What not to do when you're making scones

How to make scones

Who doesn’t love a freshly baked scone finished off with a dollop of fresh cream and jam? Add a cup of hot tea or coffee and it's afternoon tea heaven.

When made correctly scones are light, melt-in-your-mouth and so moreish. And yet, as simple as they seem, scones can take a bit of fine-tuning to get right. Here are some common scone-baking mistakes that home bakers often make.

Common scone mistakes

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.

Using room temperature or warm ingredients: the number one trick to remember when making scones, which is often forgotten, is to start with cold ingredients – cold butter, cold eggs and cold cream. This is the secret to the flakiest scones. Using cold ingredients prevents the butter from melting into the dough before your scones are baked. Instead, you'll have pockets of butter in the dough (this is a good thing!) that create a super-flaky, oh-so-delicious end result.

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it’s baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you’re working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

Baking your scones ahead of time: if you have a brunch or morning tea planned, it is very tempting to bake the night before to have everything ready, but scones are really the best when they are fresh and warm out of the oven. If you do prefer to get ahead you can shape the dough into scones and leave them in the fridge overnight, ready for baking the next day.

Now you know what NOT to do when making scones, try these super delicious scone recipes!