Scone Variances

[Wolf]

I've recently used a recipe for scones from the King Arthur site, which turned out good, but not what I wanted. The dough was shaggy, as it should have been in the recipe, and the result was a fairly shaggy looking scone, inside and out -- a consistency that I feel was more like a biscuit. I would like to achieve a more dense, crumbly texture. What is needed? Here is the recipe from King Arthur:

3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces, about 3/4 cup walnut halves) finely chopped walnuts*
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable shortening (or unsalted butter, or a combination) ****NOTE - I substituted butter here
1 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup, divided

[SmokeyJoe]

try using heavy cream instead of milk.

[ChezLeRecherche]

Wish they would give that flour measure by weight. Did you use King Arthur flour? Was it well settled or 'fluffed' in its storage container? Be careful how you handle the four before volume measurement.

[ChrisChefBaker]

Scones are "biscuit method" which means combining the wet ingredients, sifting all the dry, then mixing them together into a soft elastic dough, without it being too sticky. Avoid over-kneading as this makes it end product too tough. A bench scraper does the job. The blend of shortening and butter make a more tender scone. Cream is even better, more fat. Hope this helps. Happy baking!

[Flippy]

Try cutting the butter into the flour until it has a mealy texture. this will make them consistently crumbly.

[Wolf]

OK - will definitely try cream and post back in a few days. Good ideas.

[Wolf]

Yes, I would rather they provided weight rather than volume. I measured, then sifted my flour. I did use King Arthur Flour, which makes a huge difference, I think (in a positive way).

[scottsimka]

Makes a great scone!

1# 14oz Bread Flour
3.5tb Powder
1.5 t salt
7 oz sugar
5 oz dry fruit
1 qt heavy cream

follow directions below.
this recipe yields about a dozen nice lg scones


5.5# flour
5.5 oz volume powder
4 tb salt
21 oz sugar
15 oz dry fruit
or 8 oz dry fruit & 8 oz choc. chips
white or dark
3 qt heavy cream

Dry in bowl – sift with paddle
add cream & mix until all is incorporated
Shape into rectangle, ½ inch thick.
cut into triangles.
Yield approx 100 2 inch triangles
bake 350 for 20 mins.

[jonesg]

You can do it either way, in mixer,
I prefer to dry rub the butter /flour/sugar/bp ,
add fruit and fluid last,
finish by hand.

I think thats way too much salt, you can also use half that amount of bp, I use light cream.