What not to do when you're making scones (2024)

FAQs

What not to do when you're making scones? ›

Overworking the dough: when you overwork your dough, your scones can come out tough and chewy, rather than that desired light, crumbly texture. The trick is to use light pressure and only the work the dough until it just comes together.

Overworking the dough will lead to scones that are tough and chewy, rather than light and flaky. The less you knead the mix, the less the gluten will tighten up – which means your scones will stay loose and crumbly, rather than tight and springy.

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. Make scone dough up to three days ahead.

Make sure your butter and liquid ingredients are cold, too. If the butter is soft when your scones enter the oven, it will leak out, taking your scone's moisture with it. And don't forget to use high-quality flour, which will give you consistent results, great flavor, and the structure needed for a good rise.

Much like cinnamon rolls, arranging your scones side by side, just touching one another, helps in making the scones rise evenly, and higher. Since the heat causes the scones to rise, if they are placed side by side, the scones will be forced to rise upwards, not outwards.

For super fluffy scones, make sure to not over-mix and resist the urge to knead the dough too much. “Ditch the spoon and use a flat-bladed knife when mixing the ingredients together,” Alison adds. “When patting the dough into a disc, do it quickly and lightly and avoid overworking the dough.”

Similar to making pie crust, using cold ingredients prevents the butter from melting before the scones are baked, leaving it instead to melt in the oven and create a super-flaky end result.

My scones have a dense, heavy texture and poor volume

You may have used too little raising agent or over handled the dough before it was baked. The oven may have been too cool.

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. Typically, if there is a higher protein level within a flour, the more dense the scone would come out.

How thick should scone dough be? ›

It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it out with your hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 1-2 cm (1/2 – ¾ inch).

Too much baking powder can cause the batter to be bitter tasting. It can also cause the batter to rise rapidly and then collapse. (i.e. The air bubbles in the batter grow too large and break causing the batter to fall.) Cakes will have a coarse, fragile crumb with a fallen center.

Bake scones until golden brown and firm to touch, rotating the pan half way throughfor an even bake. Bake REG (4oz) for 28-30 minutes. MINIS (1.75 oz) for 15-18 minutes. - Baking times will vary on your oven.

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.

Perhaps there wasn't enough liquid, or it could be that the dough was overworked and / or the scones were overbaked. If you're measuring the liquid in a jug, make sure you check the amount at eye level. The dough should be handled gently and feel moist. If there are any crumbs in the bowl it will need a spot more milk.

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.

We are all a little tempted to add that extra splash of sweetness into our scones, but make sure you don't use too much sugar as it will flatten them! We recommend using a maximum of 100g of sugar per 250g of flour.