The Lean Mean Bean Goes Green - Vanilla Bean Irish Scones

I need to apologize to all those who are subscribed via email.  Sorry for the second email.  Blogger has been having some severe issues over the last couple of days.  In the process, they "lost" this entry, so I have to re-post it.....  

I have already talked about my favorite scones, being the Cream Scones, but there are many other methods to scone manufacturing. One of my second favorites (OK, let's face it, I love ALL scones) is what I have always considered the “Irish” method. Just like the famous Irish Soda Bread, so too can scones be made in the same way. This usually involves some buttermilk, which always helps to provide a very tender crumb, just as it does when added to a cake recipe.

I will warn you though, since Baking Soda begins to react as soon as it gets wet, unlike Baking Powder, you need to work fast to get these into the oven shortly after adding said Buttermilk, or you will loose some of your leavening. It's OK, once they are baked you can kick back and relax from the flurry of activity; preferably with a warm Soda Scone in your hand, lavishly adorn with rich Crème Fraîche or Devon Cream. ;)

Vanilla Bean Irish Soda Scones

2 3/4 cups (14 oz) (400g) AP Flour
1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz) (75g ) Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cream of Tarter
3/4 tsp Kosher Salt
12 TB (6 oz) (170g) cold Unsalted Butter
1 cup (8 oz) (235 ml) Buttermilk plus a little extra for brushing
1 Vanilla Bean scraped of it's caviar

Preheat oven to 425 F (220C) (gas mark 7) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
Mix AP Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda, Cream of Tarter and Kosher Salt in a bowl.

Cut butter into small pieces and add to the bowl.

Cut the butter into the flour mixture until they are pea-sized.

Split the Vanilla Bean and scrape out the caviar.

Mix the Buttermilk with Vanilla Bean Caviar until you have a uniformly speckled mix.

Pour the Vanilla/Buttermilk over the flour mixture.

Gently mix them together until it forms a soft and sticky dough.

Knead briefly in the bowl until a soft dough forms, then divide the dough in half.

Place a piece of dough on a well floured surface and roll to a thickness of about 1-inch.

Dip a 2-1/2 inch round fluted cutter in flour and cut out the scones by pushing down quickly without twisting.

Cut out the rest of the dough by gathering the trimmings lightly then patting to 1 inch thick again.

Place in the baking sheet and brush lightly with a little Buttermilk.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until well risen and golden.

Cool on a wire rack.

Split in half and serve with Devon Cream or Crème Fraîche.

Mangia!!
~~

Carried Away With Caraway - Polish Buttermilk Rye

I love homemade bread.  Love it!
I just don't normally make it due to the amount of time it takes.  Let's face it, when one is producing bread, one must be in the general vicinity of the dough for the duration.  You mix up a Starter, Mother, Biga or Poolish then that must "ferment". Then you mix up the actual dough and add the Starter, Mother, Biga or Poolish... and that must rise, then you form loaves and THAT must rise... Then you have to bake it.  Time - Time - Time - Time - Time.   (did I mention it takes time?)

On the flip side, there are those easy breads such as Foccacia and Pizza dough.  I make those all the time due to their hands off approach.  You simply activate the yeast in warm water, then simply mix up the dough and toss it in the refrigerator for 8 hours to do it's thing.  Totally hands off, until you are ready to form the pizza crust or loaves.

While I am thinking about it, I would like to put forth a terminology change. This form of raising dough and/or batter, as in the case of Brussels waffles, in the refrigerator is usually referred to as "slow rising", or worse, "retarding the rise".  And while I do enjoy the extra flavor this gives to the dough, I don't really care for the first term and I find the second one particularly offensive to be honest.  Since I have been brewing beer, which involves yeast as well, I would like to point out that any beer in which the yeast is fermenting (breaking down sugars to produce various organic compounds as well a carbon dioxide) under refrigeration temperatures is called "Lagering" (This is where the term "lager" beer comes from) So I propose that raising dough under refrigeration hence forth be referred to as "Lagering the dough"  I just had to put that out there...  OK, back to our regularly scheduled Blog post.

Of all the more complicated breads out there, my ultimate favorite is Rye bread... Be it Russian, Dark, Pumpernickle, Jewish, Polish or any of the other million variations they are all just darned yummy.

Working with Rye is particularly tricky though, because of the grain's makeup.  First off, Rye is low in gluten, which is what really holds bread together and allows it to contain the carbon dioxide thus allowing it to rise.  The second issue is the particular enzymes in the grain which differ from those of wheat.

Warning....   I am about to geek out.....   ;)

There are two basic forms of grain starches.... Amylose and Amylopectin.  You may remember these from my risotto posts.  Shorter grained "risotto rice" such as Arborio & Carnaroli contain higher quantities of Amylopectin which is responsible for the creamy deliciousness that is Risotto.  OK.  Well, all grains have these two starches in different ratios, whether Rice, Wheat, Rye, Triticale or Barley.  Because Rye is lower in gluten (which is a protein, not a starch) the structure of the Rye bread is more dependent on the Amylose starch than on Gluten protein.

