blueberry scones recipe – use real butter (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to make scones with butter or oil? ›

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. However, there is one caveat: Do not overmix the dough.

Many of you eager bakers will already know that using super cold, chilled butter means a much better resulting scone texture, (cold butter prevents the butter from melting before the scones are baked, and will help you achieve a lighter crumb), But, Elisa suggests you can even use frozen butter, grated into your flour.

So, you can use butter instead of margarine when making scones but they will not be quite as light. To compensate for this, add more flour or baking powder to ensure the dough is still tender after baking.

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.

Overmixing the dough.

Overworking the dough will lead to scones that are tough and chewy, rather than light and flaky. The key is to use a light hand and work the dough until it just comes together. Follow this tip: Expect your dough to have lumps and bumps in it — once it just comes together, its ready to be used.

How to get scones to rise higher? Arrange them on a tray with sides so they touch each other, encouraging them to rise upward instead of spreading out. Another trick is using baking powder in the correct ratio, which gives your scones the perfect lift.

Place pan of shaped scones into the freezer for up to 30 minutes before baking. This short rest relaxes the gluten, making scones more tender; and cold chills the fat, increasing flakiness. Make scone dough up to three days ahead.

In my view, the perfect scone should have puffy height and be light and flaky. The internal crumb should exhibit qualities of a light-colored moist, soft, tender texture. The scone should not be wet or doughy nor should it be hard and/or dry, with a chippy or chibbly texture.

We recommend using all-purpose flour. There is some debate as to what flour one should use to go around achieving the perfect scone. This is because within different flours comes different levels of protein. Typically, if there is a higher protein level within a flour, the more dense the scone would come out.

“Make sure your butter or fat is as cold as possible when you add it into the flour. Cool temperatures help to slow down the gluten's development, helping you achieve a delicious flaky texture," advises Vanessa. "Cut the cold fat into cubes and work it into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture turns sandy.

Why put eggs in scones? ›

The scones with eggs tasted richer, they were less crumbly, and they had more of a chewiness to them, possibly because the egg binds ingredients together. These scones also spread more, rising in all directions.

Overworking the dough: when you overwork your dough, your scones can come out tough and chewy, rather than that desired light, crumbly texture.

Both salted butter and unsalted butter can be used interchangeably in any recipe, but if the recipe calls specifically for unsalted butter, it's probably because the recipe has been tested with it and is preferred for that particular recipe.

Scone Thickness

Shape a small rectangle at least 2.5 cm thick with your hands. No need to use a rolling pin. Don't press it down hard!

Overworking the dough will lead to scones that are tough and chewy, rather than light and flaky. 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.

Replacing Butter with Oil

Depending on the type of oil, it can add complex flavor and welcome moisture to your baked goods. A good rule of thumb is to replace about 3/4 of the butter in a recipe with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ¾ cup oil.)

Butter is traditional and adds to the flavour of your finished scones. Also, oils are 100% fat whereas butter is about 80% fat (the remaining 20% is mainly water which creates steam as the scones cook and helps to make them fluffy and light), so using oil will change the texture as well as the flavour of scones.

There is no proper way to eat a scone, or an American biscuit, which is essentially the same thing. You can eat them warm or cold. You can eat them with cream, with butter and jam, with honey, or with nothing at all.

Handle scone dough gently: “Overmixing leads to too much gluten development, which leads to tough, dense scones, instead of flaky, moist ones,” says Bethany. Once you've added the liquid in your recipe, mix the dough gently until just combined — and no more.