ABC Cheese and Herbs Yoghurt scones !

In the month of June (June already!! And we haven’t had one summery day yet!) we’re baking from the King Arthur website and tune in to a recipe for savory scones. The original recipe calls them Bacon Cheddar Chive scones. Sounds good right? ABC Bakers have been baking scones before, sweet orange and vanilla flavoured scones from Abby Dodge's book The Weekend Baker. This time we’re looking at the savory side of things, adding cheese and green herbs instead. (and bacon!! there’s bacon in the original recipe!)

Just to show you that for some things I’ve come a long way; here’s another post,  where I state that I don’t understand “ this “ dough! That was way back in 2006 and I clearly learned a couple of things along the way… scone dough does not scare me anymore. Sometimes you just need to see how it is supposed to be. Here’s another example: for years I’ve declared that I couldn’t roll out dough. Until I actually saw someone “lightly flour the countertop”. Wow. Lightly flouring got a whole different meaning. And I can roll out dough since!

Cheese and green herbs Yoghurt scones

(adapted from a King Arthur Flour recipe)

Ingredients:

 

• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces)  All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (Original uses 1 teaspoon which I think was too much)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder (I think I actually used just 1 and forgot to add the second….but not sure of it though.)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) cold unsalted butter
• 1 cup grated Gouda cheese
• snipped spring onion
• snipped fresh chives
• snipped fresh oregano     -----> all herbs combined makes about 1/2 cup
• snipped fresh flat parsil
• 1/2 cup skimmed milk + 2 tbs for brushing (which I forgot)
• 1/4 cup yoghurt

So where is the bacon you ask? Ehm not here, not this time in this recipe. Didn’t have any and decided to let the herbs shine so here we are!

How to:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

My convection oven was at 200C, and I baked my mini-ones for 20 minutes. Plenty brown and plenty done!

Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

I used my Magimix to mix the dough.

First I combined flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar and pulsed to combine.
Then I added the butter in chunks and pulsed some more until the mixture is crumbly.
Transfer to a big bowl and stir in cheese and herbs with a fork until evenly distributed.
Stir together milk and yoghurt and add to the flour. Stir to combine.
Try squeezing the dough together; if it’s crumbly and won’t hang together, or if there are crumbs remaining in the bottom of the bowl, add cream until the dough comes together. Transfer the shaggy dough to a well-floured work surface.

I made mini-scones: Divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a 5" round. Cut each round into 8 wedges. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven till golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes; (or for about 25 minutes if frozen).

For bigger ones:
5) Pat the dough into a smooth 7" disk about ¾" thick. Transfer the disk to the prepared baking sheet.
6) Use a knife or bench knife to cut the disk into 8 wedges, spreading the wedges apart a bit on the pan.
7) Brush the scones with a bit of cream; this will help their crust brown.
8) Bake the scones for 22 to 24 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. Serve warm, or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 large scones
Baker's tips
•Want to make scones now, freeze and bake later? Make scones up to the point they're on the baking sheet, cut and ready to bake; don't brush them with cream. Freeze, then remove from the sheet, and wrap airtight in a plastic bag. When you're ready to bake, remove however many you want to bake from the freezer, place on a baking sheet, brush with cream, and bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

Anyone that hesitates to make scones can look at the Bakers Banter site recipe where there are additional step by step pictures. Very helpful to see how moist your dough can be.

 

My notes:

- Absolutely delicious!!  I never missed the bacon! With the herbs and the cheese there’s enough flavor going on. I will try and reduce salt the next time because I found them too salty now. Especially when you are going to use bacon you will want to reduce the added salt I think, so keep that in mind.

- These most certainly are going in the keeper-book. So easy to make and bake. Easy to make different flavors as well.

- I was surprised how very airy, fluffy and light these were! 

 

If you'd like to join the ABC bakers in their monthly baking adventures, please go to the ABC blog for more information. If you like to check out what the other ABC Bakers thought of these scones, please click here to find out.