Enter the nasty bad evil amylase.  (at least as far as bread is concerned, for beer its a good thing)

Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down a plants starch reserves, similar to the way your body uses lipase to breaks down fat. (remember, plants store food a starches not fats) This enzyme is alive and active in Rye flour as well as Wheat flour.  However, the amylase in wheat is more susceptible to heat and becomes inactive, while the Rye amylase is unaffected and continues breaking down starches during the baking process.  So while you are depending on starches gelling properly for your Rye bread structure the evil amylase is tearing it down and releasing your carbon dioxide, making your bread flat. This is not as big of a deal with Wheat bread, as you have plenty of gluten for support.  But as I said, Rye is low in gluten and what little gluten it DOES have is very weak.

Luckily, there is a solution.  Acid.  For while heat has very little effect on the Amylase in Rye, acid stops it dead in it's tracks.

THUS, most Rye bread starts out as a sourdough containing lactic acid, courtesy of the lactobacillus bacteria that are living symbiotically with the yeast (saccharomyces).  But, you can "cheat".  Hee hee hee hee.  Buttermilk is an excellent way of acidifying your Rye dough and saving you a weeks worth of cultivating a Sourdough starter.  What could be better?  It adds richness to the dough, cause it's milk, and acidifies at the same time, thanks to the lactobacillus bulgaris.  AWESOME!!!! 

So here is my cheaters Buttermilk Rye bread...

Polish Buttermilk Rye Bread

2 1/4 cups (18 oz) (532 ml) Buttermilk (I prefer Bulgarian because it's more sour)
1/4 cup (2 oz) (60 ml) Water
2 TB Unsalted Butter
1 TB Sugar
1 TB Molasses 
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 package (1/4 oz) (7 g) Active Dry Yeast
4 cups (16 oz) (452 g) Rye flour
2 1/2 cups (13 1/2 oz) (382 g) Bread flour
2 TB Caraway seeds
1 beaten egg white for egg wash

Heat the Buttermilk to 120 degrees....

Remove from the heat and add Butter Molasses, Sugar and Salt, then stir until the butter is completely melted.

Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the somewhat cooled mixture.

Pour into the work bowl of your mixer that has been fitted with the paddle attachment, then sprinkle 3 cups (12 oz) (340 g) of the Rye Flour over the buttermilk mixture.

Beat until thoroughly combined.

Add the remaining 1 cup (4 oz) (112 g) of Rye flour and continue beating until combined.

Quickly oil a large bowl with either Olive oil or Vegetable oil.

Scrape the Rye "paste" from the mixing bowl and into the oiled bowl.

Cover and set in a warm place to rise, until doubled in volume (about 1 hour)

Clean your mixer bowl and fit the mixer with the dough hook.

When doubled in size, remove the Rye "paste" from it's place of raising and scoop it back into the mixing bowl.

Begin "kneading" with the dough hook while slowly adding 2 cups (11 oz) (312 g) of the bread flour and the 2 TB of Caraway Seeds.

Once it has been incorporated, turn the dough out onto a surface that has been floured with the remaining 1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz) (70 g) of bread flour.

Knead by hand until it has been incorporated as well. (you can technically do this with the mixer, but I like to get my hands in the dough to make sure it feels right)

Divide the dough in 2 pieces of about 1 lb 10 oz (26 oz) (737 g) each.

Form into either rounds or longs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cover again, with a towel this time, to allow for vapor loss, and let rise for 1 hour.

When there's about 15 minutes left for the rise go ahead and begin preheating the oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees.

When the loaves have finished rising, make 3 slices in the top of each loaf, then brush the tops with beaten egg white.

Place in the oven  and bake for 50 minutes.

Turn loaves out onto a cooling rack, and let cool. (I know it's hard, not to cut into it right away, but you need to let the gelled starches set completely after baking)

Once cooled, slice a big hunk and enjoy.

Can't eat 2 whole loaves before they go stale?  That's alright, you can slice one up, place it in a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Mangia!!
~~

Hillbilly Culture - Cultured Buttermilk

Having grown up on a Goat Dairy, I am all to familiar with "fermented" dairy products. After all, fresh raw milk only lasts so long in the refrigerator, no matter how clean all of your stainless steel equipment is or how fast you filter it and get it chilled, it still has a short shelf life... Enter pasteurization...

Pasteurization is a god send for the small dairy, but it can be troublesome as the milk has to be heated to 145 degrees and then held at that temperature for 30 minutes. A pain to be sure, but the added shelf life is worth it. There is only one downside, it alters the taste of the milk slightly, and kills off all the vitamin C. Enter Ultra-Pasteurization.....

This is where I get a little opinionated. Ultra-Pasteurization is a way for big business to make money. In the UHT (Ultra-Heat Treatment) process, milk is flash heated to 280 degrees under pressure and only held there for 2 seconds. Sure it saves time and energy costs. However, the milk is now a dead liquid. The proteins have been denatured, all the natural enzymes (like lactase) that help your body break down lactose are dead, and it is devoid of ANY vitamins at this point. It is so damaged that you can't make cheese with it, that should tell you something right there. So just like white bread, they add synthetic vitamins to it and call it a day. Pathetic.

