Lori Leckmans Buttermilk Scones Food

BUTTERMILK SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Add butter and mix with your fingertips to a coarse meal. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined. Add currants, if desired.
• Transfer dough to a floured board and divide into 2 parts. Roll each to 3/4 inch thick rounds. Cut each round into 8 wedges and place slightly separated on a greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with the cream, and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm, split in half with butter and marmalade.

BUTTERMILK SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, dry buttermilk and salt in a medium bowl. Add the rosemary and/or chocolate chips. In a small bowl, whisk the melted butter, vanilla and 1 cup cream. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 1 minute.
• Divide the dough into 2 balls; roll out each ball into a 1/2-to-3/4-inch-thick disk. Brush the tops of the disks with the remaining 2 tablespoons cream, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Cut each disk into 6 wedges. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

BUTTERMILK SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a large lipped baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Put the flour into a bowl with the baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar. Chop the butter and the vegetable shortening into pieces and drop them into the flour. Rub the fats into the flour - or just mix any old how - and then pour in the buttermilk, working everything together to form a dough.
• Lightly flour your work surface. Pat the dough into a round-edged oblong about 1 3/4 inches thick and cut out 2-inch scones with a biscuit cutter. (Mine are never a uniform height, as I only pat the dough into its shape without worrying whether it's irregular or not.)
• Arrange the scones fairly close together on your lined baking sheet, and brush with beaten egg (to give golden tops) or not as you wish.
• Bake for 12 minutes, by which time the scones will be dry on the bottom and have a relatively light feel. Remove them to a wire rack to cool, and serve with clotted cream and your favourite jam.
• Make Ahead Note: Scones are best on the day they are made but day-old scones can be revived by warming in oven preheated to 300 degrees F for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Freeze Note: Baked scones can be frozen in airtight containers or resealable bags for up to one month. Thaw for 1 hour at room temperature and warm as above. Unbaked scones can be put on parchment-lined trays and frozen until solid. Transfer to resealable bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake direct from frozen, as directed in recipe, but allowing extra 2 to 3 minutes baking time.

BUTTERMILK SCONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the flour, salt and butter into a food processor and pulse until you can't feel any lumps of butter (or rub in butter with fingers). Pulse in the sugar.
• Gently warm the buttermilk (don't throw away the pot) and vanilla in a microwave or pan. Using your largest bowl, quickly tip in some of the flour mix, followed by some of the buttermilk mix, repeating until everything is in the bowl. Use a knife to quickly mix together to form a dough - don't over-mix it.
• Tip onto a floured surface and lightly bring together with your hands a couple of times. Press out gently to about 4cm thick and stamp out rounds with a 6cm or 7cm cutter. Re-shape trimmings, until all the dough is used. Spread out on a lightly floured baking sheet or two. Add a splash of milk into the buttermilk pot, then use to glaze the top of each scone. Bake for 10-12 mins until golden and well risen.

LORI LECKMAN'S LEMON-MADEIRA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line two loaf pans (approximately 10-inch-by-6-inch) with buttered baking parchment, and dust with flour.
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Combine flour and baking powder.
• Beat the eggs. Add eggs gradually to the butter, beating well with a wooden spoon. If the mixture shows signs of curdling add a spoonful of flour.
• Gradually mix in the almonds, lemon peel and lemon zests. The mixture may require a little milk to reach the ''dropping'' consistency: that is, thick enough to require a sharp tap to dislodge it from the spoon, but not light enough to pour.
• Distribute batter evenly in the loaf pans - it should reach a little more than half way up the sides. Bake for 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees, then reduce oven to 300 and bake another hour. Test by inserting a warm knife in the center: if it comes out clean the cake is done. Let the cake cool in its tin.

BUTTERMILK RAISIN SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 330 degrees F.
• Grease large cookie sheet.
• Mix first 5 ingredients in large bowl.
• Add butter and rub with fingertips until mixture resembles fine meal.
• Whisk buttermilk, eggs and vanilla in medium bowl to blend.
• Gradually add to flour mixture along with raisins and stir until moist clumps form.
• Turn dough out onto lightly-floured surface.
• Knead 4 times to blend.
• Transfer to prepared cookie sheet and press into 8 inch round.
• Using small, sharp knife, score dough into 8 wedges.
• Bake until golden-brown and tester comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
• Cool slightly.
• Re-cut.

BASIC BUTTERMILK SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7/fan 200C. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl. Add the butter, cut into small pieces and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Tip in the buttermilk and mix lightly and quickly to form a soft dough. Knead very briefly, then roll out to 2cm thickness and cut into sixteen 5cm rounds.
• Put on a baking sheet (no need to grease) a little apart, and bake for 12-15 minutes, until risen and pale golden.

BUTTERMILK & SULTANA SCONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and lightly flour a large baking sheet. Tip the flour into a large bowl and stir in the baking powder, xanthan gum, sugar and ½ tsp salt.
• Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it is completely incorporated, then add the sultanas. Stir the buttermilk and milk together, then pour into the flour mixture. Stir in with the blade of a knife to make a soft dough.
• Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and pat out with your hands until about 4cm thick. Don't knead the mixture as this will make a heavy scone, and if the mixture seems a little too wet, leave for a few mins, as gluten-free flour requires more liquid than wheat flour. Stamp out rounds using a 7cm floured cutter, then place the scones on the baking tray, spaced apart. You will need to lightly squash the dough trimmings together to give you 8-9 scones in total. Brush the tops of the scones with milk, sprinkle with sugar and bake for 10-12 mins until pale golden. Serve with butter and jam, or push the boat out with clotted cream and strawberries, too. Best eaten on the day they are made.

LORI LECKMAN'S BUTTERMILK SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 420 degrees.
• Mix flour with baking powder and sugar. Rub butter into the flour until it forms the texture of fine bread crumbs (this can be done in a food processor).
• Beat eggs lightly. Place dry mixture in a mixing bowl and form a well in the center. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the eggs and 1/4 pint of buttermilk into the well. Add the raisins and mix thoroughly, adding more buttermilk if needed to form a sticky but homogenous dough that can be kneaded lightly on a floured board.
• Knead dough lightly on a floured board, and roll out into a rectangular shape, approximately one-inch thick. Cut dough into roughly two-inch squares. Place squares on a well-greased baking sheet. Brush with remaining eggs and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until scones have puffed and are golden.