How to Troubleshoot Various Scones Issues

Nothing beats a cup of creamy tea and traditional scones in the evening. In most cases, scones are round in shape, although you can make yours the way you find best. Scones should be flaky, meaning they break easily into small pieces. If you have decided to make scones at home for the first time, you might encounter some issues. However, there is nothing to worry about since we are here to help. Something could go wrong even when you have strictly followed the recipe to the letter. The following are simple ways of troubleshooting various issues you come across when making scones at home.

1. When Scones Are Not Crumbly

Generally, scones are crumbly. Therefore, if yours are soft, you could have missed something in one of the steps. The best way to make your scones crumbly is to make the fat pockets. You will need to start by mixing butter with the wheat flour for the pockets to form properly. Remember one thing though-the butter should be in solid form when mixing with the flour. If the butter is liquid, you will not have pockets, meaning your scones will be more like bread. Remember to also not over-knead the dough to avoid losing the air pockets.

2. When Scones Get Too Flaky

Scones should not be too flaky. Therefore, after mixing the flour with butter, you must ensure you add enough liquid to the mixture to form the scone dough. If you don’t add enough water, it will be hard to keep your dough intact, meaning it will flake quickly. Make sure you also mix the ingredients properly and evenly. Also, ensure there are no flour clumps or large pockets of water.

3. When Scones Get Too Thin

If your scones turn out thin, there are two good remedies. Avoid rolling the dough too thin to ensure enough air pockets and layers. Adding baking soda to the dough can also be a good idea to allow it to rise more.

4. When Scones Don’t Rise Enough

If your scones are not rising in the oven, you might have put inadequate water. So, consider adding. You can also add baking soda to the dough. However, for the baking soda to work, you must have at least a sour ingredient in the mixture.

5. When Scones Turn Out as Cookies

There is a big difference between scones and cookies. If your scones turn out more like cookies than scones, there is a high chance you added too much butter. So, try to keep the butter at a minimum.

6. When You Don’t Know the Best Liquid to Use

Water is a general ingredient when making any dough. Therefore, when making your scones, use liquid ingredients like milk. Or, you can use water. Using milk can be an excellent idea for more flavor and brown scones.

Summary

These are simple ways to solve different problems when making scones at home. Ensure you mix the flour with butter first before adding other ingredients. Make the dough sticky and add baking powder. It is also advisable to knead the dough slightly.