Cheese scones - Eat Well Recipe - NZ Herald (2024)

FAQs

Why do my cheese scones not rise? ›

If the dough is too dry, the scones won't rise and will be crumbly. On the other hand, if the scones are too wet, they won't rise either, and will be too tough and chewy once baked. Don't hesitate to tweak the amounts and proportions to get the right texture.

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. Keep in mind that after rubbing in the fat into the flour, it should give a crumbly texture.

Use all-purpose flour for a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely, both in and out of the oven. To make more delicate, lower-rising, cake-like scones, substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1 to 2 tablespoons, using just enough to bring the dough together.

Keep scones cold before putting them in the oven: For best results, chill the mixture in the fridge before baking, this will help to stiffen up the butter again, which will stop your scones from slumping as soon as they hit the oven's heat.

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.

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.

The grey in the middle is where the dough has become much more dense because the gluten was overdeveloped. This tends to happen when a dough is overworked, handling it/mixing it less should help next time.

(A fat is saturated when it is solid at room temperature, like butter, margarine or shortening.) Light Scones contain just 0.3 gram of saturated fat, and 3.6 grams of total fat. In baking, you can generally substitute half the amount of oil as the butter or margarine called for.

Should butter be cold or softened for scones? ›

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. 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.

And there's no better way to achieve that kind of height and texture on a scone than using frozen, grated butter.

If a recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of salt and you use salted butter you could end up adding quite a bit more via the butter — sometimes as much as doubling the amount called for. So unsalted butter is always a better pick when you are cooking so that you can add as much as salt as you want (or don't) in your recipe.

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.

Pack the scones closely on the baking tray so they will support each other as they rise rather than spreading. Make scones the day you need them – they taste far better warm.

A mixture of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar, or baking powder (which is a ready paired mixture of the two) are used as the raising agent in scones.

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. Make sure you sieve the flour and baking powder into your bowl. This means that the two will be well mixed together, which gives you a better chance of an even rise.