How to Make TALL Scones & Biscuits (2024)

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Today I’m showing you all my best tips and tricks for How to Make TALL Scones & Biscuits!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might have noticed that I’m slightly obsessed with making baked goods as thick, tall, and beautiful as possible. Like they came straight out of a bakery.

There was the time I experimented with the secret techniques to getting super THICK cookies every time. Because who wants sad, flat cookie puddles?!

Or even that time I shared 3 easy tips for baking TALL bakery-style muffins.

How to Make Tall Scones and Biscuits

Why Are My Biscuits Flat? Why Are My Scones Flat?

Expired leavening agents. Your baking powder and/or baking soda could be expired. Most scone and biscuit recipes call for quite a large amount of leavening, and if either are expired, your scones simply won’t rise to beautiful heights. You can learn more about the science of baking soda and baking powder here, as well as how to test them for freshness.
Shaping errors. More on this just below.

Why Should I Avoid Over-Kneading Biscuit or Scone Dough?

Over-kneading your dough will result in scones and biscuits that are tough, dense, or rubbery. The longer you knead the dough, the stronger the gluten network will be. We want just enough gluten for the scones to hold their shape, but not so much that we sacrifice the light and flaky texture.

Use COLD Butter for Biscuits and Scones!

My top tip for flaky scones and biscuits is that the butter must be COLD from the start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the heat of the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture. I like to cube then freeze my butter before assembling the dough.

Just take a look at the photos below. One of the Chocolate Chip Scones was kept cold throughout preparing the dough and preheating the oven, and the other was allowed to come to room temperature before hitting the oven. You can see what a difference this made in the height and texture of the scones.

I also always prefer to use unsalted butter for baking – find out why here.

How to Make My Biscuits and Scones Taller & Rise Higher

Laminate your scone dough! A little bit of lamination gets scones and biscuits to shoot up sky-high with tons of flaky layers. Don’t worry, it sounds more complicated than it actually is.

Here’s how to laminate your scone or biscuit dough:

If adding any mix-ins, fold into dough prior to step 2.
Turn the craggly mass of dough out onto your work surface.
Shape it into a rectangle.
Fold the rectangle horizontally in thirds, like you’re folding a piece of paper to go into an envelope (see photo below).
Flatten it out into a rectangle again.
Now fold it in thirds once more, but going the opposite direction. This will also help you to gently ‘knead’ the dough so it comes together into a more cohesive disk without overmixing it. Overmixing leads to rubbery and tough scones and biscuits.

Factors That Help Scones Rise with Flaky Layers:

Layers and pockets of cold butter
Baking powder and baking soda
Clean knife cuts when shaping the dough
High oven temperature

What’s the Difference Between Biscuits and Scones?

The reason the same technique is used for achieving beautiful heights for both recipes is because they’re very similar. They both use the ‘biscuit method’ for forming the dough, which refers to the technique of cutting cold butter into dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, food processor, or a fork.

In fact, making pie dough is a similar technique, and I use the lamination trick above in my Best Ever Pie Crust recipe too!

The main differences between biscuits and scones are that unlike biscuits, scones typically include an egg and more sugar in the dough. Generally, biscuits tend to have more butter. Some scone recipes are made with cream instead of buttermilk. These small differences result in varying tastes and textures, but both are equally delicious!

Love the science of baking? Check out all my baking experiments HERE.

Scone Recipes to Try:

Classic Scones
Blueberry Scones
Shallot, Jalapeño, Goat Cheese, and Honey Scones
Pumpkin Scones
Cranberry Orange Scones
Chocolate Chip Scones

Biscuit Recipes You’ll Love:

Buttermilk Biscuits
Red Lobster Copycat Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
Cheddar Biscuits

Photos by Joanie Simon | The Bite Shot and Ashley McLaughlin.

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”cfPUXCtW” upload-date=”2022-04-20T22:02:11.000Z” name=”How to Make TALL Scones” description=”Ever wondered how to make TALL flaky scones?! A little bit of lamination gets the scones to shoot up sky high with tons of flaky layers. Don’t worry, it sounds more complicated than it actually is. And if this seems like way too much work, just skip this step. You’ll still have tasty scones!” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]

How to Make TALL Scones & Biscuits (2024)

FAQs

How do I make my scones rise higher? ›

How to make scones rise high? Once you've cut out your scone shapes, flip them over and place upside down on the baking tray. This will help them rise evenly and counteract any 'squashing' that happened when you cut out the dough. Perfect scones should rise to about 2 inches high.

