Belinda Jeffrey

Scones

5/15/2008 02:14:00 PM

*I am desperate to blog about our incredible dinner at Bistro Guillaume 2 nights ago, but I've hurt my hand. Using the mouse makes it worse, and typing is incredibly slow. So, I've decided to publish this post from my drafts. Enjoy!*

Clockwise from front: whipped cream, scones, strawberry jam.

I love a good scone. A few weeks ago, we had some early-morning visitors - an occasion for which scones would be perfect. Making scones is easy, choosing a recipe is hard. Especially when you are the proud owner of dozens of cookbooks, and each scone recipe is slightly different. Donna Hay, Belinda Jeffrey, Bill Granger, Mrs Beeton? Where to begin? In the end, I chose a recipe from the "Teatime" chapter of Relish by Joanna Weinberg, mainly because the photo was the most attractive.


As you can see, the scones turned out quite flat. Even generous dollops of cream and jam couldn't make them appear sufficiently tall and scone-like. They did, however, smell gorgeous and taste great.

After making these, I cross referenced this recipe against my other ones, and conclude that the flatness of the scones is the fault of the method. Whilst the ingredients and proportions were all fine (hence the nice texture, taste and smell), the instructions weren't very good. Weinberg instructs you to roll the mixture an inch (2.5cm) thick, which I did. This was obviously not thick enough! According to Belinda Jeffrey, Australian cookery writer and baker extraordinaire, scones don't rise very much and should be rolled at least 2 inches (5cm) thick. I'll have to try that next time.


*If you'd like to feel even more sorry for me, I'll let you know that I've also got a cold. Blergh! Can't go out, can barely type, can't cook ('cos of the hand). I am so incredibly bored. I even watched the Rachel Ray talk show on W. Shudder.*

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9 comments

  1. Sending you "get well" wishes & hugs... Vida x

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  2. Poor old you! Hope you're feeling better soon (and back to a healthy disdain for Rachel Ray...).

    As far as scones go, you definitely shouldn't need to make them 2" thick, but you do need cold hands (and preferably a cold kitchen) to get them to rise nicely (well, they're Scottish, after all!). And rather than rolling out the dough, try patting it gently into shape - the less it's worked the better. By the time you've cut them in half and piled them high with jam and clotted cream, though (mmmmm, cholesterol!), no-one will be able to tell the difference anyway...

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  3. Oh dear sweetie! Many hugs from me until you feel better! ((()))

    Your scones still look lovely though, I wouldn't turn one of those down! :-)

    xxx

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  4. Get better soon Sarah. I want to read your Bistro Guillaume review as that's one place I want to try.

    As for the scones, I made Belinda Jeffry's buttermilk scones and they were not too flat. They weren't towers either, but like boffcat said, once you fill them with cream and jam, they are pretty high.

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  5. I second Boffcat on the handling method.
    Still, they look good & that cream looks awesome.
    Feel better. Drink lots of hot tea!

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  6. Anonymous7:14 AM

    Oooh...I just love a good scone - doesn't matter if it's flat or tall, as long as its topped with strawberry jam or cream (or when I'm feeling indulgent, golden syrup and cream), yuuuum!

    And poor you! I hope you feel better soon. Give your hand plenty of rest (no cooking or typing), which means you must go out to eat instead!

    Looking forward to your Guillaume review!

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  7. Oh dear- feel better soon!

    The scones look lovely, and you're right it is hard choosing a recipe.

    Just don't start talking about EVOO lol... ;)

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  8. Thank-you everyone for the well-wishes! And for the scone advice, Boffcat, Thanh and Lisa!

    I'm feeling a bit better, lots of tea, honey, chicken soup and rest seem to be doing the trick! I gave up on watching Rachel Ray (gave me a headache) and have been happily watching Ellen, Barefoot Contessa, SATC and Nigella. Yay!

    I'm just typing with my left hand, and have my right hand firmly stuck on a bag of frozen broad beans. Guillaume post coming soon!

    xox Sarah

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  9. Forgot to add, Laura, Unio EVOO (Spanish) is my absolute fave! No difficult decisions there :)

    xox Sarah

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My email address is sarahcooks [at] hotmail [dot] com.