Since I shared a handful of my favourite scone recipes (chocolate, lemon-blueberry, and savory ham ‘n cheese), a whole lot of of us have been asking: How effectively do they freeze?
Years spent working in tiny eating places and bakeries with subsequent to no freezer area imply I’ve realized to rock an ultra-fresh ethos, so I wasn’t in a position to communicate from expertise. My instinctive thought was growth can be inhibited within the chilly, laborious dough, limiting its potential to rise. However a longtime reader assured me that frozen scones behave fairly effectively, so I wished to place my recipe to the check.
For the management, I opted for a batch of my primary chocolate scones, largely as a result of I wished to eat them. The wheel of dough began out slightly below an inch thick; after baking, the scones rose to about one and 1 / 4 inches on the very edge and round one and three-quarters inches within the center. This kind of rise provides the scones a pleasant, gentle texture that is neither cakey nor dense.
To check out how effectively the dough would maintain up in chilly storage, I ready two extra batches of scones. I rolled, minimize, and wrapped each wheels in plastic, then put one within the fridge and one within the freezer, the place they remained for twenty-four hours.
The refrigerated dough wanted the identical period of time to bake, and rose about the identical total, however with a barely deformed form, as the perimeters of every wedge appeared to soften sooner and droop alongside the way in which. To my shock, this did not translate into any textural issues in any respect. The completed scones appeared a bit derpy, to make certain, however they had been nonetheless gentle, tender, and completely crisp on prime.
Since I already knew the refrigerated dough was inclined to “wilt” within the oven, I made a decision to bake the frozen dough immediately reasonably than thawing it within the fridge. Apart from, assuming the purpose is comfort, a contemporary batch of scones may very well be whipped up within the time it takes to thaw the dough, so why trouble?
In comparison with the contemporary and refrigerated batches, the frozen dough unfold out a bit extra because it baked, creating attention-grabbing cracks alongside the highest, nevertheless it was nonetheless finished in the identical period of time total. Whereas the form wasn’t as effectively outlined as that of my regular scones, the frozen dough provided an enormous increase in comfort that made any visible defects appear trivial. Lesson realized! So, what’s the easiest way to freeze scones?
Minimize the dough into wedges, however skip toppings like cheese or sugar—the latter will solely draw moisture from the scones and switch syrupy and bizarre over time. Wrap the wedges, whether or not individually or as a wheel, in a couple of layers of plastic wrap, then as soon as extra in foil to assist present a little bit of insulation in opposition to odor absorption (one of many largest issues when freezing something, from selfmade ice cream to cookie dough). Mark the date on the foil with a Sharpie so your scones aren’t misplaced to the sands of time, then freeze and use inside two months. Once you’re prepared for contemporary scones, simply preheat the oven and bake as directed.
Since scones stale reasonably shortly as soon as they’re baked, this trick is very helpful within the brief time period, permitting you to get pleasure from freshly baked scones at their prime all weekend lengthy.
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April 2017
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