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I baked a scone. I used to bake a lot and then things interfered. This is my first baking this year but hopefully not the last.
The original recipe was from my paternal grandmother, who was an ace seamstress & milliner (skills commonly taught to girls like her in Ireland in her day) but her cooking often left something to be desired. She did very disturbing things to vegetables
.
But she made delightful scones - not the same thing as Irish soda bread - and we loved them. We knew there’d be a fresh scone anytime we visited.
I always liked the whole wheat ones she made but the rest of the family preferred the white ones with raisins.
She didn’t measure anything - a dedicated large spoon served for scooping & mixing.
My Mom spent the time one afternoon to properly measure what Grandma threw in the mixing bowl - and that day the scones were on the dry side. Ever after, Mom’s scones were usually on the dry side too. Just meant slathering on more butter!
Even on the dry side Grandma’s scones were good but when she got them just right for moistness they were to die for. A bit of butter and her Seville orange marmalade - nothing better!
I’m converting the volume measures into grams so I will be able to get more consistent results - it’s a bit of an ongoing process of tweaking amounts until I get one that’s just right.
This one barely rose - and I know the baking powder was good because I tested it first to be sure, so why it hadn’t risen very much is a puzzle.
I prefer whole grain flours so this is a combo of whole rye, sprouted spelt & some whole wheat along with a nice helping of oat fibre.
Instead of Grandma’s buttermilk, I use yogurt (or sour milk if there is any) and replace some of the lard - Grandma was a thrifty woman & unlike most recipes for Irish scone that call for butter, she used lard, as it was cheaper than butter.
I use half the lard she did and I throw in raisins because I like ‘em.
Irish scones are sweetened, unlike soda bread, but in this scone I used date sugar instead of white sugar.
Date sugar is dried whole dates ground to a fine powder so it strikes me as being healthier than sugar - but it is too expensive to use all the time.
Only used 1/3 cup in this - guess I’ll find out how it tastes. Has to cool off first. Scones are not at their best hot out of the oven.
The original recipe was from my paternal grandmother, who was an ace seamstress & milliner (skills commonly taught to girls like her in Ireland in her day) but her cooking often left something to be desired. She did very disturbing things to vegetables
. But she made delightful scones - not the same thing as Irish soda bread - and we loved them. We knew there’d be a fresh scone anytime we visited.
I always liked the whole wheat ones she made but the rest of the family preferred the white ones with raisins.
She didn’t measure anything - a dedicated large spoon served for scooping & mixing.
My Mom spent the time one afternoon to properly measure what Grandma threw in the mixing bowl - and that day the scones were on the dry side. Ever after, Mom’s scones were usually on the dry side too. Just meant slathering on more butter!
Even on the dry side Grandma’s scones were good but when she got them just right for moistness they were to die for. A bit of butter and her Seville orange marmalade - nothing better!
I’m converting the volume measures into grams so I will be able to get more consistent results - it’s a bit of an ongoing process of tweaking amounts until I get one that’s just right.
This one barely rose - and I know the baking powder was good because I tested it first to be sure, so why it hadn’t risen very much is a puzzle.
I prefer whole grain flours so this is a combo of whole rye, sprouted spelt & some whole wheat along with a nice helping of oat fibre.
Instead of Grandma’s buttermilk, I use yogurt (or sour milk if there is any) and replace some of the lard - Grandma was a thrifty woman & unlike most recipes for Irish scone that call for butter, she used lard, as it was cheaper than butter.
I use half the lard she did and I throw in raisins because I like ‘em.
Irish scones are sweetened, unlike soda bread, but in this scone I used date sugar instead of white sugar.
Date sugar is dried whole dates ground to a fine powder so it strikes me as being healthier than sugar - but it is too expensive to use all the time.
Only used 1/3 cup in this - guess I’ll find out how it tastes. Has to cool off first. Scones are not at their best hot out of the oven.
