butter into 10 or so pieces and toss in the flour to coat them. Now it is time to rub the butter into the flour, or vice versa. Do this by picking up the pieces of butter between your thumb and forefinger. Give it a quick squeeze and push forward with your thumb. Drop it back into the flour and get another one. As your skill level comes up you can do this with both hands at that same time.

Keep doing this until the butter has been rubbed into the flour and it all looks a bit like corn meal. There should be no discernable pieces of butter when you are done. Be sure to dig down to the bottom of the bowl with your fingers, because sometimes pieces of butter hide out there. This will all take about five minutes or so, so take your time and do it right. It will make a huge difference in the texture of your scones!

Given that it only takes five minutes and you really can't mess it up, take the time to learn this technique that every baker in the last 200 years or so knew. If they could do it, so can you!

Once the butter is rubbed in, it is time for the wet ingredients. Lightly beat your eggs in a small bowl. Add the sour cream and the molasses. Whisk until it is a smooth mixture.

Make a well in the flour and then using a spatula, scrape all of the mixture into the well. Use a fork or a spatula to mix the dry ingredients and the wet together. You are not beating this, just getting it all mixed together.

When it has formed a dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Form it into the loaf. Cut the loaf into three roughly equal portions (don't make yourself insane about this, just eyeball it).

Form each section into a disk about 5" in diameter. Cut the disks into four pieces by making one vertical and one horizontal cut in each disk. This will give you four triangular scones per disk.

Place the scones on your prepared sheet pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the scones with milk. Liberally sprinkle sugar over the milk to form a glaze.

Slide the pan into the hot oven and bake for 12 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and using a spatula, place the scones on a wire rack to cool. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

These scones keep very well in a plastic bag for up to three days, that is if you can keep your hands off of them!

So there you have it, Bread Heads, the perfect gingerbread scone, ready to amaze your friends any time you have about 30 minutes.

The flour is yours!

Popular Culture (Music) 20120518: Yet More Moodies

Translator aka Dr. David W. Smith — Sat, 19 May 2012 01:00:25 GMT

Last week we discussed On the Threshold of a Dream, and this week the next album by The Moody Blues, To our Children's Children's Children.

The band were the same lineup as from their second record, and after being released on 19691121 charted at #2 in the UK and at #14 the next year in the US. This is really a very nice album, although not my favorite Moodies one.

This album follows the trend that The Moody Blues were an album rather than a singles band because the only single from it failed to chart. We discussed this last week and came to the conclusion that the ideas that they were expressing were simply too complex for one or two songs.
Like many bands in the late 1960s and early 1970s, The Moody Blues forms their own record label after the success of "On the Threshold of a Dream". They never recorded under the Deram label again, but rather under the Threshold label. Although still a subsidiary of Decca in the UK (London in the US), the agreements allowed them more freedom to spend money on expensive album covers. Thus, they were able to commission Phil Travers for the cover art again, as he had for all of their albums since "In Search of the Lost Chord". Deram had objected to the expense of the art and the gateway covers.

The album opens with a first, and that is the Graeme Edge wrote the entire song rather than just a short verse. However, in keeping with most other Edge material, the words were not sung but rather recited by Mike Pinder. "Higher and Higher" is really outstanding. I chose this particular video because the Apollo 11 moon landing was the inspiration for the album. Once again, I am convinced that Pinder could do anything with a Mellotron, as the rocket blastoff sound is strictly created by him and is not an actual recording of Apollo 11.

John Lodge wrote the next song, "Eyes of a Child I". It is one of their numbers that I like to use the term "hauntingly beautiful". In particular the flute work by Ray Thomas and the harp by John Lodge make it so, and the choral work is outstanding. Here is is:

The Thomas song "Floating" is the third track on the record and is very nice. For those who know the band well, this song is instantly recognized as a Thomas number, not only because he sings it, but because of the musical style. Note the I beg to differ with the notes in the embedded video, because I DO think that this song is about psychedelic drugs within the overall theme of space exploration.

The forth track is "Eyes of a Child II", again by Lodge, but I have not been able to find it. If anyone can, PLEASE add it in the comments!

The extremely introspective Justin Hayward song "I Never Thought I'd Live to be a Hundred" is the fifth track and is, sadly, very short. All acoustic, all Hayward, it is great.

"Beyond" by Edge is back to the classical progressive rock sound of The Moody Blues and is a rare instrumental only. The Mellotron is perfect here.

The seventh and final track from the first side is "Out and In", was written by Lodge and Pinder in the only known collaboration in songwriting by them. There is some controversy about this, as some critics claim that it was written by Pinder alone. Pinder certainly is the singer. This song also has some significant psychedelic references, even in the title. It is another of the hauntingly beautiful songs.

Side two begins with the Hayward song "Gypsy (Of a Strange and Distant Time)". This is heavy with Mellotron and is a classic Moodies piece. Thomas's flute is an outstanding contribution, and the whole song just comes together wonderfully. Hayward's voice is perfect.

Track two is "Eternity Road", written and sung by Thomas. Still in keeping with the concept of space and time, it is not one of their top tier songs, but is still very, very nice.

"Candle of Life", a Lodge song, is the third song on the side. It is another of the highly introspective songs for which the band was famous, and I find it quite sad but inspirational at the same time. The admonition to love everybody should be taken to heart by all.

I really like the sitar in the forth track, "Sun is Still Shining" by Pinder. The Mellotron is also outstanding in it.

"I Never Thought I'd Get to be a Million", the followup to the similar Hayward song of the first side, is next at track five.

The final track of the record is the brilliant Hayward song "Watching and Waiting". It is my personal favorite from the album, and it showcases Hayward's voice perfectly. The entire oneness with nature is a recurrent theme in the psychedelic movement. So was introspection, and this is certainly introspective. This was the single from the album that failed to chart.

Overall, I think that this record is weaker than the previous two. It is still much better than a whole lot of other popular music, but in my opinion is just not up to their standard. Now, taste in music is highly subjective and there are many that consider this album to be their best.

I believe that the reason that I like it less is that it does not seem to have as many songs as joy filled as the previous work, but that could just be me. Please do not get me wrong; I like the album very much. I just like others better. Another part of it is that there are not a couple of songs that really grab me like on the previous two.

That will do it for Popular Culture tonight. Please comment liberally and feel free to add video. Remember, if anyone finds "Eyes of a Child II" please add it in the comments.

On a personal note, my wrist continues to make rapid progress in its recovery. My little finger is almost completely functional now. The only time that I wore the splint was writing this piece, and that is just because it makes it a tad easier. Overall I would estimate that I now have 60% functionality.

Warmest regards,

Doc, aka Dr. David W. Smith

Crossposted at

The Stars Hollow Gazette,

Docudharma, and

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