Cranberry Goat Cheese Scones Recipe - Savory Simple (2024)

FAQs

What to avoid when making scones? ›

The resting of the dough helps to relax the dough so everything remains tender, if you kneaded the dough and baked the scones immediately the insides would be great but the outsides would be tough and chewy.

The longer you get the dough sit before baking it, the less your scones will rise. Try to bake the dough as soon as you finishing kneading and rolling it out. Letting the mixture sit too long will cause the gas bubbles from the leavening agent to disappear. These gas bubbles are what help the scones rise.

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.

Dairy: Buttermilk is a signature ingredient of biscuits while cream or milk is a more typical moistening ingredient in scones.

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.

Although convenient and tasty, scones are a complete loss. They are typically extremely high in calories from the heavy butter and cream. And, although scones with fruit might seem healthier, most are even higher in calories and still high in saturated fat. Steer clear of scones.

But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

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.

It can be so tempting to keep opening the oven door to check on your scones, however each time you open the door you loose the heat that is kept inside and increase the cooking time. Try to leave your scones alone until the end of the cooking process and then quickly check them before removing.

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).

To bake, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and then bake. (I've found that sometimes frozen scones can turn gray due to oxidization. The dough is still safe to consume but might not look very appealing).

Butter, marmite, more cheese all work well. Or treat your scone like a mini sandwich with added ham, smoked salmon and cream cheese etc.

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.

How to make scones rise high? Once you've cut out your scone shapes, flip them over and place upside down on the baking tray. This will help them rise evenly and counteract any 'squashing' that happened when you cut out the dough. Perfect scones should rise to about 2 inches high.

The explanation is simple: As with other doughs, including pizza dough, resting lets scone dough's gluten relax completely, so that it doesn't snap back during shaping or baking.

Try placing your scones closer together on the tray as this forces them to rise upwards and not outwards.