How to make good scones

Good scones depend more on gentle handling than special equipment. Work fairly quickly, keep the butter cool and stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together.

Rub in lightly

Cut cold butter into small cubes. Rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting the mixture and letting it fall back into the bowl, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Avoid squeezing it into a paste or warming it in your palms.

Keep the dough soft

Add most of the recipe’s milk first and mix with a table knife. Add the final splash only if dry flour remains. A soft, slightly tacky dough rises more easily than a stiff dry one. It should hold together without flowing or sticking heavily to your hands.

Bring the dough together with only two or three gentle folds. Kneading until smooth develops the flour’s gluten and can make the scones tough.

Shape without flattening

Pat the dough to the thickness stated in the recipe rather than rolling it thin. Dip the cutter edge in flour if it sticks, then press straight down. Twisting the cutter can seal the sides and restrict an even rise. Bring scraps together only once and handle them as little as possible.

Brush milk over the tops without letting it run down the cut sides. Bake in a fully heated oven until the scones are risen, golden on top and coloured underneath. Let them stand briefly on a rack before splitting because the centres continue to settle after leaving the oven.

Recipes using this guide

• Cheese Scones
• Fruit Scones