Scone Recipes Needed. "The Breakfast Challenge" pt.2

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by StuM

Is that merkin "biscuits", or real ones

Ohh, PULEEZE, Stu, be careful what you say, for this is a family forum...

A "Merrikan" is a poorly educated person from the USA.

A "merkin" is a female pubic wig.

Gawd knows what a "merkin biscuit" might be... boggles the old mind, it does!

Jim

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

………...

A "merkin" is a female pubic wig.

Gawd knows what a "merkin biscuit" might be... boggles the old mind, it does!

Jim

To the best of my knowledge, not only female...

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by StuM

BTW, is it skon or skoan?

Skon unless one is a pretentious twit.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Do you happen to know what the chemistry is with the egg? Why does it make them lighter?

Oddly, my Mom taught me to not use butter for bisquits, because they bake at such a high temperature the butter will make them taste scorched. Now I'm wondering if this is only an old wive's tale?

Ann

When the ingredients are heated, pockets of air expand and the mixture rises (I think the baking powder releases carbon dioxide adding to the rise). The whites of the eggs solidify and this enables the risen mixture to hold its shape and the air pockets to remain instead of flopping down as it cools.

I really learned this lesson experimenting making cakes without eggs a couple of years ago. A very dense result was all that I achieved , instantly fixed as soon as eggs were added . I haven't bothered trying to make cakes without eggs since! If I run out of eggs sweet yeast bread (eg cinnamon loaf) or cookies are made as treats.

The super light result achieved when egg is added to scones means it it not like a true scone though - hence I call them scuffins .

SWL
PS Butter will scorch in a frypan. I don't think the temperatures achieved in baked goods are high enough to scorch it though.

PPS Doing my ladylike best to ignore the references to merkin biscuits .

[Wotname]

There are plenty of good cooks and amateur chefs in the world and they all like to experiment with traditional recipes and sometimes they indeed improve them but most often they just change them; giving the food nothing more than a different taste.

What SWL (and some others) have posted is the conventional wisdom and it is hard to challenge the collected wisdom of the CWA.

However my Dad was a professional Baker and Pastry cook and he had many customers who used to travel hundreds of kilometres each holiday period just to eat his scones so I feel confident to say he knew what he was doing. He would hand make maybe 10 or 12 dozen scones a day over long weekends.

So what are the professional secrets….

Use self raising flour (of course)
Use a double acting baking powder (not baking soda)
Half of the fluid should be pure cream and the other half should be full cream milk.
No butter required if the cream is suitable.
Do not over mix or knead
Keep mixture slightly sticky
Brush the tops with milk just before popping in pre-heated oven

Using cream in lieu of the butter enables easier and quicker mixing but these days "pure cream" is not a very constant product between brands and locations.

Dad had it easy in that respect, he had access to fresh un-pasteurised milk daily and so collected his own cream. The milk and cream he used was never more than say 12 hours old. Back in the day, it was probably even legal…



Another trick of the trade. How to make every customer think their scones were fresh out of the oven.

Prepare as usual but without brushing the tops with milk. Use a slightly cooler oven and cook until just done in the centre (time should be about the same as normal) and there should be no colour on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool quickly to room temperature - do not refrigerate. They can be kept for a few hours at least, preferably in airtight container. When needed, brush the tops with milk and pop into hot oven for 3 or 4 minutes until top is nicely coloured. Each customer felt their scones were cooked solely for them and in a way they were.


If you are stuck without access to baking powder, you can use baking soda (bi-carb) and an acid like cream of tatar or even lemonade at a pinch. Some like the additional sweetness of the lemonade but to my mind, it isn't a real scone. Note, a double acting baking powder really is the best.
And if you can't get good quality cream, use butter and full cream milk but be careful and gentle with mixing the butter into the flour.

EDIT: Eggs… thats a hard one, Dad didn't believe eggs belonged in scones but he also knew they improved them, especially if one couldn't get everything else just perfect. So he somethings used them very sparingly, say a small or medium egg to a mix of 12 or 18 scones.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Wotname

To the best of my knowledge, not only female...

