Slight detour - scones

In the past I've used this blog to record non-gardening info, like my detour into attempts to craft the ideal baguette. Though I didn't achieve perfection, I felt like I vastly improved the quality of my bread and recorded the key steps that made a big difference.

This post with document my attempts at scones. Before I even begin I have to admit that I have never actually eaten an actual scone. So I have an utter lack of reasonable preconceptions about what a scone actually is going into this.Not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Scone One - Maple Pecan with a Maple Sugar drizzle

My first attempt was based on this recipe. The result was pretty good, but a bit dense. Again, not knowing what a legit scone tastes like and what kind of texture it has, I was a bit in the dark. But I would make the recipe again - if I wasn't on a quixotic quest for the ideal scone. The drizzle was nice, though made it a bit messier.

Scone Two - Raspberry

The second scone was very light and airy, which just didn't seem right. I think the use of some cake flour contributed to the lightness. I enjoyed the texture, but the gourmands I offered them to (the kids) were disappointed, particularly after enjoying the first scones so much. They were also a lot more crumbly. And the raspberries didn't hold up very well, I could barely taste them at all, and only rarely happened upon any raspberry bits with enough texture to be distinguished from the surrounding scone. Perhaps more raspberries would have helped? Maybe that's not the right fruit for scones.

Scone Three - Chocolate Chip

The third and perhaps final scone was definitely the best of the lot. I put the call out on facebook to find a good recipe after the second attempt went south on me. One friend answered with this recipe which was just about perfect. It's done in a food processor, which leads to a much finer texture to the scone - both others seemed a bit more clumpy. The only deviations I took from the recipe was to fold a bit more (I used too many chocolate chips and it took a bit to incorporate them), I used a bit more cream (as written the dough was too dry and did not come together), and I had to bake longer - they weren't completely done in the center even after 20 minutes (!) though likely that is a function of my oven more than the recipe. Next time I will crush up the chocolate chips a bit, add fewer of them, and add some crushed pecans. But overall very pleased with the third attempt. 

Maybe I'll even try a real scone and see how far off I am.

New Year, New Resolution

My eternal battle cry - "I'll do better next year!" Well, here it is next year. And so far I've kept my promise. The seeds are sprouting on wet paper towels as we speak. Then we had a snow storm. So the peas have to wait a little while before I can plant them. I am a bit behind in planting the sproutlings and firing up the underground garden. My nice long fibreglass planters are still sitting on the deck with last years dead weeds in them. But I'm still ahead of the game.

Things to do this year:

1. Landscape fabric - weeds make the whole garden experience a chore instead of pleasant. I need to cough up a little cash to keep them more in check.
2. Fertilize - I feel like if I keep the weeds down and the fertilizing up, I'll get a much bigger harvest.
3. Diversify - I get bored with monoculture. That seems to be how things go at the community garden, it starts with a few different veggies, then ends with an unending stream of tomatoes. This year will try to get cukes, beans, kale, and potatoes going at the garden. Plus the old reliable zucchini of course.
4. Potatoes - Plant them early, experiment with a potato tower.
5. Garlic - I love having garlic in the garden, but I blew it off last fall. Will do better this fall.
6. Raised beds - They're so good! I need at least do a prototype at the garden.
7. Pruning - Tomatoes do so much better if properly pruned. I need to do this!
8. Kale square - I loved having so much fresh kale. I need to revitalize my crummy 3' x 3' kale patch.

Number 12

Attempt #12 was unimpressive again. I believe I'll just try a different recipe next time. Basically, I used the unmodified KAF recipe. I did use the baker's couche I ordered a while back for the first time - it worked well, though not sure how necessary it is. I was also a bit more gentle with the dough. I was rewarded with slightly more airy crumb. But again my nemesis - scoring issues. I feel like leaving the dough uncovered for proofing did dry out the skin a bit so it was slightly easier scoring. But the I now feel like the issue might be overproofing. Well, maybe not proofing exactly. First I let it rise for 90 minutes, perhaps a bit longer. Then I formed them into balls and let sit 15 min. Then I proofed for like 30 minutes and the finger dent test suggested it was overproofed. Maybe I should have shortened the initial rise.

Anyway, here is the result - tasted good.

Interesting

Read an article on breadmaking ( http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/bread-making-basics-everything-you-need-to-know-to-start-baking-awesome-bread.html and followup links), couple of interesting thoughts.

• "Very coarse salt won't dissolve properly, which will inhibit the development of dough structure later on." Well jeez, I use coarse sea salt often.
• Autolyze. Just water and flour first, for a while. Don't add salt, it sucks up water and prevents proper hydration of the flour. Don't add yeast, it needs to do its work later.
• Don't beat it too hard. *snicker* Seriously though, mixing on high speed may tear the gluten network that you worked so hard to develop. Furthermore, once it's all pulled away from the side of the bowl it's done. Interesting. I am a big violator of this one. And it seems to be counter to the effect I see in say, a ciabatta bread, where a long savage beating gives a strong gluten network. But worth a try. Maybe a side by side comparison.

