Recipe: Oat and Currant Scones

Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking.  The Countryman Press, Woodstock, 2006 pp. 85 - 6.

We've got a group of friends we generally term "the Allston crowd."  Not all of them live in Allston, but we mostly see them there.  Some of them are people we knew from our college days who just fell in love with the traditional student neighborhood and never left and I guess that you could say that's how we know them.  Others have kind of come to us through that core group of Allstonians.  They throw a few parties a year at one of two homes in Allston and we always have a fantastic time there.  I really appreciate their willingness to host and I hate to show up empty-handed, but I have a kind of mental conflict.  I hate showing up empty handed but I'm always more than a little reluctant to share the results of my kitchen experiments.  Many of the folks in that circle know each other from cooking school, you see, and at least one of them is still working as a professional pastry chef.  I'm always a little ashamed of my efforts, particularly where dessert is concerned.

I decided to bring these whole-wheat oat and currant scones to their most recent party.  Not only do I prefer whole wheat to white flour these days, but I know that most of them don't really use whole wheat flour for sweet dishes so it's something they probably wouldn't already have on the table.  Scones are also not supposed to be terribly pretty, which eliminates my concern about making food that isn't as pretty as theirs.  I did make a few changes, although not as many changes as I might have wanted.  I used all whole-wheat flour instead of mixing whole-wheat and white flours as the original required.  I just preferred to use 100% whole wheat.  To counter the relative dryness of the whole-wheat flour I increased the buttermilk by 1/4 cup.  I also used raw sugar for the sugar required in the recipe.  This may seem like a minor change to you but I assure you the flavor is different.

The results were well-received.  I enjoyed them, my husband delighted in them and people at the party seemed to get into them.

Oat and Current Scones (makes 24 scones; approx. $0.09/serving)

12 1/4 ounces whole wheat flour

3 1/4 ounces oat flour

3 1/2 ounces raw sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

2 1/2  ounces currants

2 1/4 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Milk or cream for brushing the tops

Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Equipment:

• Stand mixer with paddle attachment
• Baking sheets
• Floured surface

1. Preheat your oven to 375°.
2. Grease a baking sheet.  I prefer to use cooking spray here but do what works for you.
3. Combine the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer.
4. Add the butter.  Mix gently until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
5. Add the currants and oats.  Barely mix them.
6. Combine the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.  Add to the stand mixer all at once.  Mix lightly and quickly until evenly moistened and no more.
7. Divide the dough into two equal heaps and turn out onto the floured surface.
8. Knead a few times.  Divide the dough heaps again in half.
9. Pat the heaps into circles about 1/2" thick.
10. Transfer two circles to each baking sheet.  Cut each circle into 6 triangles and separate barely.
11. Brush the tops with milk or cream and sprinkle coarse sugar over the tops.
12. Bake 22 minutes.
13. Serve warm.

Comments

[Karen]

This recipe looks great, now where can you find a scone for 9 cents a serving? I Will try this recipe with my frozen huckleberries.

Thanks!