Talents

All brothers shall be alert to the possibility to a call to retreat at the weekend closest to the patronal festival of the Brotherhood, or at the embertides.
– The Rule of The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory.

For me, this means a Provincial Quiet Day. A “Province” for The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory is generally a geographic subset of the entire community. I am blessed with having four other geographically close brothers that live less than five miles from me. Other brothers live regionally, but not in the area and I happen to be hosting a brother from Muncie, IN.

A brother will develop the talents given to him by God in his service in the work and worship of the Church. A brother shall use these talents to the best of his ability in the apostolate and ministry to which he is called.
– The Rule of The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory.

The particular brother that I host – has many talents; however, some that I experience particularly is not only his generosity, but his ability to bake. When he visits us, he has often blessed us with fresh baked scones. With his permission I asked if I could share what he does here on this blog.

The recipe that is his source is from a now old-ish SUNSET cookbook published in 1994 called. ‘Starbucks Passion for Coffee.” It is out of print, but scads of used ones are available on Amazon, eBay, etc.


Like my own recipes, there is the original and how he has adapted it with experience. What I am grateful for today was I was awakened to him cooking in my kitchen, specifically to the sound of breaking eggs, and then the smell of baking scones. I had ground my coffee the night before and he mercifully pushed the “on” button before I got out of bed. The adaptation he was making today for the community was the blueberry version. When we gathered at Seabury Theological Seminary in Evanston today he was bringing scones for the whole province. By the time we gathered, I already had a hot one out of the oven at home. (I will leave detailed nutrition information up to the reader)



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Br. Francesco’s Bakery’s Famous Scones

For the Scones:

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (no substitutes. will effect flavour and quality)
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
¾ - 1 cup finely diced dried apricots
(Use soft, moist dried apricots. If yours are chewy, soak them for 15 minutes in boiling water, drain well and pat dry.)
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup buttermilk

For the glaze:
2+ tablespoons heavy cream (no substitute. Will effect flavour and quality)
2 + teaspoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425º and butter a baking sheet or stone (I have found that using a baking stone produces the best results). In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda (I use a whisk for this step). Blend the butter into the dry ingredients, using your fingertips or pastry blender, until the mixture is crumbly. Add the orange zest, apricots and pecans. Toss to combine. Make sure that all of the apricots are evenly coated with the flour to prevent the fruit from clumping. Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough is rough and shaggy. With your hands work the dough mixture until just all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Don’t over mix. Scones are similar to bisquits and pie crust if you overwork the dough the scones will be tough and chewy. Place one of the dough pieces on the baking sheet or stone and pat into a circle about 7inches diameter and ½ inch thick. Brush the dough (I gently spread the cream with the back of a spoon) with the cream and sprinkle with the sugar. Cut each round into eight pie-shaped wedges. Bake until puffy and golden, 15- 18 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and re-cut the scones and place on a wire rack. Enjoy. For a truly English experience, serve with clotted cream and or butter.

Other Variations:

Blueberry-Citrus Scones (as pictured)

Substitute 2-3 handfuls of blueberries for the apricots and pecans (be sure to mix in the 2 tablespoons of orange zest. This enhances the flavour of the blueberries) and follow the recipe as written. Using fresh blueberries works best but frozen will also do the job. When you use frozen blueberries, you either can mix them into the flour mixture frozen or defrosted. If you defrost your blueberries, be sure to drain them and pat dry with a paper towel. The blueberries will still be “wet” but the less moisture the better. Too much wetness can make the scones “soggy”. I have made these scones using both these methods and I have found defrosting your blueberries work best.


Cherry-Almond Scones

Substitute 2-3 handfuls of tart pie cherries for the fruit and coarsely ground almonds for the pecans (no orange zest). Mix in a drop or two of almond extract into the buttermilk before mixing it into the dough. After you glaze the scones, press a few sliced almonds on the top of them. Same advice for using frozen cherries applies as for frozen blueberries.

Have fun experimenting with different flavours.


SOLI DEO GLORIA