UPDATE:

• Scoring - "If the blade drags excessively, this can be a sign that the dough has most likely proofed for too long and has started to lose structural integrity. Proof the dough for less time, or at a lower temperature, next time."
• Possibly proof with the dough uncovered, so the skin of the dough dries out making scoring easier.

Less Hydration

Inspired by the lower hydration King Arthur flour recipe, I adjusted the recipe I have been following to the lower hydration, using 465g of flour instead of 418g. Anticipating the opportunity to give some away, I thought I would make two batches. After kneading the first batch and finding it very dry, I came to the horrific realization that I hadn't added the poolish. Doh! I added it in and folded the heck out of the dough, hopefully it will be decently incorporated. I was going to try a different hydration with the second batch, but with the uncertainty of the late poolish add, I figured I'd just go ahead and make the same hydration but properly this time. Will be interesting to see if there are any differences between the two final products.

UPDATE:

Ok, so, interesting. Despite being far less hydrated than the last batch, the lame did a poor job again. I tried two with the lame and it stuck to the dough badly. Maybe spray it with cooking spray before? Huh. I did the other 4 with a serrated sharp bread knife and that worked better, though not flawlessly. Curiously the first batch of dough weighed less than the second. Perhaps more stuck to the bowl, perhaps measurements not quite right (275g per loaf vs 315g). First batch on the right, second on the left.

Rising

None of them worked out idea, and it was pretty dense. But the crust was crusty and the inside was chewy, so not bad. One nice find, parchement paper + oven rack = nice no fuss shaping. Also a side note used semolina on a couple, will see how I like that.

Final result

Revisiting Baguette

Baguette attempts number 8 and 9 were both decent, but I had issues with the scoring.

Attempt #8 was definitely a step backward. I think the main fault lies with the scoring here, though the crumb was rather dense. The dough was very wet and resisted scoring, even with a razor blade. The blade kind of dragged the dough rather than cutting through it. I put it in the oven and let it bake for like 2 or 3 minutes, then realized I hadn't put in my ice cubes. Doh! So I opened the oven and was so disappointed with what I saw that I took it out and rescored. Still not great. Although the pain d'epi was pretty good.

Baguette attempt 8. Meh.

Attempt #9 the dough was similarly wet. I used a lot more flour when shaping, so I thought they might be ok. Not so much. The pain d'epi was almost unrecognizable. The scoring on the baguette loaves was terrible. Tasty though.

Baguette attempt 9. Also meh.

So, improvements. It's vaguely possible that I need to use a fresh razor blade. I doubt that's the problem, I can't imagine it got too dull from scoring like a dozen loaves of bread. It is far warmer now than it was when I last made baguettes (Nov/Dec). Maybe that plays a role. I mean, undoubtedly, but is that my main issue? Unsure. Finally, I took a look at a different recipe on the King Arthur site that has a vastly different hydration.

Recipe I've been using - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-baguettes-recipe :

• ( 113g water in poolish + 255g ) / ( 120g flour in poolish + 418g ) = 68.4% hydration

Easy Crusty Baguette recipe - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/easy-crusty-baguettes-recipe :

• 227g water / 361g flour = 62.8% hydration

Vast difference! Higher hydration is supposed to give larger holes in the crumb, but I didn't find that to be that significant of a difference in my attempts. So I'll try the drier dough in my next go. 

Just a note, the bread actually tasted pretty awesome. We all sampled some of the pain d'epi this morning heated just a few secs in the microwave, slathered with soft butter. It was amazing. Now just need to get the sexy crust so it looks more impressive.

Disappointment and Enlightenment

Ok, so my pea fortress has been successful, but it also clued me in to the real problem. Of the approxiamtely one jillion peas I planted (ok, probably more like 200. Not certain. Order of magnitude, anyway.) just 10 plants came up. Based on what I've since read, the most likely culprit for my absence of peas is probably the seeds rotting. Apparently if you plant them too early, they rot rather than sprouting. To work around this, presprout them in wet paper towels. Not airtight, leads to premature mold. Tried this and wow, now I have some peas sprouting. It might be a bit late for an amazing harvest, sadly. But next year, with the knowledge I've gained and the cages already set up, I should do well. Just a note, in the past I've gotten no peas sprouted, I think this was a mix of mostly rotting and the stragglers power-chowed by the groundhog. My old nemesis.

Other stuff - My first planting of seedlings went poorly. Only the San Marzano tomatoes survived. But they're doing well. Basil is coming up nicely. Second planting of eggplant, ground cherries, tomatoes (incl cherry tomatoes), and peppers. Planted zucchini last weekend in the community garden. Kale in the community garden survived the winter and is doing great - rest of the grean leafies died. I couldn't tell the difference between them much, I think I'll stick with kale.