Having become entranced with the idea of baking scones, I decided to bake some for the first time ever. I chose to use a boxed scone mix since I had never baked scones before. I followed the directions exactly, including a bake time of 13-15 minutes that was listed on the box.
When I pulled the scones out of the oven, they looked golden brown and were slightly crisp on the top. But when I cut into them., the insides were more the consistency of peanut butter. There was no raw dough. I was afraid I would burn them if I left them in the oven longer.
They tasted okay but were a little chewy on the inside. Are scones supposed to be chewy or are they supposed to be more crunchy/crisp?- I was thinking they were supposed to look more like dinner roll biscuits or apple fritters on the inside.
I used a cast-iron ableskiver pan to bake them, as I do not own a scone pan. Could the ableskiver have made them chewy instead of crisp?
I fed half of one scone to the dog, as she is always interested in what the Human is eating. She ate it, but didn’t beg for more like she usually does when Human’s food choice is involved. I don’t want to make any more scones until I figure out what, if anything, I did wrong. My original plan was to bake scones from a mix the first few times, then create some from scratch. Thank you for any help and advice.
Without knowing your mix, that sounds off. Scones should have a soft, biscuit-like texture but more buttery and crumbly rather than bready like a biscuit.
Definitely not runny or soft oozy dough and a chewy texture. I wonder if your dough was too wet. I’ve made a few mixes and from scratch (not an expert though). The dough is generally a crumbly texture, and not a smooth, formed dough like a bread. Once the ingredients are well incorporated and still loose, you just kind of pack them into a lump that gets cut into the shape for baking. Is that how your dough was?
I’ve always baked on a tray; didn’t even know scone pans were a thing. I think either your dough was too wet, or possibly overworked if you kneaded this into a smooth dough.
If you tell us the mix and we can have a look at the directions, we can tell you what went wrong. Having lived with someone who “followed the directions” when making a banana bread mix and proceeded to make a brick, I know that sometimes people’s idea of what constitutes following instructions can greatly stray from what it actually should look like.
Was your cast iron aebelskiver pan room temperature when it went into the oven? If so, it would have acted as a heat sink for the short duration you baked the scones, preventing all but the tips from cooking. I don’t think using a preheated pan is the answer for scones either, because it would probably burn the bottoms. Try an aluminum baking sheet next time.
Thank you everyone, for all of your suggestions and advice. To answer your questions:
The ableskiver pan was at room temp when I put it in the oven. I preheated the oven.The scone mix was this:
The scones definitely had the tart flavor. I chose that flavor of mix because I don’t like super sugary sweet stuff.
Those scones just require adding water. The only thing I can think of is you mixed the dough too much based on your description of them being chewy. You mixed them by hand?
I’ve based biscuits on cast iron with no issues, so I don’t see that as the problem.
Aebelskiver pans have hemispherical divots that surround most of the batter, so for a short bake, only the exposed top would be getting decent heat. I think bake time would have to be longer for the bottoms to cook. Maybe a flat cast iron pan or baking steel wouldn’t be as bad either.
This. Quite often what the oven shows as temperature is off. I’ve had ovens in the past (I’m looking at you, Miele) that were off by 30 degrees. You need to adjust your oven temp to match the thermometer temperature.
Another thermometer that will make a world of difference to your cooking and baking is an instant-read one. Thermapens are not cheap, but are accurate. Taking a quick internal temperature reading will unambiguously let you know if your food is done or not.
The location of your baked goods in the oven will also effect their doneness. Sometimes you need to move things up or down in the oven for them to cook properly. If the top is getting too coloured, you can also tent things with foil to slow down the process.
I don’t believe the pan will have made them chewy, not unless you left them to cool in it. This would retain too much moisture on the bottom that would effect the rest of the scone.
Thanks! I’ve been reading the threads from time to time, but since my work computer blocks this site, I hadn’t posted until now. I was just rereading the “Knife talk” thread this morning. What fun
It’s not too strict. Chowhound, Netflix, YouTube, and other time wasters aren’t blocked, but hungryonion is flagged as a security risk for some reason.
I think either your dough was too wet, or possibly overworked if you kneaded this into a smooth dough.
