Smitten Kitchen's Jam-Bellied Bran Scones
68
- Makes10 scones
Photographs copyright © 2017 Deb Perelman.
In the Muffin Olympics, my favourite—bran muffins—would never even make the team. I get that gritty brown masses hardly have the appeal of blueberry-buttermilk, sweet-cornmeal, banana- walnut, and pumpkin-spice, but I’ve always enjoyed their quiet, nutty complexity—plus, it’s kind of adorable, the way I convince myself that they’re healthier, right? So I decided that they needed a makeover, and I reformatted them as scones, and pretty ones at that. Preloading the scones with jam makes them self-contained packets of breakfast luxury. Yes, like a jelly donut but still craggy and wholesome enough that we get to enjoy them way more often.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (195g) all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 1/4 cups (75g) wheat bran
1 tbsp (15g) baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea or table salt
1/2 cup (95g) dark brown sugar
6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup (120g) sour cream
1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp water
1/4 cup (80g) jam, or marmalade of your choice (or more if yours is on the thick side)
1 tbsp (10g) coarse or raw (turbinado) sugar, to finish
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees, and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Combine the our, bran, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and, using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work it into the our mixture until the largest bits are the size of small peas. Add the sour and heavy creams, and stir until the mixture forms big clumps. Knead once or twice, just by sticking your hands into the bowl, until it comes together in one mass.
- On a very well-floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into 21/2-inch rounds and then gently reroll scraps as needed. Use your thumb to make an impression in the “belly” (center) of half of them. Dollop 1/2 to 1 teaspoon jam in the center, brush the edges with egg wash, and use one of the plain, nonindented rounds as a lid. Press gently together at edges, sealing in the jam. Repeat with the remaining rounds.
- Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet, and brush the tops with egg wash. Sprinkle each scone with about 1/4 teaspoon coarse sugar, and bake for 16 to 19 minutes. Let the scones cool on the tray for 5 or so minutes before carefully lifting and transferring them to cooling racks.
How to measure ingredients accurately
Excerpted from Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant & Unfussy New Favourites.
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