What is the simple secret to taller biscuits? ›

Keep the oven hot.

When baking buttery treats like biscuits, the key is to bake them at a temperature where the water in the butter turns quickly to steam. This steam is a big part of how the biscuits achieve their height, as it evaporates up and out.

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Is biscuit dough the same as scone dough? ›

"Scones are typically made using a quick bread method with a higher ratio of liquid to flour, and sometimes no butter at all," says Snyder. In contrast, biscuits have a high ratio of butter, and the lamination process needed to achieve flaky layers is a key differentiator to scones.

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How do you get a biscuit to rise higher? ›

Conclusion: More baking powder makes the biscuit rise more (imagine that!). About 1 tablespoon of baking powder per 2 cups of flour seems to be about the right amount, but even halving or doubling this amount should not ruin your biscuits.

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Why don't my scones rise very much? ›

Don't let the dough sit for too long.

The longer you get the dough sit before baking it, the less your scones will rise. Try to bake the dough as soon as you finishing kneading and rolling it out.

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Should biscuit dough be cold before baking? ›

But if you chill your pan of biscuits in the fridge before baking, not only will the gluten relax (yielding more tender biscuits), the butter will harden up. And the longer it takes the butter to melt as the biscuits bake, the more chance they have to rise high and maintain their shape. So, chill... and chill.

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What ingredient caused your biscuits to rise? ›

While biscuits receive some leavening power from chemical sources — baking powder and baking soda — the difference between serviceable and greatness comes from the extra rise that steam provides. In order to generate steam, the oven must be set at a minimum of 425 degrees for at least 10 minutes prior to baking.

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Why don't my homemade biscuits rise? ›

Be sure to keep that oven door closed! Opening your oven door during the baking process will let all that heat out. That rush of cold air that you let in can cause your biscuits to not rise as much. If you really want to keep an eye on your biscuits while they bake, turn the oven light on and peek from the outside.

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What type of flour is best for scones? ›

We recommend using all-purpose flour. There is some debate as to what flour one should use to go around achieving the perfect scone. This is because within different flours comes different levels of protein.

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How long should you rest scones before baking? ›

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

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What do British people call biscuits? ›

In Britain, what Americans refer to as “biscuits” are known as “scones.” British biscuits are actually what Americans call “cookies.” The term “biscuits” in the United Kingdom typically refers to sweet, crumbly, and sometimes buttery bakes treats, distinct from the soft, bread-like biscuits found in the United States.

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Why do you put eggs in scones? ›

Scones can be made either with self-raising flour or with plain flour and baking powder. Sweet scones and cheese scones have an egg added to enrich them. Both will rise but whatever scone you make its important that they are handled lightly and not rolled too thinly.

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Are southern biscuits the same as scones? ›

No, scones and biscuits are not the same thing. However, they are made with similar ingredients: Dairy: traditionally buttermilk for biscuits and heavy cream and/or eggs for scones. Fat: like butter, lard, or vegetable shortening.

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What is the best raising agent for a scone? ›

The two come in combination as bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is an alkaline and needs the addition of an acid, such as cream of tartar, to create the carbon dioxide that causes the scones to rise. The amount of cream of tartar - 4 1/2 teaspoons - is correct.

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Does baking soda make scones rise? ›

Always use well-chilled butter! Also, make sure you use the correct amount of baking powder or bicarbonate of soda in the recipe. These leavening agents release carbon dioxide which escapes in the form of bubbles when heat is added – these help the scones rise properly and give them a light and fluffy texture.

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Why does cold butter give a better risen scone? ›

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture.

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Why are my scones not dense? ›

Different flours have different levels of protein and, generally, the higher the protein, the denser the baked good. Most all-purpose flour has a protein content of about 10 to 12 percent — if you use a flour that has less, you'll get a lighter scone.

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