Geoff, I dunno 'bout that! I'd always heard female, but to be "sure" I did a google search on the term. Lots of hits... but all the rather daunting photographs were of the female variety. Perhaps there are some dudes out there who crave additional hirsuteness in those regions, but they have been shy of the photographer (and the Google researchers). The whole concept is a bit odd to me...

And for what it is worth, I used to play industrial league softball before we left, and the team name was... the Merkins! None of the players as far as I know used such devices, and we were all blokes, so that must prove something?

Apparently the term was colloquially used by British swabbies as a name for the mops they used to swab out cannon barrels... rough lot, those Brits. The sexual orientation of such a device is unclear to me, so no help there.

So, I reckon it is a big mystery, but one not suited to a scone thread!

Cheers,

Jim

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

.......
So, I reckon it is a big mystery, but one not suited to a scone thread!

Cheers,

Jim

On this we can readily agree

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by monte

I think the goodies called em scoaaans. SWL my grandma used to take me along to the CWA meetings on the tram when I was about 5. Lots if fun knitting poodle baby powder covers.
Of course I've made Jen learn to make scones with jam and cream, my fave!
I'm not sure what her recipe is for that one but when some fellow cruisers asked for her French crepe recipe and she didn't have time to show them before they sailed, she made a cute video for them..

Thread drift alert...

Crepes, this is another area where I have managed to get some inside information from a genuine Michelin rated french chef. We all know the very best of chefs never share their recipes but in this case, the particular chef owned my wife a very big favour so she asked for some crepe hints as I was keen on them at the time.

His viewpoint was that crepe should be SIMPLE and as the classic crepe receipe is not a true secret, he was happy to share.

So the crepe is simple but not necessarily easy and he says the trick was in knowing what to serve with the crepe!!!

Classic crepe recipe. One medium egg for every cup of shifted plain flour, add enough cold milk so that mixture is the consistency of thin cream. If in doubt, make it thinner, not thicker. Don't overmix. Rest for at least 10 minutes but 20 is better. If it thickens up too much while resting, thin now with some milk.

To cook, heat crepe pan (very low sided frying pan about 8 inches in diameter) so that butter sizzles but not quite burns. Use a little less than teaspoon of butter per crepe. Must be butter, not oil. As soon as the butter is placed on pan and starts sizzling, pour a 1/3 cup of mixture into centre of plan and swirl the pan so that mixture spreads to edges. Be quick and return pan to heat. Turn when top of crepe has "set". If the heat is right, you will now have a light golden colour on the crepe and little valleys running though the surface where the butter was sizzling away. The second side should only take about half the time and won't have the valleys, rather it will have little spots and dark circles. When served, this is the bottom of the crepe so the golden valleys will be uppermost.

Use a blob of butter for each crepe!

This is the time honoured and classic crepe. To recap, one egg per cup of flour (approximately), enough cold milk to make THIN mix, rest and then cook with butter, nothing else.

Once I perfected this, everyone thought I had some secret ingredient(s), but simplicity is the key (along with the butter)!

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Thread drift alert...

Crepes, this is another area where I have managed to get some inside information from a genuine Michelin rated french chef. We all know the very best of chefs never share their recipes but in this case, the particular chef owned my wife a very big favour so she asked for some crepe hints as I was keen on them at the time.

His viewpoint was that crepe should be SIMPLE and as the classic crepe receipe is not a true secret, he was happy to share.

So the crepe is simple but not necessarily easy and he says the trick was in knowing what to serve with the crepe!!!

Classic crepe recipe. One medium egg for every cup of shifted plain flour, add enough cold milk so that mixture is the consistency of thin cream. If in doubt, make it thinner, not thicker. Don't overmix. Rest for at least 10 minutes but 20 is better. If it thickens up too much while resting, thin now with some milk.

To cook, heat crepe pan (very low sided frying pan about 8 inches in diameter) so that butter sizzles but not quite burns. Use a little less than teaspoon of butter per crepe. Must be butter, not oil. As soon as the butter is placed on pan and starts sizzling, pour a 1/3 cup of mixture into centre of plan and swirl the pan so that mixture spreads to edges. Be quick and return pan to heat. Turn when top of crepe has "set". If the heat is right, you will now have a light golden colour on the crepe and little valleys running though the surface where the butter was sizzling away. The second side should only take about half the time and won't have the valleys, rather it will have little spots and dark circles. When served, this is the bottom of the crepe so the golden valleys will be uppermost.

