The recipe had three main components: the dough, the cinnamon honey cubes, and the honey butter glaze. I started off by making the cinnamon honey cubes first, as the recipe noted that it would be easier to cut and incorporate them into the dough if they were frozen for about 2 hours (Keller and Rouxel 70). This was the easiest step because the ingredients just had to be mixed together and shaped into a block.
The next step was to make the plain dough, which required both all-purpose and cake flour. As suggested, I used a digital scale to measure my ingredients ahead of time (Keller and Rouxel 24). I learned that there are many factors that can affect the accuracy of baking. For example, "when you measure by volume, the weight of an ingredient can differ each time...depending on how it is spooned or scooped or packed; it can vary in volume by as much as 50 percent depending on who's doing the measuring, how the flour was stored and measured, and the humidity" (Keller and Rouxel 25). This goes to show one of the many benefits of using a scale instead of measuring cups when baking.
Every component of the recipe required butter and I was initially shocked by the number of sticks of butter I went through. However, when you add fat to dough, it weakens the protein network of long gluten strands and results in a softer crumb (Keller and Rouxel 45). Learning this concept gave me a better understanding of the science behind this recipe.
After the dough was completed, I folded in the cinnamon honey cubes by hand and began shaping the dough. To shape the dough into a 7 1/2-by-10 inch block, you have to press your hands along the sides of the dough and use a pastry scraper or straightedge to get uniform sides (Keller and Rouxel 70).
Working with a big, sticky glob of dough proved to be more difficult than I thought. I couldn't quite get the sides perfectly straight, but they were even enough to form a rectangle. Next, the dough had to be refrigerated for 2 hours, cut into 12 even blocks, and then frozen for at least 2 hours (Keller and Rouxel 70). During this time, I worked on the honey butter glaze, which composed of clarified butter and honey. To clarify butter, the butter has to be melted in a small saucepan over low heat without being stirred, so it can separate into three layers (Keller and Rouxel 381). I skimmed off the foamy top layer and poured out the clear middle layer to mix with the honey.
The scones took roughly half an hour to bake and glaze, and then another 40-60 minutes to completely cool down. As you may have imagined, the overall recipe was really tedious, and I ended up spending most of the day running around the kitchen. However, the delayed gratification definitely paid off! There are only five scones pictured below because they were quickly devoured by my parents, brother, and cousins within days. The success of these scones among my family made me feel like I didn't waste my whole Saturday in the kitchen because I could appreciate the results of the whole lengthy process.
When was a time that your patience was greatly rewarded?
Citation:
Keller, Thomas, and Sebastien Rouxel. Bouchon Bakery. New York: Artisan, 2012. Print.
The next step was to make the plain dough, which required both all-purpose and cake flour. As suggested, I used a digital scale to measure my ingredients ahead of time (Keller and Rouxel 24). I learned that there are many factors that can affect the accuracy of baking. For example, "when you measure by volume, the weight of an ingredient can differ each time...depending on how it is spooned or scooped or packed; it can vary in volume by as much as 50 percent depending on who's doing the measuring, how the flour was stored and measured, and the humidity" (Keller and Rouxel 25). This goes to show one of the many benefits of using a scale instead of measuring cups when baking.
Every component of the recipe required butter and I was initially shocked by the number of sticks of butter I went through. However, when you add fat to dough, it weakens the protein network of long gluten strands and results in a softer crumb (Keller and Rouxel 45). Learning this concept gave me a better understanding of the science behind this recipe.
After the dough was completed, I folded in the cinnamon honey cubes by hand and began shaping the dough. To shape the dough into a 7 1/2-by-10 inch block, you have to press your hands along the sides of the dough and use a pastry scraper or straightedge to get uniform sides (Keller and Rouxel 70).
Working with a big, sticky glob of dough proved to be more difficult than I thought. I couldn't quite get the sides perfectly straight, but they were even enough to form a rectangle. Next, the dough had to be refrigerated for 2 hours, cut into 12 even blocks, and then frozen for at least 2 hours (Keller and Rouxel 70). During this time, I worked on the honey butter glaze, which composed of clarified butter and honey. To clarify butter, the butter has to be melted in a small saucepan over low heat without being stirred, so it can separate into three layers (Keller and Rouxel 381). I skimmed off the foamy top layer and poured out the clear middle layer to mix with the honey.
The scones took roughly half an hour to bake and glaze, and then another 40-60 minutes to completely cool down. As you may have imagined, the overall recipe was really tedious, and I ended up spending most of the day running around the kitchen. However, the delayed gratification definitely paid off! There are only five scones pictured below because they were quickly devoured by my parents, brother, and cousins within days. The success of these scones among my family made me feel like I didn't waste my whole Saturday in the kitchen because I could appreciate the results of the whole lengthy process.
When was a time that your patience was greatly rewarded?
Citation:
Keller, Thomas, and Sebastien Rouxel. Bouchon Bakery. New York: Artisan, 2012. Print.
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