Fresh From The Oven 2 - Dec 2010 - Half-An-Hour Scones.

This month Anet from Waiting For Good Dough challenged us to make Cranberry-Oat Sourdough Scones which could be frozen before baking and then baked quickly when needed.  Perfect for when you have guests at Christmas time.  In fact, I baked mine on Christmas morning and they were a lovely breakfast setting us up nicely for the present opening to come!

And sorry for the rubbish photos but it was more important for me to get back through to my children on Christmas morning.

I loved the scones.  They were easy to make, tasted great - I used oatmeal instead of oat flour so they had a lovely wholesome texture as well as having the juicy tang from the cranberries.

I used my cheat's sourdough starter (ie I bought the sour dough starter - very naughty! - see this post.)

I have had two batches of scones now from this recipe and still have about half a dozen in the freezer to be used whenever we need them.  I love the convenience of this recipe!

Here is the link to Fresh From The Oven so you can see the others' versions of this scone and also details incase you wish to join this baking group.

Here is the recipe for the scones which Anet has adapted from original recipes from Wild Yeast and The book Wholegrain Baking by the King Arthur Flour Comapny.

Cranberry-Oat Sourdough Scones

Yield 6-8 large scones

•                50 g (or 3/8-1/2 cup) dried cranberries

•                87 g (or 3.1 oz) white whole wheat flour

•                40 g (or 1.4 oz) oat flour

•                17 g (or 6 tsp) nonfat milk powder

•                1.5 tsp baking powder

•                3/8 tsp baking soda

•                5/8 tsp salt

•                50 g (or 1/4 cup) sugar

•                1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

•                113 g (one stick or 4 oz) cold butter

•                40 g (or 1.4 oz) rolled oats

•                340 g (or 1+1/3 cups) mature 100% sourdough starter

•                milk for brushing

•                coarse sugar (opt.)

1.              If baking scones now, preheat oven to 400F/205C.

2.              Cover cranberries with warm water and soak for 10 minutes, then drain well.

3.              In the bowl of a food processor, place the flours, milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and lemon zest. Pulse a few times to combine.

4.              Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to the processor. Pulse several times until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few larger (pea-sized) pieces of butter remaining.

5.              Transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix in the oats and drained cranberries lightly with your fingers.

6.              Add the sourdough starter and mix quickly and lightly just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. The dough will be wet and sticky. Do not attempt to make a smooth dough, no kneading needed! Lightness is a virtue! Mixing the dough briefly will avoid developing the gluten which toughens the scone. If the dough is too sticky, wait a minute or two

7.              Turn the dough out onto a well-floured counter and pat into a rectangle about 5x9 inches or a round shape about 7x7 inches, 1 inch thick.

8.              With a dough cutter, divide the dough into desired shapes . . . wedges are easy.

9.              Place scones on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

10.           At this point the scones can be baked (or frozen***). Brush with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for about 23 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm. Some recipes have the baked scones as soon as out of the oven covered with a cotton or light kitchen towel to 'breathe', to keep from becoming hard on the surface but not soggy. Wait about 10-15 minutes then serve.

***Freezing instructions

If you want to freeze the scones for later, do not bake --- place cut scones uncovered on parchment paper on flat sheet and put in freezer. Leave until quite frozen about 2 hours. Remove and put in freezer bag or container, label with baking time and temperature, and save for up to three months time.

When desired take out however many frozen scones you need, place on ungreased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with milk and optional sugar. Placing the scones closer together will bake into softer sides, otherwise about 1 inch apart will create crusty sides. Preheat the oven to 400F/205C.

When oven is ready, bake for about 25-28 minutes, watch carefully. do not overbake. Serve warm.