I’m all into embracing my existential self these days as I find the meteor that is myself careening like a space junk calamity toward my 65th birthday. I seldom think about the reality of this, preferring to delude myself entirely in viewfinder as the sans-abandon little girl still bumping up and down the cragged edges of sidewalks and roadsides on my first bonafide two wheel bicycle, knees skinned to the bone, and hair blown back, and carefree when I was about 6 or 7. What, that’s not me anymore? Don’t say that.
For some unknown anthropological reason, I spend my days and years hunting down bakeries and flowers with an innate and undeniable passion. I have given myself over freely to indulging these instincts as surely as they are written in code, the old kind, not the new kind (sorry Christin) upon my DNA. Nothing I do, day in and day out, gives me more pleasure except for capturing them on camera. And, when I can’t be off in some favorite venue, hunting like a hound dog or serendipitously happening upon, as I did so gleefully for 8 glorious weeks last Summer in Paris, I can be found in my own intimate surrounds experimenting in my kitchen or skimming along in my closest environs.
It is no secret that I wax poetic about few stateside pastry spots – they are indeed precious and few, even though I live a stone’s throw from NYC. Balthazar Bakery in Englewood is my local favorite and I stop in and ogle as often as I can (don’t forget to pick up a jar of their Bergamot Marmalade – my absolute favorite.) On Cape Cod, I travel to Wellfleet to PB Boulangerie where I adore their apricot danish! Yes, some might say I have been jaded by comparison to the plethora of Paris pastry shops and their eye-catching and soul satisfying offerings and a few in Italy as well. And well, nothing upsets me more than a sticky, soft croissant or those who are now making variations on croissants that are to me blasphemous – just stick with the chocolate, please – for some things I am a puritanical purist! I haven’t been to Vienna yet, as I stayed home to care for Callie when my family lifted off on Christmas for our well-planned Viennese holiday a few years back. But, all of that is besides the point.
I’ve been a passionate studier of vienoisserie for decades, ever since I fell in love with the iconic honey loaf from Charleston Gardens at B. Altman and Co when I was an adolescent. After that life-changing experience, I could be found either scouring pastry books, self-tasting, or much later, making under the tutelage of that watchful perfectionist, Sim Cass. He’s the one who patiently and painstakingly taught me to roll, gently tug back and curl my croissants. That was after he took me to task on the types of dough starters following my absence from class for another family vaca – but that’s all in the past now (hmmm, not totally).
We all know that in the absence of a mechanical sheeter, for those of us who don’t have the luxury or the patience for devoting our days and nights to the glories of homemade laminated dough, heading to your favorite local bakery or foregoing the indulgence altogether, which is usually pretty smart is in order. The third option, I dare say is to try to fake it – something which under almost all circumstances I am vehemently against as a tenet of integrity in one’s life and in one’s kitchen as much as humanly possible. Sometimes store bought puff pastry can be an option. The other one is to try a quick-bread approach.
As I began to think about the loveliness of cooler September weather approaching, actually begging for it now for weeks and weeks, I began to think of last year when I first discovered Deux Bakery in Santa Barbara. I had begun a daily sojourn over to the Mission Rose Garden from our digs in Montecito and boy was I happy. One day I took my little bag over to the garden, sat on a bench and let myself be wowed. I had one of their morning buns and one of their blueberry-lemon scones and needless to say, I haven’t forgotten either. The Deux Bakery morning bun is quite near perfection, with hints of orange zest and great texture, something which is difficult considering the hours of coastal cover that are common there. I, by the way am in no way dissing my other favorite bakery on Coast Village Road, Bree’osh, which I frequent for breakfast and treats as well. They are wonderful! I just have found myself stuck on that morning bun from Deux.
Today, I had a few extra minutes and since it is indeed September 2, I decided to make an attempt at another morning bun, scone-style. I’m a sucker for cinnamon-sugar and candied orange peel under just about any circumstances anyway. (My favorite creation of last winter was my homemade chocolate-honey pudding with candied orange peel soldiers – it’s in Intermezzo.) As I sat down to write this, I found my husband on the patio devouring not one, but two, right out of the oven.
A Morning Bun Scone a la Deux Bakery
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup low fat milk
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
splash orange blossom water
egg wash
cinnamon sugar
chopped candied orange peel
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In bowl of food processor, whir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Add butter cubes and pulse 9-10 times or until butter is size of small peas. Dump this mixture into a low wide bowl.
- In a pyrex cup, whisk together the milk, cream, yogurt, egg, vanilla and orange blossom water.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and working with a plastic dough scraper, gently work the dry ingredients into the wet. When the dough begins to hold together, finish by kneading gently into a mass. Move the dough to a floured surface and pat out. Roll with a rolling pin into a large rectangle – about 14 x 10. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.
- Starting at long end and helping with a dough cutter if needed, gently roll the dough into a log, keeping it as tight as possible. Using the dough cutter, cut the log into 8-9 pieces. Turn them cut side up and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Top with pieces of candied orange peel.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned and puffed. Remove from oven and enjoy with a cup of tea, which hopefully now that it is a little cooler, you can drink without calling for ice……
These won’t take the place of a great morning bun made with a well-made laminated dough, but they will do in a pinch.
Enjoy!