Use a blob of butter for each crepe!

This is the time honoured and classic crepe. To recap, one egg per cup of flour (approximately), enough cold milk to make THIN mix, rest and then cook with butter, nothing else.

Once I perfected this, everyone thought I had some secret ingredient(s), but simplicity is the key (along with the butter)!

Wottie, thanks for all the tips xxx.

+1 for not over beating and for the rest period .
Sitting is essential for the best crepes, pancakes, pikelets, bhajis and batters of any kind. The starch absorbs the liquid (I've also heard some mumbo jumbo about gluten "relaxing") and a far better texture results. I always add a bit too much liquid initially, then there is no need to "stress" the overly sensitive gluten by disturbing the mix and adding more later when it has thickened.

Wottie, the flour:egg mix you give is what I use for pancakes. I double it for crepes and can make them thinner. Either way, the result is scrumptious.
Only problem is they are best hot off the pan, so I am stuck in the galley, alternating passing one up to the cockpit and eating one as they are cooked.

I would love the luxury of occasionally just sitting back and having them served (next time we meet? ).

SWL

[Seaworthy Lass]

Uncivilized, you are obviously on a mission to get the most out of life, starting with breakfast.

May I offer a few suggestions?

Ann Cate has already proposed muffins. Good move .
Crepes have been covered here.

How about:
Pancakes
Oatmeal bake
Granola
Smoothies
Best egg recipes (omelettes etc) ......

I could happily have breakfast three times a day (or even better champagne brunches), so bring on the suggestions .

SWL

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by StuM

BTW, is it skon or skoan?

Depends where you ask - How do you pronounce scone? | OxfordWords blog

[UNCIVILIZED]

Wow, this thread's turned into quite the little Suare cum baking exchange (& other things) in my absence! I guess my splitting the coffee by 50% with Bailey's Irish Cream had the desired effect

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

For eating, I think scones are of a similar texture, but the method is quite different, with the fats coming from the cream for the scones, and from cutting in the shortening.
I don't know if the type of shortening affects the texture of the finished product.

The kind of shortening, as well as the type & grind of flour (along with the relative humidity that day) definitely affects the texture & density of the finished product. But then I've substituted everything from Corn Oil, to Crisco, & with a little bit of magic (and OJT/experience) 'most anything can be compensated for.
~ It's in the DNA on the Male side of the family, & we all cook by what's been dubbed "the dump method". Which turns out food that gets us chained to stoves, regardless of the dish. Sans dish washing duty even, but with lots of kisses & hugs, etc.

As an aside, I wondered as I read this thread if UNCIVILIZED is in effect, looking for a girl who can bake a cherry pie and it is just his cover story that he needs scone recipes for this putative delivery..... Devious old witch I am!

Cheers,
Ann

Ma'am, you're not too far off on this one. I tend to date Amazon, Jocks (Blondes often enough) mostly. And am in the market for a sailing partner, who, say: is a Physical Therapist that plays for & alternately works for a pro sports team (SCA maybe). Plus she makes sinful Blintzes, when I just think about said dish twice in 10 min.
- That way we'll eat healthy 90% of the time. Spoil each other... in, & out of the galley. And be able to fix each other's various sports dings & kinked muscles... Whether they truly need it or not


As to the Manifold Destiny "recipe" which started this thread. Well, I truly had to improvise in the galley, as I was brought in, mid-delivery as a hired gun. The San Francisco to Bellingham, WA leg of an 80' Square Rigged, Brig, Schooner's trip "home". And I didn't get to do the key bits of provisioning, so... I had to improvise. Plus, we were low on stove gas, as it was CNG, with half a dozen guys to feed for 2'ish weeks.
That CNG stuff's dang hard to find in ports!

- Keep in mind most of my cooking is done by the "Dump Method", & seasoned to taste. Measuring cups are for new, complex recipe's only.

