Been baking bread for years, but scones gave me trouble for the longest time. Always came out dense and cakey, never that shaggy flaky thing I was after.
My problem? I was letting the butter warm up.
Cold butter straight from the fridge, cut into small cubes. That’s what finally worked. When cold butter hits a hot oven it creates steam pockets, and those become your flaky layers. Warm butter just disappears into the flour and you end up with something dense and uniform.
What’s helped me:
- Cut butter small (about 1/2 inch cubes), then stick it back in the fridge for 10 min before you use it
- Move fast. Your hands warm everything up qui…
Been baking bread for years, but scones gave me trouble for the longest time. Always came out dense and cakey, never that shaggy flaky thing I was after.
My problem? I was letting the butter warm up.
Cold butter straight from the fridge, cut into small cubes. That’s what finally worked. When cold butter hits a hot oven it creates steam pockets, and those become your flaky layers. Warm butter just disappears into the flour and you end up with something dense and uniform.
What’s helped me:
- Cut butter small (about 1/2 inch cubes), then stick it back in the fridge for 10 min before you use it
- Move fast. Your hands warm everything up quick
- Stop mixing while you can still see butter chunks
- Some people freeze their flour, which sounds extreme but apparently works.
I wrote more about the science here if anyone’s curious: https://jmtreats.com/guides/why-cold-butter-essential-flaky-scones
Still working on my hydration though. Sometimes they spread too flat. Anyone have tips?
- jmtreatsandeats’s Blog
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