How to make perfect scones

I am evangelical about scones as a gateway bake – they are the perfect entry point for the nervous baker. They don’t require any nonsense. Rubbing the butter and flour together by hand and stamping the dough out is straightforward; and as long as a scone is risen and golden-topped after baking, then you’re fine.

But more than that, if you can bring a scone dough together – and you can, I promise – then you can bring any pastry dough together. I’m not suggesting you open a pâtisserie while your first batch is still in the oven, but rather that scones can be a confidence-builder for the novice baker, in a way that biscuits, cakes and brownies can be quite the opposite.

As with a lot of baking, there will always be scaremongers. You only need to watch 30 seconds of The Great British Bake Off to hear someone warning against overworking scones, as if one extra prod of your dough will result in irreparable woe to you and your loved ones.

But yes, the less you handle a scone, the better, as it will result in a more tender crumb when it bakes. But don’t let this put you off. As long as you’re not kneading it like it’s a loaf of bread, you’ll still end up with something lovely.

That said, there are easy steps you can take to maximise the height and handsomeness of your scone. I don’t roll my scones with a rolling pin at all – instead I pat out the dough until it is the depth I want, and then stamp out rounds. Dipping the cutter in flour between each scone, and ensuring that you gently ease the scone from the cutter, rather than twisting it, will guarantee that the edges of the scone aren’t compressed and allow the greatest possible rise.