Sunday, July 11, 2010

Cinnamon swirl biscuits

Decided to throw in another try at Swedish rolls this morning. Last week's scones were disappointing, until I ate them again a day or two later. They definitely had a similar density to what I remembered, so I decided to try again. This time, they look like SRs, but nothing else was similiar. Of course, I did a few other things differently this time, too. Like, last time, I had some half and half leftover and used that instead of skim milk. And I used the sun oven, which only goes up to about 350 instead of the oven at 450. But those two items may be the ticket. Next time, I'm using half and half (or something heavier than skim milk at least) and baking them at a lower temperature. I decided I better start writing down what I've tried to keep track, even when it doesn't work, so that I don't try the same thing twice.

Sweet Milk Scones (American biscuits)
adapted from From Celtic Hearths
  • 1 c all purpose flour
  • 1 c whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 4 Tbs unsalted butter
  • ~3/4 c milk/cream/half and half
Sift dry (or mix well in a bowl). Cut in butter until it looks grainy. Make a well and pour in milk. Mix well. Add milk or flour as necessary to a soft, elastic dough (I don't know what that is, I just went till it looked like I could nearly roll it; last time, I needed more milk, this time, more flour). Knead dough lightly on a floured surface. For regular biscuits, pat about 3/4" thick, don't go too thin or they won't rise. Cut into 3" rounds. Bake at 450 for ~10 minutes. Or 350 for 20 minutes?

For cinnamon swirls, roll into a rectangle until about 1/3" thick (I didn't measure). Spread with softened butter and coat heavily with cinnamon sugar. Roll up and cut into about 16 pieces. (Or less--these are pretty thin). Bake at 450 for ~10 minutes.

Swedish rolls look rather like this, but heavier and with a lot more cinnamon sugar (or possibly cardamon, since that's an often-used Swedish spice).

I also baked bread yesterday, but it looks just like the others I've posted so I didn't take a picture. Didn't bake anything else because it was over 70 at 6am, and even checking on the bread at 7am it just felt icky getting blasted by the heat. 

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