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Scones should be one of the simplest of baked goods to make right? Actually, they can be very difficult, especially when looking to achieve perfection. Not only do scones have to be light, fluffy and full of flavour, they also have to look great. A flat scone is a sad scone and if your scones don’t rise properly, they are impossible to fill with cream and jam and enjoy.
Many bakers try as they must, really struggle to make their scones rise effectively and there are many different factors that can cause this. At Classic Cornish Hampers we are experts in scones so we have put together some reasons why your scones may not be rising and some helpful tips to improve them.
1 - Are you following the recipe?
We know that this is probably the most simple step, but surprisingly many aspiring bakers don’t read recipes or follow them properly. When trying to achieve a perfect result reading the recipe correctly is a must. Measure everything out correctly, read the baking times and use the correct ingredients. Don’t just put everything in a bowl together and expect the recipe to work.
2 - Are you using a raising agent?
This is also an obvious one, but can often get over looked. Are you just using all purpose flour instead of self-raising? Are you neglecting to add in baking powder? These very tiny steps if ignored can result in flat scones.
3 - Are your ingredients fresh?
Fresh ingredients are a must when creating scones. Some powders that you think will last forever actually lose their effectiveness over time such as baking powder, baking soda and yeast. Check that these are in date before you start.
4 - Is your oven preheated to the correct temperature?
Placing a dough in a cool oven that then slowly heats up actually affects the rising agent. Make sure your oven is at the right temperature you will be baking the scones at before you put them in. Also having an oven that is too hot or too cold will affect the baking of your scones immensely.
5 - Do you keep checking your scones?
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. A sudden loss of heat from the oven when the scones aren’t ready can also make them collapse.
6 - Are they spread too far apart?
Since many bakers started making cakes and biscuits, it is often logged in our brains that items such as cookies have to be spread far apart on the baking tray to prevent them from running into each other. With scones this is completely the opposite. Try placing your scones closer together on the tray as this forces them to rise upwards and not outwards.
7 - Are you rubbing the butter and flour together?
Again this means paying close attention to the recipe. By rubbing the flour and the butter together, you aren’t over working the dough so the lumps of butter can melt and create steam that help your scones to rise.
We hope that these handy tips will help your scones to rise much better. However, if you fancy buying your scones already perfectly made, then we have a brilliant selection here on our website.
You can also find a brilliant selection of our Cornish cream tea hampers here.
