Yes, you should let scone dough rest, but the duration varies: a short 15-30 minute chill relaxes gluten for easier shaping and taller scones, while refrigerating overnight (especially with baking powder/soda) can yield better texture by fully hydrating flour and chilling fat, though some recipes with fast-acting leaveners prefer baking from frozen to prevent the agent from expiring. Resting allows gluten to relax and fat to firm up, preventing tough, flat, or misshapen scones, resulting in a lighter, crisper, more symmetrical bake.
But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries. Rested dough is far easier to shape cleanly than unrefrigerated dough is, and it bakes up noticeably taller, smoother, and with crispier edges.
The 15-minute rule is designed to ensure that your scones don't get too brown in the oven. Overbaking this delicate pastry will only cause it to dry out, thus rendering it dry and flavorless.
Common mistakes when making scones include using warm ingredients (butter, eggs, cream), overmixing the dough (leading to toughness), twisting the cutter (hindering rise), not chilling the dough enough, and adding too much liquid at once. To avoid these, use ice-cold butter and liquids, mix gently until just combined, press the cutter straight down, chill the shaped scones before baking, and gradually add liquid to achieve the right slightly tacky, not sticky, consistency.
Baking tips for making the perfect scones
Avoid overworking your scone dough when shaping. Don't overbake! If you bake scones too long, they'll dry out, so keep an eye on them through the oven window. (Don't open the oven to look — it'll let out the heat.)
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the top is golden and it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from oven, then transfer onto dish towel and wrap loosely (makes top soft). Once cooled to warm (10 – 15 minutes), serve warm. Tradition is to split the scone with hands (no knife!), slather with jam and dollop on cream.
Recipe tips
Arrange scones side by side on the baking tray, so that they are just touching each other. This will help keep the sides straight and even as the scones cook.
A 1-2-3-4 cake is all ratio: 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, 4 eggs. It's the kind of recipe you remember by heart, but it's not without its quirks. Four eggs bring structure and richness, yes, but also protein, which can lead to a cake that's more dry than delightful.
Pat or roll dough out into a 1/2-inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedge-shaped pieces and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake scones in the preheated oven until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes.
How to bake tall scones. For toweringly tall scones, always pat the dough out a bit thicker than you think you should. I say pat rather than knead because scones are essentially a sweet soda bread and, like other soda breads, will become tough when over-handled.
American scones use much more butter than British scones, and they usually have quite a bit more sugar. The extra butter is what makes them so much denser. This is not really a good or bad thing, as British scones pile on plenty of sugar (in the form of preserves/jam) and butter or clotted cream as toppings.
Make scone dough up to three days ahead. Shape into 3/4"-thick disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until ready to cut and bake.
When you put your dough in the fridge it slows the yeast activity down. It takes ten times longer for dough to rise in the fridge than it does at room temperature. This means you can put your dough in the fridge overnight or whilst you are at work and come back to it when you are ready.
It should just come together and you should be able to handle it without it being really sticky. * Place the dough on a floured surface and knead a couple of times just to remove any cracks. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour.
The secret to good scones is keeping ingredients, especially butter, extremely cold and not overworking the dough, which creates flaky layers instead of tough, chewy scones; using high-fat liquids like heavy cream or buttermilk and a hot oven for a good rise; and cutting scones straight down without twisting for even height. Chilling the dough before baking and placing scones close together on the tray also promotes upward rising.
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking Scones
Freeze the dough
Alison says that by freezing the dough before baking, your butter will stay solid, creating little air pockets in the scones once cooked. This gives them a super soft and airy texture when the scones rise.
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.
But frozen grated butter is the real key to success. Like with pie crust, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients to create crumbs. The butter/flour crumbs melt as the scones bake, releasing steam and creating air pockets. These pockets create a flaky center while keeping the edges crumbly and crisp.
A thicker and denser scone or a lighter and fluffier one? If you'd prefer a thicker one, go for a self-raising flour or a bread flour. But if you'd prefer a lighter and fluffier scone, we'd recommend all-purpose or pastry flour.
The "tea towel trick" primarily refers to placing a clean, folded tea towel between a slow cooker's inner pot and lid to absorb condensation, preventing soggy cakes and breads by stopping water from dripping back onto the food, but it's also used to create non-slip surfaces for chopping boards or for simple kitchen organization/decoration like folding a decorative bow.
Place the scones on the baking tray, leaving a small place between each for them to expand. Brush the tops with a beaten egg and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops and bottoms are golden, and the sides are still pale. Split open while warm and eat with clotted cream and jam.
Usually consisting of a selection of teas, freshly prepared finger sandwiches, scones, cakes and pastries with all the trimmings, a light Afternoon Tea should allow for 4 sandwiches, 2 scones and 2 cakes (of different varieties) per person.