As in any scientific endeavor, it is difficult to manage a complete failure in baking, as even recipes that have gone far awry still hold some value: one can usually enjoy at least a modicum of success, if not the knowledge that, most likely, there was much done correctly in the process, with all of it being thrown off by possibly one small error, one minute miscalculation.
Of course, if dealing with a new recipe, it can be difficult to discern where such an error lies. However, when using a recipe one has previously made, it is considerably easier to track down the source of error in a recipe that resulted in a less-than-ideal product.
Thus, when the blueberry scones I baked this morning turned out soft and lacking the ideal flakiness, I compared my process to that I used when I last made the recipe, which resulted in firm, flaky scones, well-risen.
The most obvious difference is that I'm baked this most recent batch in Hungary and not in the U.S. This, of course, means that I am required to use the metric system when purchasing items and when measuring temperature. (I thankfully have a set of U.S. measuring cups and spoons graciously sent from home!) I did not, however, measure the amount of butter correctly: I grated about 24 tablespoons, despite only needing a third of that amount.
Another difference was the size of the recipe. Wanting a higher yield from this batch than my last, I multiplied the recipe by one-and-a-half.
Third, I made a significant substitution. The grocer's I visited Saturday to collect ingredients didn't stock baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). I did, however, find powdered baking ammonia (ammonium bicarbonate), which is similar in composition to baking soda and, supposedly, can be substituted for baking soda.
Fourth, there was a serious dearth of equipment in the kitchen. Most significantly, a lack of mixing bowls or stockpots left me using small saucepans to combine ingredients.
Finally, while I prepared the dough last night, I froze it overnight, baking it this morning.
In one of these above differences, in a combination thereof, or in some factor I have yet to consider (Sarah Lippek has suggested that perhaps a Hungarian effluvia of sorts effects the baking process here), lies the difference between the soft, flat, dense scones I have and the full, firm, flaky ones I once made.
Of course, if dealing with a new recipe, it can be difficult to discern where such an error lies. However, when using a recipe one has previously made, it is considerably easier to track down the source of error in a recipe that resulted in a less-than-ideal product.
Thus, when the blueberry scones I baked this morning turned out soft and lacking the ideal flakiness, I compared my process to that I used when I last made the recipe, which resulted in firm, flaky scones, well-risen.
The most obvious difference is that I'm baked this most recent batch in Hungary and not in the U.S. This, of course, means that I am required to use the metric system when purchasing items and when measuring temperature. (I thankfully have a set of U.S. measuring cups and spoons graciously sent from home!) I did not, however, measure the amount of butter correctly: I grated about 24 tablespoons, despite only needing a third of that amount.
Another difference was the size of the recipe. Wanting a higher yield from this batch than my last, I multiplied the recipe by one-and-a-half.
Third, I made a significant substitution. The grocer's I visited Saturday to collect ingredients didn't stock baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). I did, however, find powdered baking ammonia (ammonium bicarbonate), which is similar in composition to baking soda and, supposedly, can be substituted for baking soda.
Fourth, there was a serious dearth of equipment in the kitchen. Most significantly, a lack of mixing bowls or stockpots left me using small saucepans to combine ingredients.
Finally, while I prepared the dough last night, I froze it overnight, baking it this morning.
In one of these above differences, in a combination thereof, or in some factor I have yet to consider (Sarah Lippek has suggested that perhaps a Hungarian effluvia of sorts effects the baking process here), lies the difference between the soft, flat, dense scones I have and the full, firm, flaky ones I once made.
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1 comment:
I should add that everyone who had a scone claimed to have liked it. One did claim that they were "very sweet," perhaps a result of sprinkling an excess sugar on the scones before baking.
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