British bakery goods part of our history
By Barbara Gillingham, Special to the Town Crier
It seems logical to start with England in a tour of the baking world. We all speak the queen’s English, and the breads and desserts are part of our colonial history.
The breads of England and their names are inseparable from their past, extending back thousands of years to the ancient Saxons and Celts. After conquering a part of France in medieval times, the British retain a French fondness for butter and cream.
The best example is the traditional English tea, served with double cream - with 48 percent butterfat - along with their light buttery scones, often split open and topped with jam or whipped cream and fresh fruit. The name “scone” probably comes from an old Gaelic or Scottish term “sgonn” and is pronounced in Britain “skon,” rhyming with “gone.”
The scone originated as a flatbread made of a rough barley or oat dough grilled on a hot stone. Later, bread made with butter, milk and refined white wheat flour became first choice for luxury holiday sweet breads, and the scone evolved into a light, rich biscuit.
Fruit in breads and desserts, especially dried currants or raisins in sweet breads, have a long history as well. The ancient Scottish name for bread, bannock, has come to mean a sweet butter-milk bread filled with currants. Steamed bread puddings are laden with dried fruit and traditional for cold winter months.
Peasants ate breads made from local rye or oats and enjoyed refined white bread only on holidays. Hearty, healthy multigrain breads are increasing in popularity today and are favored for pub sandwiches. A wheat-barley-rye loaf stands up well to a slice of sharp Gloucester cheddar served with English mustard. Poor peasants unable to afford a meal of Welsh rabbit, settled for cheddar cheese beer sauce melted on a multigrain toast. Making light of their poverty, they dubbed it “Welsh rarebit,” a pub specialty.
British buttermilk scones
Makes a dozen scones
The secret of buttery, flaky scones is to avoid heavy-handed over-mixing, which melts the butter and makes a tough scone. Lightly mix in diced fruit, a favorite British addition. Serve with butter and heather honey, as is done in Scotland, or with marmalade, as the English prefer. Even better: Split a triangle, fill with berries, top with whipping cream and optional candied ginger for dessert. Best served warm from the oven.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks (6 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon zest
½ cup diced currants, apricots or raisins (optional)
Place oven racks to divide the oven into thirds. Preheat to 425 degrees.
In a medium bowl, blend the dry ingredients thoroughly. Using a pastry blender, two forks or your fingertips, cut or rub in the butter until the mixture looks like crumbs. Larger crumbs produce a flakier scone.
Add the buttermilk and zest and mix lightly with a fork only until ingredients are moistened (about 20 seconds). If desired, add dried fruit. The dough will be rough and slightly moist. Form into a soft ball, knead gently, turning about 8-10 times, just enough to bring it together. Cut dough in half.
Form one half into a circle about 7 inches across. Brush the dough with ½ stick (2 oz.) of unsalted butter, melted, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Cut the circle pie into 6 triangular pieces. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet or parchment paper on a sheet. Repeat to form other scone.
Bake the scones for 10-12 minutes until golden. Cool on a rack and serve warm.
Scottish Oatmeal Bread
Makes two standard loaves or one large round
Precooking the oats gives this bread a moist goodness. If you do not have rye, you can substitute whole wheat flour. Choose steel-cut oats for a cracked wheat texture or use rolled oats for a nice topping.
Oat mixture:
1½ cups boiling water
1 cup rolled or steel-cut oats
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) butter or 3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon salt
Doug
1 tablespoon or 1 packet active dry yeast
½ cup warm water
1 teaspoon honey
1½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup rye flour
3½ cups all-purpose flour
Milk for brushing and oats for topping.
Pour boiling water into a large mixing bowl. Stir in oats, honey, butter or oil and salt. Let cool to room temperature. Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup water and honey. When frothy and bubbling, add to oat mixture, blend and stir in flours.
Mix the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface to knead by hand or by machine until it is elastic and springy and does not stick to your hands.
Form into a ball. Place in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic and a towel. Set in a warm place to rise. Dough will take at least 1½ hours to rise. Be sure to let it rise fully! It is ready when you can poke a finger into the dough, and the dough does not spring back.
Punch it down. Divide in two. Flatten into a rough rectangle the length of your bread pan. Form into a log by folding one long side half way to the center and the opposite side half way to the center. Place the log inside the bread pan. It should not touch the sides. Cover the pans and let rise until the dough fills the pan and arches slightly above, about 45 minutes. Brush with milk and decorate with optional oats.
Place the loaves in a cold oven, set the temperature to 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then down to 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Larger single loaf will take longer. Bake until brown and when the loaf, when tapped, sounds hollow. Cool on a rack.
