Scones and Biscuits: Why Yours Come Out Tough, and How to Fix It
Ask a room full of home bakers what they have given up on; biscuits and scones come up every time. They came out flat. They came out tough. The scones were dry enough to sand a deck. So now biscuits come from a can, scones come from a coffee shop, and that is a shame, because these are the two things you will actually bake on an ordinary weekend morning for the rest of your life.
Here is the good news. When biscuits and scones go wrong, it is almost never the recipe. It is the handling. And handling is something you can learn in an afternoon.
Forget the ice cold butter
Most recipes tell you to keep your butter ice cold, grate it frozen, chill the bowl, and work fast before anything warms up. We do not do it that way, for biscuits, for scones, or for pie dough.
If you read our post on the cold butter myth, you already know where we stand. It is the same here: biscuits and scones are made the same way we make our pie dough. Softened butter gets worked into the flour by hand, so every bit of flour gets a coat of fat. That coating keeps the flour from soaking up too much liquid, and less liquid soaking in means less gluten, which means a tender biscuit instead of a tough one.
It is also a lot more forgiving. Cold butter methods depend on a cold kitchen, quick hands and a little luck. Working softened butter in by hand depends on feel, and feel is something you can learn.
Stop mixing sooner than feels right
This is the one that gets almost everybody. The moment flour meets liquid, gluten starts to form, and every extra stir, knead and press makes it stronger. Strong gluten is exactly what you want in a loaf of bread. In a biscuit or a scone it is exactly what you do not want. Mix only until the dough holds together. It should look a little shaggy and unfinished when you stop. Most people keep going until it looks smooth and tidy, and that last minute of mixing is what turns a tender biscuit into a chewy one.
Do not twist the cutter
Push the cutter straight down and lift it straight up. Twisting seals the cut edges together, and sealed edges cannot rise. If your biscuits come out lopsided or short, the cutter is a likely suspect. Flour it between cuts so it releases cleanly. So what is the difference between a biscuit and a scone? They are close cousins, made by the same basic method. Biscuits are usually the savory, buttermilk side of the family, made for butter and jam. Scones tend to be a little richer and a little sweeter.
Once you understand the method, you can make both, and you can stop following recipes line by line and start making them by feel.
Learn it by feel, in one afternoon
That is the reason we teach this as a hands on class instead of just handing out a recipe. You can read "do not overmix" a hundred times. It clicks the first time someone stands next to you at the bench and says "stop, right there, that is the dough."
Breakfast Pastries: Scones & Biscuits Sunday, November 8, 2:00 to 5:00 PM, at The Lakehouse Bakery in Chelsea
In this class you will:
Learn the biscuit method by feel, not by the clock
Cut and bake buttermilk biscuits
Make scones that come out tender instead of dry
Figure out exactly why yours have come out tough in the past, and what to change
There is homemade strawberry preserves, local honey and butter on the table while we work, because there should be. Everything is provided: ingredients, equipment, aprons, and recipes to take home. Seats are limited to 10, so there is plenty of room at the bench and plenty of time for questions. It is a relaxed room. Beginners are genuinely welcome, and so are people who have been baking for years. Ticket sales close Friday, November 6, so we can shop and prep for exactly the number of people in the room. You can find the class and book a seat on the Classes page of our website.
We hope to see you at the bench.
Chef Keegan and The Lakehouse Bakery Team
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