Learn how to make scones
Do you want to learn how to make scones? There are two types of scones - biscuit and cream scones.
Tea biscuits, popular in the British Isles, are made using the same principles as Southern-style biscuits --cutting the cold butter into the flour to keep them flaky. Cream scones are made with cream rather than butter. They are tender and moist, not flaky.
Try some of our scones recipes for your baking enjoyment.
Tips for mixing, rolling & baking biscuit scones:
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Choose a large bowl (about four quarts) for blending the fats into the flour.
Always chill the butter and vegetable shortening before using. This makes it easier to form crumbs and prevents the mixture from becoming oily.
Before working the butter and vegetable shortening into the flour, toss the pieces with flour to coat them. This will make them easier to cut in, because it prevents the pieces of fat from sticking to each other.
When working the fats into the flour, be sure to use only your fingertips. Avoid rubbing the mixture between the palms of your hands.
After cutting in the crumbs, rub your hands through the mixture to feel for any overly large pieces of fat that may not have been broken up.
It's okay to have pea-sized pieces of fat. This will create more tender pastries.
Work with the side of the fork around the perimeter of the bowl toward the center when incorporating the liquid.
Chilling the dough before rolling makes it easier to handle.
Use a plastic palm-size bowl scraper or oversize rubber spatula to help remove the dough from the bowl.
Replace the flour on the kneading surface as it becomes too coarse (bits of dough will fall off into the flour as you knead and should not be reincorporated into the dough).
Do not overhandle the dough, as it will make the scones tough.
If you have warm hands, use a dough scraper to lift the dough.
- Roll the dough on a well-floured (about 2 tablespoons of flour) pastry cloth with a cloth-covered rolling pin. Flour the pin before rolling.
We have an assortment of scones recipes for your baking enjoyment. Try some of our recipes or feel free to share a recipe.
What is Your Favorite Scones Recipe?
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Share your tips on how to make scones
Do you have a favorite recipe or tip you'd like to share? We'd love to try it. Click here to share your tips on how to make scones.
Sources:
Reinhart, Peter. Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers. Ten Speed Press. 2006.
Walter, Carole. Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More. Clarkson Potter/ Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Copyright 2007.
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