#80 My Ultimate Scones

... the perfect Mother's Day bake.

The pain of last week hasn’t evaporated but this week I’ve been able to trudge on with a modicum of dynamism. My response to feeling out of control and all sorts of anxiety is to bury my head in very not-important diversions. Typically, this has involved tackling a range of Mensa-like bakes, some drawing (probably more accurately referred to as doodling), some camera learning (this still baffles my brain AND I now have a VERY unrealistic desire to own a Leica camera because they look UNBELIEVABLE!), and a spot of people-ing.

In moments, this is how things have unfolded this week.

A CROISSANT STORY

On Sunday (after a day or two of pointless pondering) I thought it was a very good idea to try my hand at some hand laminated croissants - I’ve done this once before, so I know what to expect (sweat and some tears plus a lot of patience). Thus I was slightly daunted and realistically, it was possibly the most stress-induing task I could think of tackling under the circumstances.
Nevertheless, I barrelled in, armed with some fabulous T45 flour from Shipton Mill (when people tell you that the flour you use it your bakes makes a difference, they’re not lying - this stuff changes everything), Matt Adlard’s recipe (as well as a few notes from him personally) and some very high expectations of myself.

As I’m sure you are aware, the technicalities of croissant preparation are endless, needless to say, the process is humbling, and I learnt a lot on this latest journey. Firstly that fresh or ‘Osmotolerant’ yeast varieties are best for producing a well risen croissant with a more favourable texture and flavour. I used bog standard instant yeast which worked but it was v.SLOW to activate and I think compromised me a bit. Secondly, the base dough (fancy name = détrempe) should not be overworked (oops); create too much gluten in the initial stages and you run into trouble later… I did. This is partly because the dough rises over a long period and, as Nicola Lamb explains in her article here, yeast has the capacity to ‘knead’ dough of its own accord, strengthening the gluten as fermentation occurs. Once you get to the stage of laminating the dough, it becomes really difficult to roll out (which in itself creates gluten). This means you have to work VERY hard wrestling it into the desired shape, and your butter layers become increasingly mashed into the dough layers which isn’t altogether a rosy situation.
Oh… you also must roll the dough with even pressure and work as quickly as you can… but don’t be too aggressive - just do it ‘right’ ok?
Other parameters that have to be carefully monitored are the butter type, (it should be at least 82% fat, sheeted stuff also helps because it’s already in an even layer), and temperature (it needs to be a Goldilocks temp of around 12C so that it’s ‘plastic’ and will spread out easily) as well as the temperature of the base dough which should be at around 4C when you start laminating. The environment for the croissants final proof should not exceed 27C or you are likely to get a leaky butter sitch when you bake. Finally, collecting up your scraps and re-rolling them (add an extra single fold for good measure), then filling with chocolate, is a VERY wise idea - not only do you end up with a still beautiful honeycombed crumb, choccy croissant, you also mitigate wasteage - big YAY!

… and breathe! As I meandered through this process, I learned many of the above lessons the hard way i.e. having not done what I should have done - thus, my croissants weren’t perfect BUT… they were close and I’m eager to have another go, like NOW!

The Croissant action...

On the topic of croissants I also stumbled across a lady called Kate Reid. Having read a bit about her, I’m TOTALLY obsessed and inspired by her story that resonates hugely with me. Not only has she faced challenges over her lifetime which I can relate to, she also used to be a Formula 1 aerodynamicist - which just makes her doubly cool - I HAVE to meet her! If you’re ever in Melbourne, (maybe for the Grand Prix - FYI, if you are, take me with you!) you have to check out Lune Croissanterie, then report back to me, I know it will be FABULOUS!

A SPECIAL LITTLE PLACE

I’m cautious to share this because part of me wants to keep this gem of a place to myself but I stumbled across Glebe House, a guest house, restaurant and small holding situated in the peaceful East Devon countryside, and I’m TOTALLY smitten. I want to visit/maybe live there, it looks absolutely magical.

Misc extras:

• Dropped my new jar of salted caramel Manilife (V.G by the way) into my bowl of steaming porridge on Wednesday, cue a porridge tsunami and sad, messy, situation.

• I marvelled at a Swan, a grey heron, and a female duck that I spotted on one of my dog walks… nature = mesmerising and beautiful!

• Found myself doing that embarrassing thing of rummaging to the bottom of a crate of apples in Waitrose on Thursday to pick the ‘best’ ones, even though I couldn’t possibly guarantee that they were indeed the best or freshest of the bunch! If I worked in a supermarket, I reckon I’d purposefully put all the newer stuff on top to try to catch people like me out! te he he!

• Perfected my new favourite scone recipe (below), and sampled a little choccy cake extravaganza, that is the gift that keeps on giving - I plan to share it with you next week in time for ST Patrick’s Day.

And there you have it folks, I think that’s the round up complete!

Hope you’re all doing OK, sending love and hugs as always,

Steph X X X

My Ultimate Scones