Peach and Blueberry Buckwheat Scones

We all have our bits of knowledge that we can call on easily. Food people walk around with recipes and ratios in their heads, ideas and flavor combinations at the ready. But we're always learning and often improvising. Such is the case with this recipe here, because it started off with my standard scone recipe and went from there, once I got ahold of the buckwheat flour. I was using a flour from upstate New York that I'm currently obsessed with; it's one they sell at the Easton Pubic Market. But if you have a favorite, any buckwheat flour will do. Keep in mind that it's going to be fairly fine, so you may have to add additional flour. Don't panic.

There has been a request for this recipe, which always makes me chuckle when that happens because I made this up on the fly and did more than a little improvisation than usual, because the dough was incredibly wet. So, please bear with me; when you make this, you may need to add more of the flours, depending on how juicy and fresh your fruit is, and/or depending on how warm your kitchen is. 

Ok, so this is from my peach and basil scones, but you get the idea!

Ingredients

• 1 cup peaches, cubed (don't bother peeling them unless you really want to)
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 T. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 
• 1/2 cup frozen and cubed unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing the tops
• 1 large egg
• Decorating sugar (optional)

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the peaches, blueberries and cornstarch and set aside. 

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the serrated blade, combine the flours through ginger and pulse a few times to combine. (If you don't have a food processor, you can easily do this just by stirring those ingredients.)

Add the butter to the food processor bowl and process until it's combined. It shouldn't take more than 20-30 seconds--you don't want to over process it because then the butter will get too warm. 

Whisk together the buttermilk and large egg in a measuring cup or bowl.

Pour the flour-butter combo into a large bowl. Add in the fruit, and then the wet ingredients and gently stir until everything is moistened. The key with scones is to handle them lightly with a minimum of effort. If you need to add more flour, do so a little bit at a time.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut the scones out to the size of your choice; I use a 3-inch cutter. Place scones on lined baking sheets (parchment or Silpat will do) and transfer to the freezer to chill for at least 15 minutes but no more than an hour. 

Remove the scones from the freezer and brush the tops of them with buttermilk. Sprinkle sparkling sugar or a turbinado or demerara sugar on top. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned, rotating the trays halfway through. 

Transfer from the oven to a wire rack and cool completely. Scones are best the day they are made but will keep for a couple of days in a tightly covered container. They also freeze very well.