I am a huge fan of quick breads . . . muffins, loaves . . . scones, biscuits. Scones and biscuits are really quite similar. The basic ingredients are essentially the same . . . flour, butter or shortening, milk or cream, leavening, and a bit of salt and possibly sugar. The method of preparation, too, is pretty similar . . . you sift the dry ingredients, cut in the fat, and add the liquid. As with biscuits, the scone dough is rolled and cut into shapes.
I think the difference lies mainly in the type of fat which is used, and in how you incorporate it. Traditionally in biscuits the fat is cut in with a pastry blender and in scones it is rubbed in with the fingertips. In a scone, more often than not you will use butter and in a biscuit . . . vegetable fat of some sort, but that is not always the case . . . and too, scones tend to be more on the sweet side than the savoury.
These flaky savoury breads I am showing you here today are called biscuits . . . but they use butter instead of vegetable oil and the fat is rubbed into the flour mixture, instead of cut into it with a pastry blender . . . so in those respects they are more like scones . . . but they are not sweet in the least. These are also a bit sturdier than a scone . . .
Which is not to say that they are heavy, because they are not heavy in the least. These are delightfully light and filled with lovely layers . . . flaky buttery layers . . . with pockets oozing with rich soft goats cheese . . .
and lovely little flecks of oniony chives. These go wonderfully with soups and stews . . . with sliced meats and cheeses. Heck they would even be fabulous with bacon and eggs for breakfast.
We enjoyed them today with hot mugs of soup. They went down a real treat. I had halved the recipe because I did not have enough goats cheese to do a full recipe. I forgot to pick some up when I did my shopping yesterday . . . but happily they turned out just beautifully, despite halving the recipe. Flaky. Rich. Savoury. Moreish.
*Flaky Goat Cheese and Chive Biscuits*Makes 16 2-inch square biscuits Printable Recipe
280g of plain flour (2 cups or 10 ounces)2 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)3/4 tsp fine sea salt1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper135g of grated Parmesan cheese (3/4 cup, or 1 3/4 ounces)6 TBS cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch chunks3 TBS chopped chives179g of fresh goats cheese, divided (about 1 cup in total)180ml of buttermilk (about 3/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 220*C/4235*F/ gas mark 7.
Sift the flour, baking powder and soda into a bowl. Whisk in the salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Drop in the butter. Work it into the flour mixture using your fingertips or a pastry blender, until you have the butter about half incorporated and half pea sized bits remaining. Stir in the chives and crumble in half of the goats cheese. Add the buttermilk a bit at a time, stirring it in with a fork, until the dough just begins to clump together and there are no dry floury bits remaining. You may need all of the buttermilk, or less, or more, depending on your flour and the day. Gently knead in the bowl a few times to form a ball.
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle which is 1/2 inch thick and roughly twice as long as it is wide. Turn the dough so that the long side is facing you. Mentally divide the dough in quarters lengthwise. Crumble 2/3 of the remaining goats cheese into the center two quarters. Fold the outer two quarters over to meet in the center from the short edges. Turn the dough so that the short side is facing you. Sprinkle the remaining goats cheese down one half of this and fold the other half over to enclose, like a book. Pat out gently to flatten slightly and then roll it up into a loose spiral beginning at the narrow end. Pat the dough out into an 8 inch square that is about 3/4 inch thick. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and then using a straight up and down cut with a sharp knife, cut into 16 2-inch squares. Place them onto a baking sheet which is lined with baking paper, leaving several inches in between each.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until they are well risen and golden brown. Allow to cool for five to ten minutes prior to indulging. Best on the day they are baked, but these will keep at room temperature for several days. Reheat in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up.
Note - You can successfully cut the recipe in half and it works fine. Also you can freeze the biscuits prior to baking for use at another time. Freeze solid on the baking sheet and then pack into zip lock bags to bake off when you like. Partially thaw prior to baking.
