# Scones



## chrisbristol (Feb 16, 2014)

Hello

Does anyone have any advice on scones?

I made some earlier with this recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4622/classic-scones-with-jam-and-clotted-cream

They were OK but I felt they needed to be a bit more tastier and sweeter. I did add a bit more sugar but I have been told that adding to much can make them go wrong.


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## wlong (Aug 2, 2011)

If you would like a sweeter scone, here is a recipe we have used for years and it uses more sugar than the link you give.

Orange Sugared Scones

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 cup (8 oz) light sour cream, or dairy sour cream
1  egg, separated
4 teaspoon lemon juice

Heat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until crumbly. 

In small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, currants and orange peel; stir into flour mixture.

In medium bowl, combine sour cream, egg yolk and lemon juice; beat with wire whisk until smooth. 

Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture; knead 5-8 times to combine all ingredients. 

Divide dough in half.  Pat each half into 6-inch circles.  Place both circles on greased cookie sheet.  Cut each circle into 6 wedges. 

In small bowl, beat egg white with fork until frothy.  Brush egg white over tops of scones; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center of scones comes out clean and scones are lightly browned. 

Cool on wire rack.  Separate into individual scones to serve.

NOTE:  Dough is very sticky.  You may want to try putting a little flour on flour board, but not enough to make the dough heavy.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@ChrisBristol,

Finding a formula that uses heavy cream sounds like something you would like.


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## chrisbristol (Feb 16, 2014)

Hello

I made some scones today I used bread flour instead as  I saw a famous English baker do it on you tube. Not doubt no flavour was better although they don't rise so much but overall I would say they are better.  I also added an egg to it.

The only problem I had is that when I ate them I could taste the flour a little bit. Not much and when I put jam on them they were fine but just a bit. I've been looking on the internet and it could be that they weren't cooked enough but I don't think it was that.  I'm thinking that either they weren't given long enough to cool  which finishes of the cooking as I take them out just  before they are cooked to avoid over cooking.  Or the flour was not mixed in properly with the butter. Now if I was to spend longer mixing in the four would I risk over mixing it or would it be OK until I add the wet ingredients?  Also one thing worth mentioning is that I creamed the butter and sugar together, could that have stopped the flour from combining with the butter properly?


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Did you use the famous baker's recipe or just sub the bread flour for another type flour in a different recipe?

Would be a huge help if you could post whatever recipe you used (as it was written ) along with whatever changes you made (type ingredient along with measurement changes you may have made plus whatever deviations from the instructions ) if you are seriously wanting to make a good batch of scones.

Did you ever try the recipe @wlong shared?

mimi


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## chrisbristol (Feb 16, 2014)

Um no I just changed the recipe slightly. The recipe I used is below. I just changed the self-raising for strong white bread flour and added a beaten egg.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4622/classic-scones-with-jam-and-clotted-cream


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

My best advice (until you become a bit more experienced with baking) is to find a good tried and true recipe and follow it exactly as written.
Bread flour is not a good sub for the self rising type (the reason your batch didn't rise).
Only add ingredients that are on the recipe list and follow the instructions closely.
The flour taste is a mystery to me.
Maybe you could describe it differently but if you follow the recipe next time will most likely not be a problem again.

YouTube is a great idea.
Watch as many as you can but unless your recipe is the one being demonstrated don't add or subtract anything based on what you see, just use it to learn the techniques.

mimi


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Have you thought to take a few baking classes?
Sometimes just having someone standing there to coach you along makes all the difference.

mimi


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## fablesable (Oct 11, 2014)

@ChrisBristol Heya mate, good try on the scone making but a few tips to set you on the right course.

Self rising flour has a leavening agent in it so you cannot simply replace that flour with another unless you know the amount of leavener in that dose of flour you are using to replace it. So for a newbie....I would say to just stick with self rising flour if it calls for it.

NEVER cream your ingredients when making a biscuit as it is quintessential that you rub (cut in) the fat into your dry ingredients to get a nice flaky biscuit.


> To "cut in" in serves the function of dstributing the fat particles into the dry ingredients, typically flour, and by coating and lubricating flour granules. This method greatly reduces the ability of the gluten proteins in the flour to create gluten when mixed later with a liquid, such as water or milk. This also results in a flakier product when rolled or formed before baking. The secret to success is that the solid fat must remain cold at all times before baking.
> - from Baking 911


When we are talking biscuits, If it doesn't call for an egg to be added, DON"T

Hope this helps you out for future biscuit baking /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif


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## chrisbristol (Feb 16, 2014)

Hello

When  I watched the video on you tube it was roughly it was about the same measurement. So I didn't think changing the flour would be so much of a problem. To be honest the scones were better than what I made before apart from the floury taste. It is possible I didn't put enough egg wash on the outside and the floury taste was from the extra flour I sued to roll them.

I could try to get the bakers recipe though that would help. The quantities would be  exactly right then


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## chrisbristol (Feb 16, 2014)

Here is the recipe I will be using next time. Reading through the recipe I can see that I didn't add enough flour to it as I only used 350 g (as I substituted it from a different recipe)and he says to use 500g with roughly the same other measurements. Although one thing that is changed is that he adds more baking powder which I didn't so obviously that is why they didn't rise enough. I thought perhaps they were just not suppose to rise as much but obviously after reading through the actual recipe instead of just catching bits of the online video it is obvious that they were.

One thing I am surprised about is that I thought you were suppose to add cold butter to scones where as he uses softened butter. Although I'm pretty certain he knows what he is doing so I will trust him.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paul_hollywoods_scones_70005


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Thanks for sharing the BBC Cooking link.
Appears to be pretty user friendly and easy on the eyes as well.

mimi


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