Baking and Blueberries

After spending a weekend at a resort in the Muskokas I have been reconnected to two universal and immutable truths; 1) We live in a massive, beautiful country and 2) Resort food is one small step up from cafeteria fare. Suffice to say I had a tableside melt down about the abuse of the term soufflé (and was reduced to astonishment over a variation of risotto) but away from the table thoroughly enjoyed a respite from the city.



On the long and windy (and rainy) drive home we fulfilled our prerequisites as Canadians and stopped a Tim Hortons and in doing so happily found a farm stand selling berries. I picked up raspberries (which were promptly eaten in the car) and a pint of wild blueberries which were saved for more elevated fare. Relaxed and refreshed from the lake weekend I felt ambitious; I was going to make scones.



Scones rate up there with pie crusts on the ‘things I do not enjoy making’ list. It’s not that I don’t like to bake – fresh bread is mainstay at our house, cakes are common and even the dreaded (and misunderstood) soufflé makes appearances. It’s the finicky flakey pastries where I fall flat. This is not to say that I can’t or won’t attempt them or that when I do the results are tragedies. It’s just that they’re never as good as I want them to be. I imagine a light, moist crumb that falls apart in the mouth; I get a slightly wet interior with structural integrity, not the flakiness I covet.



I’m pretty sure my Achilles occurs in the cutting in of the butter, an important stage where you want to leave the butter cold and reduced the crumb like particle, not amalgamated into the dough. The premise being that you want the little butter balls to melt during the baking creating the stream necessary for flakiness to ensue. Traditionally done with fingers (impossibly hard), two knifes (still pretty impossible), or pastry cutter (only massively improbable) the best modern manner is to blend in a food processor (which I lack). This time I decided to take a new route and, after placing the butter in the freezer, grated it into the dry ingredients. The results were honestly my best yet. Still room for improvement – they by no means hit the ethereal level I aim for and in hindsight I may have been a little exuberant in adding the full pint of blueberries as the resulting moisture added unnecessary weight - but these have been my first scones that didn’t make me sad.

Blueberry Scone Recipe



2 cups sifted flour


4 teaspoons baking powder


1/4 teaspoon salt


1 tablespoon light brown sugar


1/4 cup butter (very cold – best to keep in the freezer 1 hour preceeding)


2 eggs


3/4 cup whipping cream


1 pint of blueberries



Method:





Preheat oven to 425ºF.



Sift the dry ingredients together.



Using a large box grater grate the cold butter into the dry ingredients. The result should have the texture of cornmeal. Add the blueberries.



Beat eggs until light, then mix them with the whipping. Add this liquid mix to the dry ingredients, stirring as little as possible.



Pat the dough to form a large rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Cut into desired shape with a biscuit cutter and place on greased and floured baking pan.



Brush with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar.Bake at 425ºF for about 18 minutes until lightly golden.