Blueberry Buckwheat Scones-Manresa
I don’t think I will be baking any cookies for a while. Twelve recipes seemed doable but amid the whirlwind of the holidays, shopping, friends and family visiting, it turned into a daunting task. But I completed my cookie mission, finishing on New Year’s Eve… and now I NEED a BREAK!
But I do need to make something yummy today. Something that will go well with APPOINTMENT TV, that is, Downton Abbey. Yep, I admit I am a fan and tonight I will be glued to the telly watching the final season premiere. Jamie and I will be settled on the couch with a cup of tea and a treat with a British twist.
Recently, on my way home from the boathouse, I stopped at Manresa Bread in town. On the drive there, I had somehow convinced myself that I had worked out enough to enjoy a Kouign Amann-a flaky, buttery, caramelized puff pastry delight. Totally calorie worthy and boy-o-boy is it a lot of calories. Right next to the Kouign Amann, a plate of scones caught my eye. Made with buckwheat flour and fresh blueberries, they had a lovely dark bluish tinge and golden brown edge. Intrigued, I had to get one (don’t think for a minute I passed on the Kouign Amann). I promised myself I would spend some extra time in the gym the next day. Really.
Thanks to the Santa Cruz Examiner, I have the recipe for Manresa’s Buckwheat Blueberry Scones. Perfect for tonight’s Downton Abbey episode. The scone is totally delicious. The crumb is much finer, less crumbly. Like all scones and biscuits, don’t overwork the dough. I used a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour and a dough scraper to blend the cream with the flour-butter mixture. I made a quarter recipe today or my biscuit bowl above would have had considerably more dough. In addition to the buckwheat flour, the recipe calls for cake flour and all-purpose flour. The buckwheat flour gives it a flavor punch, scones with attitude.
I like recipes where the measurements are given in weights (grams) as in this one. The scale I have is not precise enough for this recipe so I rounded (yep, just like they taught us in elementary school) to the nearest whole number. Seemed to work fine. I used regular sea salt which was a bit too salty, use kosher salt next time or reduce the salt in the recipe by half. I skipped the buckwheat groats since I didn’t have any. The sprinkling of sugar was a fine finish. I will definitely be making these again!
Downton Abbey Blueberry Buckwheat Scones via Manresa
- 125.7 gm buckwheat (0.74 cup)
- 242.5 gm cake flour (1.77 c, unsifted dipped)
- 242.5 gm all -purpose flour (1.94 cup)
- 67.4 gm sugar (0.34 c)
- 36.6 gm baking powder (2.65 T)
- 16.2 gm salt (2.7 t)
- 204.7 gm butter (14.41 T)
- 420.0 gm cream (1.76 cup)
- 110.0 gm honey (5.4 T)
- 143.6 gm berries (~1 cup)
- Total grams : 1611.2
- Make honey cream: warm cream and honey together until honey dissolves. Cool completely, preferably overnight.
- Sift all flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.
- Cut butter into 1-inch cubes
- Using a stand mixer or your hands rub butter into dry ingredients until butter is pea sized
- Pour in cream and mix until soft dough forms/dough comes together. Add more cream if necessary, one tablespoon at a time.
- Remove bowl from mixer, scrap paddle. Mix blueberries into the dough, crumbling the dough slightly to incorporate blueberries.
- Chill if you plan to bake later. If baking immediately, form dough into 85g loose balls.
- Place on baking sheet two inches apart. Egg wash and top with demerara sugar and chopped buckwheat groats. Bake at 350F for 14 to 16 minutes.
| Ingredients | gms | 1/2 recipe | 1/4 recipe |
| buckwheat (0.74 cup) | 125.7 | 62.85 | 31.425 |
| Cake flour | 242.5 | 121.25 | 60.625 |
| all-purpose flour (1.94 cup) | 242.5 | 121.25 | 60.625 |
| sugar (0.34 c) | 67.4 | 33.7 | 16.85 |
| baking powder (2.65 T) | 36.6 | 18.3 | 9.15 |
| salt (2.7 t) | 16.2 | 8.1 | 4.05 |
| butter (14.41 T) | 204.7 | 102.35 | 51.175 |
| cream (1.76 cup) | 420 | 210 | 105 |
| honey (5.4 T) | 110 | 55 | 27.5 |
| berries (~1 cup) | 143.6 | 71.8 | 35.9 |