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Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,368
Registered: ‎07-17-2011

Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

After watching the Father Brown mysteries on PBS, I've developed a craving for some of Mrs. M's "Award Winning Strawberry Scones".  To my surprise I didn't find them on the Internet.  Have any of you come up with a recipe that's worthy of a British bring-and-buy?

  

Valued Contributor
Posts: 649
Registered: ‎01-19-2015

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

On occasion, I have found some Orange/Cranberry scones at our local target store.  I enjoy them after a meal with a cup of coffee or tea.

Occasional Visitor
Posts: 1
Registered: ‎07-25-2013

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

HoneyBit, I too love the British mysteries/crime shows.  I enjoy Father Brown and am now watching Midsomer Murders on Netflix.  I fantasize about owning a thatched-roof cottage in an English village with a beautiful garden!  Everyone uses charming tea sets carried on trays and they always have biscuits or scones on a plate.  I always get the urge to drink tea and have a cookie or scone when I watch.  Wegman's has a nice selection of British teas and biscuits.  I don't have a strawberry scone recipe, but I know the good ones use lots of cold butter and cream.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,258
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

I've enjoyed both the current "Father Brown" series and the one that aired some time ago.  Here's my go-to strawberry scone recipe, which is great this time of year.  You'll note the addition of lemon zest, which is a perfect paring with the strawberries.  .

 

Strawberries and Cream Scones

 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup strawberries (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)
  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 TB unsalted butter
  • 2 tsp lemon or orange zest
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut butter into small cubes and blend with a pastry blender until it resembles small peas. Add the zest and strawberries. Then slowly and gradually add the cream while mixing with a fork.
  2. As soon as the flour starts to come together into a dough, remove from the bowl and form into a ball. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead gently four or five times. Then shape with your hands (or a rolling pin) into an 8x10" rectangle. Cut the rectangle lengthwise into two 4x10" rectangles. Cut each of those into 6 or 7 triangles and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
  3. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with softened butter, jam, creme fraiche or just as they are. Enjoy!
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,113
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

America's Test Kitchen had a show a couple of months ago where they made British Scones and they looked very authentic. I think you have to have some kind of membership to access their recipes so if anyone has that could you please post the recipe? Thanks Smiley Happy
What they mean by a strawberry scone is a fresh baked scone, cut in half and spread with butter then strawberry jam and topped with clotted cream.Delicious!
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,113
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

I just tried and if you google " ATK British style scones' you can see the recipe.
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,368
Registered: ‎07-17-2011

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

[ Edited ]

sfnative, thanks for your recipe; it sounds delicious and I love the thought of the lemon zest with the strawberry flavor.

 

Ohhh, Lynne, you heartless pusher -- you played right into my addiction to chasing down Google references.  First, thanks for the information that UK strawberry scones don't have strawberries IN them, they have strawberries spread ON them.

 

For some reason, googling "ATK British Style Scones" on my system got no hits, but "British Style Scones" got quite a few, including the America's Test Kitchen / Cook's Illustrated Site.  One hit was for the ATK Cooking School which let me read the Scone Recipe without needing a membership.  It also had a lovely picture of an open scone spread with jam.

 

http://www.onlinecookingschool.com/school/courses/218/topics/1784

 

I also found this:

 

http://www.eatthelove.com/2013/02/honey-thyme-scones/

 

which in turn led to a site with five different ways to make clotted cream (stovetop, oven, slow cooker, double boiler, and cheater's):

 

https://www.theculinarylife.com/2011/clotted-cream-recipe/

 

Now, if I can just stop reading about them long enough to go make some!

 

Thanks for your UK viewpoint -- I'll try to format the ATK recipe and copy it in a second post for other British mystery fans.

 

 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,247
Registered: ‎09-24-2011

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

Strawberry Scones!  Thanx!Cat Happy  Love the Fr, Brown series! 

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Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,368
Registered: ‎07-17-2011

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

British-Style Scones with Currants
(America’s Test Kitchen Cooking School)

 

The differences between American and British scones are much like the cultures from which they come. While rich, dense American scones are no-holds-barred, cakelike British scones show restraint. They feature far less butter and far more baking powder. Instead of a “the more the better” ideology when it comes to add-ins, British scones usually only include a smattering of currants. And while American scones are topped with egg wash and lots of coarse sugar, the British version uses a light milk-and-egg wash to add browning.

 

There are also differences in technique. For the cakelike texture of British scones that we were after, we rubbed butter into the dry ingredients so completely that it was no longer visible—no lumps, no flakes. Using soft, room-temperature butter make this process even easier, quicker, and more thorough. This produced scones with a finer, more even crumb.

 

For many baked goods that require rolling out the dough (biscuits, pie dough), rerolling scraps produces a tougher, more squat result. This is because the action of rolling creates a stronger, tighter gluten network—and too much gluten can negatively influence texture and rise. But our British-style scones offer more leeway. The butter is worked into the flour so thoroughly that it prevents many of the proteins from ever linking up to form gluten in the first place. Far from being a hazard, rerolling the second batch of dough merely encourages a little more of the proteins to link together, leading to a bit more structure and more lift in the oven.

 

Leftover scones may be stored in freezer and reheated in 300-degree oven for 15 minutes before serving. Serve these scones with jam as well as salted butter or clotted cream.

 

Total Cooking Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes Preparation Time: 10 minutes Active Cooking Time: 20 minutes Yield: 12 scones

British-Style Scones with Currants

3 Cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour *

1/3 Cup (2½ ounces) sugar

2 Tablespoons baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon salt

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 Cup dried currants

1 Cup whole milk * *

2 Large eggs

 

  1. Cut 8 tablespoons unsalted butter into ½-inch pieces and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  2. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
  3. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Pulse 3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces) sugar, 2 tablespoons baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt in food processor until combined, about 5 pulses.
  5. Add softened butter and pulse until fully incorporated and mixture looks like very fine crumbs with no visible butter, about 20 pulses.
  6. Transfer mixture to large bowl and stir in ¾ cup dried currants.
  7. Whisk 1 cup whole milk and 2 large eggs together in second bowl.
  8. Set aside 2 tablespoons milk mixture.
  9. Add remaining milk mixture to flour mixture and, using rubber spatula, fold together until almost no dry bits of flour remain.
  10. Transfer dough to well-floured counter and gather into ball.
  11. With floured hands, knead until surface is smooth and free of cracks, 25 to 30 times.
  12. Press gently to form disk. Using floured rolling pin, roll disk into 9-inch round, about 1 inch thick
  13. Using floured 2½-inch round cutter, stamp out 8 rounds, recoating cutter with flour if it begins to stick. Arrange scones on prepared sheet.
  14. Gather dough scraps, form into ball, and knead gently until surface is smooth. Roll dough to 1-inch thickness and stamp out 4 scones. Discard remaining dough.
  15. Brush tops of scones with reserved milk mixture.
  16. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake scones until risen and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
  17. Transfer scones to wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

* This dough will be quite soft and wet; keep extra flour on hand to use to dust your work surface and your hands when handling the dough.

* * We prefer whole milk in this recipe, but low-fat milk can be used.

 

For a tall, even rise, use a sharp-edged biscuit cutter and push straight down; do not twist the cutter when punching out the scones.

 

 (Sorry, I'll have to read up on the new format's system for including a picture -- I couldn't add it here.)

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,113
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Scone Bakers? Father Brown Fans?

Well done HoneyBit! I have very limited computer skills but I knew someone would be able to do it Smiley Happy
So when should we come over for the tea party,lol? I'll bring the English tea and some miniature trifles Smiley Happy