And some hints
Tips for top-notch scones
* Make sure the butter, eggs, and milk (or other dairy) are cold. Like pie crust and biscuits, scones rely on cold fat for their flakiness.
* Work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse sand with some larger, pea-sized chunks. The smaller particles of butter will tenderize, while the larger will create flaky texture.
* Eggs add richness, and enhance your scones' rise. If your recipe doesn't already call for egg, and you want to add one, simply substitute 1 egg for an equal volume of the milk or cream in the recipe.
* Beware of juicy add-ins, like raspberries or chopped strawberries; they can make scones soggy.
* Once you add liquid, stir the dough only enough to combine; don't over-mix, or scones will be tough.
* For soft-sided scones, bake very close together; or bake in large rounds, then cut once they're out of the oven. See our blog post, An easy way to shape scones.
* Freezing the pan of scones for 30 minutes before baking relaxes the flour's gluten (encouraging tenderness), and chills the fat (enhancing flaky texture).
* Bake scones until they're barely done: their interior will be fully baked (not doughy), but still moist. An over-baked scone is a dry scone.
* Can you use lower-fat or nonfat dairy (skim milk, low-fat yogurt) as your liquid? Yes, but scones will be dry and hard. The higher their fat content, the more tender the scones
