Use cold or frozen butter: For a better rise, preferably use cold butter or even frozen butter. Frozen butter can be a nuisance to cut so we advise grating with the fine side of a cheese grater first. The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too.
First, make sure you're using fresh baking powder, one that has been opened less than 6 months ago. Also, if you knead the dough too much, the scones won't rise as tall. Knead gently, and just enough to bring the dough together. Adding more flour also prevents the dough from rising as high, so only dust lightly.
My scones have turned out more like a cookie than a scone!
This can happen if you add too much butter. If you double the amount of butter in our recipe, they'll turn out more like cookies (we tested it for you). So, try to reduce the amount of butter.
Get Flaky Scones with COLD Butter
The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture. I like to cube then freeze my butter before assembling the dough.
If your dough is too wet like a batter, chances are your scones won't rise high. Alternatively, you don't want the texture to be dry. A common mistake most novice bakers make is over-kneading the dough. By over kneading, all the air bubbles will escape from the dough before the baking process.
Placing a dough in a cool oven that then slowly heats up actually affects the rising agent. Make sure your oven is at the right temperature you will be baking the scones at before you put them in. Also having an oven that is too hot or too cold will affect the baking of your scones immensely.
Traditionally scones with added fruit are served with butter only; plain scones with butter and jam or cream and jam. Clotted cream and lemon curd are never served together. These days, people do spread jams on the fruited scones, but it is a good idea to use a jam that complements the fruit.
Scones can be made either with self-raising flour or with plain flour and baking powder. Sweet scones and cheese scones have an egg added to enrich them. Both will rise but whatever scone you make its important that they are handled lightly and not rolled too thinly.
For tender scones that aren't overworked, let your cheese grater do the heavy lifting when it comes to the most crucial element. Instead of the comparatively hard work of cutting in butter with a knife of pastry blender, when making scones or biscuits, grate the butter on the large-hole side of a cheese grater instead.
“Make sure your butter or fat is as cold as possible when you add it into the flour. Cool temperatures help to slow down the gluten's development, helping you achieve a delicious flaky texture," advises Vanessa. "Cut the cold fat into cubes and work it into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture turns sandy.
When using oil, you want to use only half of the requested butter amount. So if the recipe calls for one cup of butter, you'll add one-half of a cup of oil.
Overmixing the dough.
Overworking the dough will lead to scones that are tough and chewy, rather than light and flaky. The key is to use a light hand and work the dough until it just comes together. Follow this tip: Expect your dough to have lumps and bumps in it — once it just comes together, its ready to be used.
Flat scones that spread when baked are usually caused by the dough being too soft or an oven that's too hot. A dark color can be caused by too much sugar or an oven that runs hot. Heavy, dense scones can be caused by weak flour, overworked dough, or expired leveling agents.
Plain Flour: You can use self-raising if you want to but there's really no need. The buttermilk and bicarb combined with plain flour give the scones a beautiful lift.
Do not over knead! Over kneading is the death of a good scone, the delicate creatures that they are. You want to handle your dough gently and as little as possible, otherwise your dough will become tough and won't be as fluffy.
But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.
Use a little of the leftover milk and egg mixture or some milk to brush over the tops of the scones to give them a lovely sheen. Place in hot oven 230°C or 450°F until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, either with lashings of jam and cream (if sweet) or just butter (if savoury).
The texture of scone dough should be quite wet and sticky as this loose texture really helps to produce the lightest, fluffiest texture once baked. The drier your dough is, the less ability the dough has to rise in the oven and the denser your scones will be.
Well, according to Darren McGrady, a former chef who worked for the Royal Family for over 10 years, the Queen prefered jam first. He tweeted: “The Queen always had home-made Balmoral jam first with clotted cream on top at Buckingham Palace garden parties in the royal tea tent and all royal tea parties.”
Should you make scones with butter, margarine or a baking spread? Butter is the best option for flavour and richness in your scones. However, you can absolutely make scones using a margarine or baking spread. I've made them many times using Stork and gotten great results.
Method. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the sugar, add the butter and rub quickly into the flour, creating a fine breadcrumb consistency.
Mix in something acidic
Baking soda is basically sodium bicarbonate, which is alkaline in nature. It is important to balance its overtly bitter taste lest it overpowers your dish. Use a small amount of an acidic condiment such as lemon juice or vinegar to neutralise the soda.
Use a flat-bladed knife or a palette knife and cut it (or pull it) through your ingredients when you add the wet ingredients so they are just barely incorporated. Don't overwork the dough. Tip it out of the bowl and very lightly pat out on a floured surface with the heel of your hand. About 3cm thick is good.