MARTINA DALTON

Stampeders Strawberry Scones

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Stampeders is a nickname used for the people who rushed to the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1800s seeking riches in the remote Canadian region. Denali’s customers will soon come to love these delicious summertime scones.

 

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (if gluten free, substitute with your favorite gluten free flour mix. I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour)

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced

1 cup chopped strawberries

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup chilled heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon milk for brushing on top

1 tablespoon sugar to sprinkle on top

 

Ingredients for the glaze

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

 

Instructions for scones

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add ½ cup diced butter and cut into flour using pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Gently fold in chopped strawberries. Make a well in the center of mixture and set the bowl aside.

2. In a second mixing bowl, beat 1 egg with a fork, then stir in ½ cup heavy cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pour the egg mixture into the well of the flour mixture and use a large spoon to gently stir until just moistened. Don’t overmix.

3. Place dough onto a generously floured sheet of parchment paper. Pull dough together and shape into a circle, ¾-inch in thickness. Cut into 12 equal wedges and pull them apart slightly, about ½ inch or more.

4. Brush wedges with 1 tablespoon milk and sprinkle with sugar. Slide the parchment paper with scones onto a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Let cool for at least 10 minutes.

 

Instructions for glaze

1. Stir together 2/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add more milk.

Drizzle glaze over baked scones and serve warm or at room temperature.

 

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Dahlgren Family Gold Rush Sourdough Starter

 

Written in the year of our Lord 1898 by T.H. Dahlgren, for my children and theirs

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To my kin who come after me—

If you're reading this, I trust the old crock has survived another season and you’re of a mind to keep the tradition alive. In the North Country, bread is not just food—it’s fortitude. A good sourdough will keep a man going through wind, cold, and disappointment.

 

This here starter has kept me fed since I left Seattle and headed north toward the prospecting towns. It traveled in my satchel beside my compass and flint, and more than once I slept with it inside my coat to keep it from freezing. Many a miner has done the same. A warm starter is a living starter. And a living starter means bread.

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Keep it alive. Keep it fed. Pass it on.

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✦ For the Starter

• 3½ cups flour (white is best if you can find it)

• 2 tablespoons sugar (or molasses in a pinch)

• 1 packet (or 2 teaspoons) of dried yeast (if you have it—wild yeast from the air can also do)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups water, warmed to the temperature of your wrist

✦ Instructions (from one sourdough to another)

1. In a ceramic or wooden bowl (metal turns her mean), mix your flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon or clean hand.

2. Add the warm water slow and steady until you’ve got a thick paste. She should be lumpy and stubborn—like most worthwhile things in life.

3. Cover with a cloth and let her sit somewhere warm (near the stove, or the top of the cupboard works). Stir her three times a day. She likes the attention.

4. After 3 to 5 days, she’ll start to bubble and smell a bit tart. That means she’s waking up. You’ll see her rise and fall with the day—same as the tides.

5. Once she’s good and active, store her in a crock with a loose lid and keep her cool. In the old days, we had snow cellars. Nowadays, you may have iceboxes or other contraptions.

6. To feed her, add:

   • 3 cups flour

   • 2 cups warm water

   • 2 tablespoons sugar

   • 2 teaspoons salt
     Mix it in with what’s left of the last batch. Let it sit overnight before putting her back to rest.

7. If you’re not baking regular, give her a teaspoon of sugar each week to keep her content. Like a widow, she don’t take kindly to being forgotten.

 

This sourdough has seen me through lean times and rough winters. She don’t look like much, but she’s hearty, dependable, and gets better with age..

 

If you pass this on to your children, and they to theirs, perhaps long after I’m gone, someone in the family will still be feeding the same sour soul that kept me alive in the winter of ’98.

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Make good bread. Share it with neighbors. And never, ever forget to feed the starter.

~ T.H. Dahlgren

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A note from Denali

Reading my great-great-grandfather T.H. Dahlgren's words, I feel an unbroken thread connecting me to the past. The same sourdough starter that sustained him through the harsh Alaskan winters now bubbles away in my kitchen, a living testament to resilience and tradition. As I feed it each week, I imagine the countless loaves and pancakes it has birthed, nourishing generations of Dahlgrens. It's more than just a recipe; it's a legacy of warmth, survival, and love passed down through the ages.