Paying Homage to the Hairy Bikers

I had heard of the Hairy Bikers sometime ago but had never watched any of their past series on the TV but my husband saw one of the first in the most recent series 'The Hairy Bikers Bakeation and he was hooked. I decided since he'd enjoyed the first programme I might as well watch along with him and now I'm a fan. I find their scruffy some what irreverent approach to cooking very refreshing and, well they make me chuckle.

 Having watched the programmes though its now a case of trying out the recipes. Our first attempt was to make their Pogasca (Bacon or Crackling Scones) These are Hungarian savoury scones which are mentioned in Hungarian Folk Tales as being the food that can sustain a young man when he is off to conquer the world. Traditionally they were served with beef goulash soup but they taste great with a little bit of butter like any traditional savoury scone. You can find the recipe on the BBC web site http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/b01dl8gl 

I'm going to give you the recipe here and hop I don't infringe on copyright. But for other fabulous recipes go to the afore mentioned the web site its great or better yet you could always buy their book, we have.
 

Ingredients

60ml /4 tbsp milk

1 tsp dried  yeast

250g/9oz chopped streaky bacon  

500g/1lb 2oz Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp caraway seeds

120g/4½ oz unsalted butter

120ml/4fl oz soured cream 

2 Eggs, beaten

beaten egg and a drop of water, to glaze

Method

Warm  milk so its  lukewarm, then pour it into a jug and stir in the yeast. Leave it for 15 minutes so it froths up.

Fry the bacon bits until crisp and golden then remove them from the pan and leave to cool.

Sift the flour into a bowl and mix with the baking powder and salt. Stir in the Parmesan and caraway seeds. 

Melt the butter in a small pan. Take the pan off the heat and allow butter  to  cool then stir in the soured cream and add the beaten eggs. Butter must be cool so as not to cook the eggs  

Add the cooled crispy bacon and stir in the yeasty milk.

Pour the buttery egg and bacon mixture into a large bowl, then add the flour and other dry ingredients, a little at a time, until everything is combined.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes or so until elastic. You can do this with a mixer and a dough hook if you like. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave it in a draught-free place for about an 1½ hours until it has doubled in size.

Turn the dough out again and knock it back with your knuckles. Dust the dough with flour and roll it out to about 4 cm/1½ in thick. Cut out rounds with a pastry cutter and place them on a sheet of silicone baking parchment on a baking tray. 

Using a sharp knife, cut a criss-cross pattern on the top of each one, then leave to rest for another 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Brush the scones with the beaten egg and water to glaze and bake them for 25–30 minutes until golden.

Eat them warm, split in half and spread with butter. Perfect with beef goulash soup.

The finished item so very yummy

 
 The scones were truly yummy especially fresh out of the oven. We are now firmly addicted to Hairy Biker baking and will no doubt try many more recipes. My hubby also intends to get the Hairy Bikers book of Pies.