Ros Rants: The secrets of scones - Cookery School - London (2024)

FAQs

Why don't my scones rise enough? ›

Not using enough leavening agent. Placing scones far away from each other on the baking tray. Not preheating the oven before putting in the scones. Low-quality ingredients.

To ensure taller scones, start with a thicker dough disc and place the scones on a tray with sides, allowing them to slightly touch one another. This arrangement encourages the scones to push against the pan and each other, promoting height.

We recommend using all-purpose flour. There is some debate as to what flour one should use to go around achieving the perfect scone. This is because within different flours comes different levels of protein.

You might need a teaspoon or two more cream as its consistency is thicker than milk. Large Egg - The egg helps bind the ingredients together and increases the richness and flavour. Unsalted butter - Has to be cold to create flaky layers within the scone.

Wet ingredients don't always result in a moist scone. In fact, adding too much liquid to any basic scone recipe can create a dense texture that isn't very appetizing. To avoid overdoing it, only add half of the amount of called-for buttermilk to the dry ingredients.

Don't overbake! If you bake scones too long, they'll dry out, so keep an eye on them through the oven window. (Don't open the oven to look — it'll let out the heat.) “Bake your scones until they are just golden brown,” Bethany recommends.

Why are my scones not light and fluffy? The trick to getting beautiful light and fluffy scones is to handle the dough as little as possible. So when scones don't rise or aren't fluffy, it could be because the dough was over mixed or over kneaded, which makes them more dense.

Why are my scones too crumbly? The liquid that you add after adding the butter is required to keep the whole dough together. If there's not enough water to keep the dough together, it will fall apart too easily and it will be very hard to bring it all together.

The mix should be moist, and while it should come out of the mixing bowl clean, expect it to leave your fingers a little sticky. Scone mix is far wetter than a dough – it's somewhere between a batter and a dough. Only lightly flour your work surface to avoid incorporating extra flour into the dough.

So when handling the cut scones, minimise touching the cut sides. 3. Knead 10 times, no more – Kneading the dough makes the surface of scones smoother with a more even rise. However, many recipes will tell you never to knead the dough because it would make the scones tough.

What is the secret to a good scone? ›

But frozen grated butter is the real key to success. Like with pie crust, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients to create crumbs. The butter/flour crumbs melt as the scones bake, releasing steam and creating air pockets. These pockets create a flaky center while keeping the edges crumbly and crisp.

Place pan of shaped scones into the freezer for up to 30 minutes before baking. This short rest relaxes the gluten, making scones more tender; and cold chills the fat, increasing flakiness.

Wedges are easiest, but you can make 10-12 drop scones like I do with my banana scones. Brush with heavy cream or buttermilk. For a golden brown, extra crisp and crumbly exterior, brush with liquid before baking. And for extra crunch, a sprinkle of coarse sugar is always ideal!