Monday, January 19, 2009

Scones for Lunch

My mom often made scones when she was making bread, and I've been making them a lot lately. For many years I didn't like the way they turned out, but I think I've figured out some tricks.

I start by greasing a cookie sheet and then rolling out some bread dough on it. It's ok if the dough has already risen once, but it also works fine if it hasn't. Then I use the pizza cutter to cut the dough right then. If you wait and cut it after it's risen, it will make the dough fall at least a little. Then I cover them with a light towel and let them rise for a while.


I used to worry that letting the scones rise before cooking them was making the raw bread dough a little "crusty" on top and they wouldn't rise as well in the hot oil. I think I've decided that that's not a problem if you put the scones upside down in the hot oil. So the surface that was against the cookie sheet is on top in the pan of oil. This seems to allow them to rise a lot more.
And rise they do--they puff up just like little pillows. I always start with a test scone to be sure that the oil temperature is ready before I put a bunch in. If they cook too slowly they absorb more oil, and that's no good. But if they cook too fast they won't have time to rise and they'll be doughy in the middle.
When they come out of the oil I set them on a paper-towel covered plate so that any excess oil will be absorbed.

We love to eat scones with
with peanut butter and honey. Yum. Or peanut butter and homemade strawberry freezer jam. Yum Yum!

8 comments:

  1. yum... you are making me excited for my scones today!!! :)

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  2. They puffed up in the pan so nicely that I just had to take pictures!

    (Come home and I will make you scones, and give you freezer jam with them!!! ;) )

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  3. OK.. how about the 17th of February?

    I miss that freezer jam!!! My freezer jam (peach-plum) is good but nowhere near the strawberry.

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  4. Ok, I've read about this freezer jam for a while now, where do I find a receipe?? I don't think that is a southern thing, if so I've never heard of it...

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  5. Ok, I've read about this freezer jam for a while now, where do I find a receipe?? I don't think that is a southern thing, if so I've never heard of it...

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  6. My mouth is watering. I'm going to make those tomorrow!

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  7. Opps, Guess I don't have this comment thing down pat just yet, sorry for posting twice.

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  8. Sharon--one time I left the same comment on Tessem's blog 3 times! So don't feel bad.

    Freezer jam isn't any particular recipe--it's just a method of making jam that goes in the freezer instead of getting cooked. I love strawberry freezer jam because you keep much more of the fresh strawberry taste. I just buy the low-sugar boxes of pectin mix (Like Sure-Gel) and use their recipes. It's as easy as pie. ;)

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