So... After a midnight watch, with morale @ a low, I speed dialed MacGyver. Oh, wait, no cell phone, let alone service, 100 nm offshore (in 1995).
Thus, I rooted through the cupboards, & found the following candidates; Bisquick, Olive Oil, Sugar, Oats, Raisins, Vanilla, Eggs, Salt, Baking Powder, Condensed Milk.

1) Boil Raisins in 3-5 thimbles full of water
2) After 5min @ a boil, add enough Oats to soak up all of the water/steam said Oats, with the burner off.
3) Cut Olive Oil into Bisquick, then add; Salt, Sugar, & Baking Powder.
4) Added; Raisins, Cooled-Steamed Oats, Vanilla, Eggs, & a splash of Condensed Milk
5) Mixed thoroughly.
6) Greased LARGE Pasta Pot (we had no Dutch Oven) with Olive Oil, & sprinkled Dry Oats onto cutting board.
7) Rolled out dough until 1" (25mm) thick, & well coated on both sides with Oats. Then cut out Scones with a wine glass
8) Put Scones into pot, 2-layers deep, with greased foil between layers. Sealed pot & then placed onto manifold, which I judged to be about 275 degrees F.
9) Crawled into my bunk for 90 min +/-, & after checking pot, dozed for 15min more.
10) Mixed 1 Egg, some Olive Oil, & Vanilla - Painted tops of Scones -> Pot onto manifold again.
11) Made a mess of Bacon, Canadian Bacon, & Gourmet Cowboy Coffee, plus Toast (Pumpernickel, with butter & marmalade - of course).
12) Smells from Step 11 woke everyone, &... Breakfast was served.

Not much talking transpired until after ALL of the food was gone, & the inquiries started as to how I made scones, as we were rationing stove fuel (even for, Heaven forbid, Coffee). Ergo the Attorney 4am witness.
- Morale took a big jump... fortunately, & after that, Chef got added to my duties as 1st Officer. From then on we had 2 hot, real meals a day. Not just luke warm canned Chili or similar, once a day, as before.

Funny thing was, we never ran out of stove fuel. Although given the change in the mood onboard, the owner was up for drop shipping some to wherever might have been needed, so long as I kept cooking.
Good delivery; found a new hometown along the way, & wound up dating the owner's daughter (cliché I know: but smart, cultured, & gorgeous).

- Speaking of food, now I'm hungry. Time for a wee hours snack.


PS: Ann, if this gal can also make good pies; cherry, peach, apple, mince meat, rhubarb, or blackberry, etc... put up with me, plus is affectionate & can dance. Well, you & Jim will be invited to the nuptials.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Uncivilized, you are obviously on a mission to get the most out of life, starting with breakfast.

May I offer a few suggestions?

Ann Cate has already proposed muffins. Good move .
Crepes have been covered here.

How about:
Pancakes
Oatmeal bake
Granola
Smoothies
Best egg recipes (omelettes etc) ......

I could happily have breakfast three times a day (or even better champagne brunches), so bring on the suggestions .

SWL

Any of the above are great - as long as they are served with crispy bacon

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

...
Wottie, the flour:egg mix you give is what I use for pancakes. I double it for crepes and can make them thinner. Either way, the result is scrumptious.
Only problem is they are best hot off the pan, so I am stuck in the galley, alternating passing one up to the cockpit and eating one as they are cooked.

I would love the luxury of occasionally just sitting back and having them served (next time we meet? ).

SWL

Well perhaps...
In the meanwhile however I suggest you just swap places with whoever is in the cockpit.
Anyone who can operate a cockpit can also manage crepes with only a modicum of training.

[monte]

I think Jen likes to let the crepe mix stand for at least an hour. Also she likes to use a piece of potatoe to rub across the pan between crepes instead of butter. Last ikea trip she picked up a crepe pan for about the 10th time and after some discussion it was finally allowed on board
Me being a stupid non chef and always wanting to double purpose things onboard couldn't understand why a frypan wouldn't be just as good. I've since seen the error of my ways and now realise having the right tool for the job and lots of them = more yummy food for me!