SCONE-nichiwa!!!!

Scones! A quick bread originally from the English isles is served with clotted cream, butter and jam during tea time. But here we often see them along with the breakfast pastries. It's a close relative of biscuits and their difference lie in the texture. Scones are lightly sweetened and dried or fresh fruits can be added to the dough. Biscuits are obviously savory.

Scone baking tips:

If you've tried baking scones and it ended up heavy and bread-like crumbly, it means that you've over-mixed the dough. The mixing procedure is crucial to the end result. First you have your dry ingredients rubbed with fat (butter) as if you are making a pie dough. This creates a flaky layer. Some recipes require to use your hand when mixing but you can also do it in a stand mixer at a very very low speed. You just want the liquid ingredients to be absorbed by the flour mixture. Stop there, let it rest for a few seconds to allow the flour to do its job. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl to allow unmixed flour to be incorporated. The dough at first will be very stick. Turn the mixture out on a well floured board, dust your hands with a good amount of flour and start folding the dough onto itself. As you do this for a few turns, dust your hands and the surface of the board with a light covering of flour. DO NOT KNEAD THE DOUGH as if you are making bread. You don't want to develop the gluten as this will make your scone tough. Simply scrape, fold over and press lightly. This process should make the dough soft, easy to press, slightly tacky but not sticking to your hands. It should not retract when you roll it lightly with a rolling pin ( I usually do this to get an even thickness of the scones).  Then you punch it with a round cookie cutter, place them on parchment paper lined baking sheet, brushed with beaten egg, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. You bake it in preheated oven until golden brown. They will puff up nicely and the insides is soft and slightly flaky. The scone when tapped on the underside should feel slightly hollow. As this means that the insides is totally baked.

What I like to do when it just comes out of the oven is break one and the steam comes out and it's hard to resist not taking a small piece to eat it.

There's a lot of science involved in cooking more so with baking. And understanding the hows and the whys of the process makes you a better baker.