342 Baking 343Breads, Quick Breads, and Bread-Based desserts

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, whisk together

the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Arrange the butter

on top so the slices don’t overlap and cut through the mixture

with a pastry cutter until the butter is about the size of peas.

Add the milk and stir the mixture just long enough to absorb

the milk and any loose flour. If you still see loose flour, add

another 2 tablespoons milk. Sprinkle the cranberries over the

mixture while stirring so they are evenly distributed in the

dough. Stir together the dough with a rubber spatula for

about 1 minute. Don’t overwork the dough.

Dump the dough out onto a work surface and use your

hands to gather it together into a mound, then flatten it into

a disk. At this point, it may be necessary to knead it a little to

get it to hold together. Don’t knead it any more than necessary

for it to hold together in a loose shaggy mass. Roll it out into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Cut the disk into 8 wedges and put them on

a baking sheet.

Turn down the oven to 350°F. Bake for about 30 minutes,

or until the scones are pale brown.

Scones

Scones are a lot like biscuits, but the dough is lightly sweet-ened. This recipe can accommodate any sort of dried fruit.

Makes 8 scones

3 cups flour

5 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold butter, thinly sliced

11/4 cups milk or heavy cream plus more as needed

1 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or diced dried apricots, soaked for 30 minutes in just enough hot water to cover, drained

Baking Powder Biscuits

While really more akin to pastry than to bread, baking pow-der biscuits are best served hot at a meal, perhaps a special meal, where they can accompany meats or other substantial foods. You can make these by hand in a bowl, by hand on a work surface, in a mixer, or in a food processor. Here, the biscuits are made in a bowl with a pastry cutter.

Makes 11/2 pounds dough, 12 Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, thinly sliced

3/4 cup buttermilk or more as needed

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, stir together

the flour, baking soda, and salt. Place the butter over the dry

ingredients so none of the pieces is clinging to another and

cut through the mixture with a pastry cutter until the butter

is about the size of peas. Add the buttermilk and combine

the mixture with a rubber spatula just long enough to absorb

the liquid and any loose flour. If you still see loose flour, add

another 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Don’t overwork the dough.

Dump the dough out onto a work surface and use your

hands to gather it together into a mound. Flatten it into a disk.

At this point, it may be necessary to knead it a little to get it

to hold together. Don’t knead it any more than necessary for

it to hold together in a loose shaggy mass. Roll it out into a 2/3-inch-thick disk and use a 21/2-inch fluted cookie cutter to

cut out the biscuits. Place them on a sheet pan. Gather up the

scraps, roll out again, and cut more biscuits.

Turn down the oven to 375°F. Bake for about 20 minutes,

or until golden brown. Serve right out of the oven.

Making Baking PoWder BiScuitS

When the dough starts to come 1. together, scrape it away from the sides of the bowl with a bench scraper.

Dump the dough onto a work surface 2. and knead slightly to get it to come together. Pull the dough into a mound. It should barely hold together.

Use the heel of your hand to flatten 3. the mound into a disk.

Roll the dough out into a 4. 2/3-inch-thick disk and cut out the biscuits with a fluted cookie cutter.

Bake until golden brown.5.

Making SconeS

Once you have mixed the dough, you can knead it 1. in the bowl or, as shown here, on a work surface. Bring the dough together into a mound. Don’t overwork it— it should look a bit ragged.

Flatten the mound into a 2. 3/4-inch-thick disk with the heel of your hand or with a rolling pin. Cut the disk into wedges and bake until pale brown.

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