Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood has shared his top tips for perfect scones, including the exact time they should spend in the oven for what he says is a 99% success rate.
Three rules for scone perfection
In a short TikTok clip, Hollywood urged home bakers to follow three rules to achieve the ideal bake. The first is to ensure the batter is smooth. He explained: "Lumps are bad in a scone because you don't want a big lump of butter in there. You'll end up with just butter pouring all over your tray, which is what you don't want."
Another tip is to egg-wash the scones to give them a lovely golden colour, but not to overdo it. The GBBO judge explained: "Egg wash the top, try not to egg wash the sides. If it goes down the sides too much, it creates a glue, and prevents it from rising up."
The 15-minute rule
Finally, Hollywood warned against overbaking the sweet treats, as they will lose their fluffy texture. He said: "Use the 15 minutes of a scone in the oven as a good rule. 15 minutes bang on is 99% of the time going to be spot on."
Hollywood, one of the UK's best-known bakers with decades of experience in top kitchens and bakeries, shared the advice as the new series of Great British Bake Off sees Nigella Lawson join him in the tent.
Recipe for perfect scones
For those looking to put the tips into practice, Hollywood's recipe includes 500g strong white bread flour, 25g baking powder, 80g unsalted butter, 2 medium eggs, 250ml milk, 80g caster sugar, and a beaten egg with salt for glazing, plus icing sugar, jam and clotted cream to serve.
The method involves lining baking trays, rubbing butter into flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, mixing wet ingredients, bringing the dough together, rolling to around 3cm thick, cutting rounds, glazing and chilling for 20 minutes, then baking at 220°C (200°C fan / Gas 7) for 15 minutes until risen and golden. The scones should be cooled on a wire rack before dusting with icing sugar and serving with jam and clotted cream.