Thankfully, there still remains a few hold out companies that simply pasteurize their milk instead of killing it. BUT, I challenge you to find Half and Half, Whipping Cream or Heavy Cream that have not been boiled to death. Even Horizon Organics "fries" these products, which slays me... here you spend the money on ORGANIC dairy products, and they have been denuded of all their intrinsic food value by Ultra-Pasteurization. On top of the food value issue, UHT cream doesn't whip as well as pasteurized cream, for not only have the proteins been torched beyond recognition, but the fats have been damaged as well.

Needless to say, when I was a kid, we did a lot of goat milk pasteurizing before making cheese, yogurt, sour cream and butter, to ensure that the bacteria we were inoculating the milk or cream with, would have the upper hand and prevent spoilage. Sure there are a lot of raw milk cheeses out there, as well as raw fermented dairy products, but we weren't taking any chances back then. Especially when making butter and buttermilk (for buttermilk is really the best part about making butter).

There are 2 bacteria that make great "cultured" buttermilk in my opinion. True you can use Yogurt which has a plethora of different lacto-bacter in it such as Streptococcus Thermophilus, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidus infanti and Bifidus Longum. You can also use Sour Cream (Leuconostoc Mesenteroides Cremoris) as well, but I love good old Lactobacills Bulgaricus (also known as Bulgarian Buttermilk Culture), the other option is Lactobacills Lactis (formerly known as - Streptococcus Lactis); but L. Bulgaricus is tangier and creates a thicker buttermilk than L. Lactis.

This is the part where I tell you that cultured buttermilk is fake buttermilk. If I was making traditional buttermilk, I would simply sit raw milk out on the counter and let the cream separate so I could skim it and let the proteins in the milk "clabber" or coagulate slightly... this would mean that the lacto-bacter in the air moved in and acidified my milk for me. But I think I will stick with the more modern method for right now.

So, to recap; This is good

This is bad...

and this is the culture I like to use for making buttermilk and butter. (I use it for Crème Fraîche too, but that is another post)

The bonus is that the acidified cream coagulates better than "sweet" cream, so this will facilitate easier butter churning.

Cultured Buttermilk

(oh, and Cultured Butter too)

4 cups (1 quart) Heavy Cream (preferably about 35%)
6 oz Bulgarian Buttermilk, room temperature (Yeah, I probably only needed 1 oz, but I wanted a REALLY good starter)

Pour the Buttermilk into a glass pitcher and let is come to room temperature.

Place heavy cream in a saucepan and heat to at least 85 degrees over low flame. (If using yogurt, heat to 110 cause Thermophilus needs more heat to function)

Remove the Heavy Cream from the flame and add the Buttermilk, stirring well to spread the bacteria around.

Cover the saucepan and set on the counter for 12 hours.

After 12 hours the heavy cream should have thickened significantly.

Move the saucepan to the refrigerator and chill for 8 hours.

Once chilled you have 3 choices.....

Pour the inoculated cream into a 1/2 gallon mason jar, cap it and roll it around on the floor (like we did when we were kids) until it separates (it takes a loooooooooooooooong time)

If you are lucky enough to have a butter churn (this is my mom's Dazey churn) then you can sit there and crank the handle for 1 hour to make butter and buttermilk.

OR --

You can use modern technology and pour the heavy cream into a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. woo hoo!!

So, beat the heavy cream until it begins to become fluffy......

Then turn the mixer on low or stir and let it run for about 20 minutes.

Slowly, but surly the Heavy Cream will begin to turn grainy.....

Then all of the sudden (and this is why you need low speed) everything will separate and you will have sloshing buttermilk in the bottom of the bowl with butter stuck to the paddle.

Prepare a bowl of ice water.....

Scoop out the large butter chunks into a medium mesh strainer and let them drain back into the bowl. (you can press on it lightly with a spatula)

Move the hunk of butter to the ice water and chill it down, this makes rinsing and tempering easier. (yep, you temper butter just like chocolate, to force specific fat crystallization which will determine the hardness of the butter)

Strain the buttermilk from the bowl, into a container to ensure you get the larger lumps and add those to the chunk of butter in the ice water.

Begin kneading the butter and dunking in ice water then knead some more.

Then take it to some running water, and continue to fold and knead the butter. (this will help rinse out as much of the left over buttermilk as possible so it will not go rancid)

Once the water begins running "clear" you are done.

Now if you are a salted butter person, go ahead and knead in some salt. Me? I like the flavor of the butter itself. I have always thought of salted butter as a way to preserve "sweet cream" butter. Since cultured butter is acidified, it doesn't need salt as a preservative, so I leave it unsalted.

I got 3 cups of buttermilk (for Cinnamon Rolls, ButterMilk Pie and Red Velvet Cake) and 15.2 oz of butter (for Shortbread)

And now, a toast. mmmmmmm Real buttermilk.

The Buttermilk will last 3 weeks in the refrigerator, and the real beauty of all this, I now have a culture to do this again. (Just like keeping a sourdough starter)

Mangia and Cin Cin!!
~~