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Scones will be 'light and airy' if you do 1 crucial thing before baking them
Reach Daily Express | June 16, 2025 12:39 PM CST

Nothing beats a good scone and a cup of tea. No matter what your opinions are on how to pronounce it, or the order in which you spread on the jam and cream, everyone can agree that they're delicious.

them yourself at home is quite easy, and you only need a couple of ingredients. But if you've been struggling to achieve that perfect airy texture, then there's one thing that you should try. The experts at have unveiled some of the best tips that will leave you with perfect treats every time.

The team of test kitchen experts got together to find out how to make scones taste even better, and texture is a huge part of this. The last thing you want is to bite into a dry, dense or chewy scone, so making them as light and fluffy as possible is key.

And according to the pros, there's a really easy way to do this.

By freezing the dough before baking, your butter will stay solid, creating little air pockets in the scones once cooked. This gives them a 'super soft and airy texture' when the scones rise.

Similarly, you can also keep the dough in the fridge once you've cut out the scone shapes, which helps relax the gluten and hardens the butter which gives you a tender, flakier scone.

If you're keen to whip up a batch of scones now, the experts have shared an easy recipe that only requires four ingredients to make.

Four-ingredient scones

Ingredients

  • Three cups self-raising flour
  • 80g butter, chilled and cubed
  • One and a quarter cups milk
  • Plain flour, for dusting

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Sift self-raising flour into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub butter into self-raising flour until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre. Add one cup of the milk. Mix with a flat-bladed knife until mixture forms a soft dough, adding more milk if required.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth.

At this point, you can freeze the dough if you have time, or put it in the fridge for a few hours.

When you're ready to bake, lightly dust a flat baking tray with plain flour.

Pat the dough into a 2cm-thick round. Using a 5cm round cutter, cut out 12 rounds. Press the dough together and cut out remaining four rounds.

Place the scones onto prepared baking tray, 1cm apart. Sprinkle tops with a little plain flour and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and well risen.

Transfer to a wire rack, and serve warm with jam and cream.


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