Singing Hinnies with Einkorn and Dried Blueberries

Singing Hinnies are a scone-like griddled bread from Northumberland in Northern England.  They are typically made with plain flour and include butter or lard, and dried fruit such as currants or raisins, and are baked on a griddle.  Since July is National Blueberry Month, I decided to use dried blueberries instead of currants or raisins.

 

There are many thoughts on why they are called Singing Hinnies, but the most likely explanation is that they make a noise while being cooked on the griddle.

These funny-sounding scones are the bread of the month for the Bread Baking Babes.  Since it’s July and hot, Elle, of Feeding My Enthusiasms, the host kitchen, chose Singing Hinnies to give us a break from the oven.

Elle said the only requirement for making them is that they are scone-like, contain a fruit like currants or raisins, and are cooked by griddling.

With that in mind, I made my version with whole grain einkorn pastry flour, kefir milk, and dried blueberries and cooked them in a cast iron skillet over the stove.

 

These scone-like morsels are the perfect breakfast or tea time treat and come together in less than 30 minutes using pantry staples. You can use all butter or margarine, or use part butter and part lard if you choose. You can use a food processor to pulse the cold fat into the flour mixture before adding the currants and mixing the rest by hand in a bowl, or use the traditional method of rubbing the fat in by hand or cutting it in using a pastry cutter or two knives…your choice.

Another choice is to add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to the flour mixture and then add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the milk before adding it to the flour mixture after the fat is cut in. This will probably produce a slightly higher singing hinnie.

Be sure to handle the dough lightly and minimally as you would a scone mixture to keep the scones from being tough. Cut straight down with your round cutter and don’t twist so that they will rise well.

Although my whole grain version didn’t rise that much due to the whole wheat, and me not following the rules and handling the dough too much, I still enjoyed these Singing Hinnies.

Since they include a good portion of butter, I found they tasted great with or without spreading them with extra butter.  My favorite way to enjoy them is to spread them with Blueberry Cherry Amaretta Jam.  I got this jam from a friend who sells at the local farmer’s market.

Singing Hinnies

• 225 grams (8ozs) plain flour (I used freshly milled whole grain einkorn pasty flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 100 grams (4ozs) butter (or margarine)
• 50 grams (2ozs) dried currents or raising (I used dried blueberries)
• 2 tablespoons milk (I used 4 T of kefir milk)

Sift the flour and baking powder (and baking soda if using) into a bowl. Rub in the fat (or cut in with a pastry blender or two knives) and stir in the currants. Add enough milk to make a dough. Roll out onto a floured tray or board and cut with a scone or biscuit cutter into rounds of chosen size, usually about 3 inches wide.

Heat pan (griddle or cast iron skillet work well) and lightly grease. Place scones onto the griddle on a very low heat so that the scones can cook very slowly. Turn once and cook on the other side. To check that they are cooked remove one of the scones and tap it gently – it should sound hollow. The top and bottom should be browned but not burnt.

Serve warm, either split and buttered, spread with jam, or plain.

 

Bread Baking Buddies!  We would love for you to bake along with us this month!  

• If you’d like to become a Buddy and get a buddy badge, just email Elle at plachman at sonic dot net with a photo and the URL of your post, plus a brief description of your experience making these.
• The deadline is July 29th. The roundup will be posted shortly after that.