Apple & Berry Scones

After my great success with Sourdough Bread – all thanks to the virtual guidance of Patrick Ryan from Firehouse Bakery in Ireland and the website ilovecooking.ie – I knew I needed to try his recipe for scones. I used Ryan’s Apple & Berry Scones Recipe. This was easy to follow, and easy to be exact thanks to the digital kitchen scale. I am not sure that the final product looked the way he intended, especially since I chose to omit the sliced almonds, but they were really pretty. And perfectly crumbly.  I served it with Emily G’s Triple Berry Jam and it was the perfect addition.
 
I learned a lot about scones in general when I did my research to select a scone recipe. The website FoodCrumbles.com talked about the science of baking scones. I encourage you to read the article for yourself, but here’s the part I found most interesting: “In order to get that crumbliness, you need those fat pockets (from the butter). Not starting by mixing the flour and butter at the start can cause them to not form properly. However, there’s another thing to keep in mind. The butter has to remain solid while making the scones. If the butter melts completely those pockets are gone and it will become more bread like than scone like. Also, remember to not extensively knead the scone dough. Knead so that everything just comes together, but not anymore or again you will lose those air pockets.”

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Bre-Baking...

... & out of the oven and served with Emily G's Triple Berry Jam