Wednesday 10 August 2016

Potato Scones - International Scone Week 2016

What!?  International Scone Week again? Nope I can't believe this has come around so soon. There we were discussing her grandmum's scones with our friend Miss P.P. seemingly a few weeks ago and here we are again.  Where did that year go?  

This year for #ISW2016, I chose to make potato scones from a newspaper recipe dated October 1912.  I found this on TROVE, the National Library online source of just about everything.  I have been doing text corrections on TROVE for the last few years, and have come across a wealth of interesting snippets of info.  And of course, there are heaps of wonderful old-fashioned recipes.  I love the way you have to divine a fair bit of the method yourself. 





potato scones with parmesan lurking inside  



This recipe is from a newspaper called The Land (Sydney NSW:1911-1954) Friday 4 October 1912 page 14.  I had to do a wee bit of research (and calculations) to get the right amounts for the ingredients.  These scones call for 1 gill of milk.  I only just found out today that it is pronounced with a soft g like gin, not girl. And you can have U.S. gills and UK gills - different amounts of course, just to keep you on your toes. Naturally I used the UK gill.





ingredients 




ingredients:


175g. plain flour

57g. butter

a big pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

227g. of cold, mashed potatoes

30g. extra sharp parmesan, grated - my addition to the recipe (optional)

1 egg

142 mls. of milk - you may not need all of this, or you could need more depending on the flour



Method:


Before you start the scones, bake/steam or boil 227g. of potatoes till tender

Peel them, mash them, cool completely and put aside

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl

Rub the butter in with your fingers till you have a crumb-like mix

Add the salt and the baking powder

Mix thoroughly with the mashed potatoes

Stir in the parmesan  

Beat the egg with 2 tablespoons of the milk

Add it to the mixture, and work it gently to a dough - the recipe says "using the needful quantity of milk" - i.e. enough of the milk to make it into a dough

Depending on the flour you are using, you may need a bit more or less milk.  I only used the 2 tablespoons of milk beaten in with the egg.  This is (I think) due to the fact that I was using leftover mash from dinner, which already had a goodly amount of milk and cream in it.  (Mr P. made it, and he loves his creamy mash)

Pat the mixture into a ball, then roll it out on a floured surface - you want it about 1 cm. in thickness (the dough was very soft so I used my hands to pat it out into a rectangle)

Cut out rounds 6cm. in diameter

Place them on a greased baking tray, brush with milk and bake at 220C for about 15 minutes or till golden

Serve hot and well-buttered - sounds like a good plan for Life!





flour and butter combined; now add salt and baking powder




mix the mash in thoroughly  





arty shot of the parmesan going in




cutting the eggy mix into the flour mix  





roll or pat out the soft dough   





using a scone cutter to cut out the 6cm. rounds 





brush the tops with milk





baked and golden - and yes a bit flat :=) 



Yep they came out kind of flat, more like a biscuit than a scone. Maybe I should have used self-raising flour?  Maybe they liked flat scones in them thar days?  But they were thin and cheesy, and very moreish.  Mr P. grabbed one and wolfed it down, saying "can I have another one?"  I have to tell you they disappeared in about half a day.






these didn't last long 




(BTW, just so you know, a U.S. gill is 118 mls as compared to the UK one of 142 mls.)





my scones on a Yayoi Kusama plate doodle 




Join in with Tandy from Lavender and Lime in this year's round-up of International Scones.  Everyone is welcome!





12 comments:

  1. I reckon these would be yummy. Of course well buttered! Wish I have these right now Sherry. Something so comforting about scones.

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  2. Wow, what an amazing recipe. And I don't think they had self raising flour then. Thank you for taking part Sherry :)

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    1. Thanks Tandy. Always interesting to try out old recipes.

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  3. Looks like a good scone, definitely smothered with butter. Great use for leftover mashed potatoes too, I'll have to remember that.

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    1. Thanks gretchen. Potato muffins are great too.

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  4. My grandmother made a splendid potato scone, but no-one thought to get the recipe before she died. I can't wait to give this one a try to see how close it is.

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    1. They were tasty Amanda. The Parmesan is optional but it is a delish extra.

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  5. Gills! I've never heard of them and that is quite a big variation between the two countries too! They look delicious Sherry! :D

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  6. I love TROVE! I'm so glad you're assisting with the editing. It's the type of thing I might get into when I finish work in a few years. I love a nice savoury scone. Good to see the Wards in use - great little Aussie company ; )

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    1. Yes Trove is a fab resource. Just so fascinating. I didn't realise Wards is Aussie. That's great.

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