Since I shared a handful of my favourite scone recipes (chocolate, lemon-blueberry, and savory ham ‘n cheese), lots of people have been asking: How nicely do they freeze?
Years spent working in tiny eating places and bakeries with subsequent to no freezer house imply I’ve realized to rock an ultra-fresh ethos, so I wasn’t capable of communicate from expertise. My instinctive thought was growth could be inhibited within the chilly, arduous dough, limiting its capability to rise. However a longtime reader assured me that frozen scones behave fairly nicely, so I wished to place my recipe to the check.
For the management, I opted for a batch of my primary chocolate scones, principally as a result of I wished to eat them. The wheel of dough began out just 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, mild texture that is neither cakey nor dense.
To check out how nicely the dough would maintain up in chilly storage, I ready two extra batches of scones. I rolled, reduce, 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 quicker and droop alongside the way in which. To my shock, this did not translate into any textural issues in any respect. The completed scones seemed a bit derpy, to make certain, however they had been nonetheless mild, tender, and completely crisp on high.
Since I already knew the refrigerated dough was inclined to “wilt” within the oven, I made a decision to bake the frozen dough immediately fairly than thawing it within the fridge. In addition to, 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 hassle?
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 carried out in the identical period of time total. Whereas the form wasn’t as nicely 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 one of the best ways to freeze scones?
Lower the dough into wedges, however skip toppings like cheese or sugar—the latter will solely draw moisture from the scones and switch syrupy and peculiar over time. Wrap the wedges, whether or not individually or as a wheel, in a number of layers of plastic wrap, then as soon as extra in foil to assist present a little bit of insulation towards odor absorption (one of many largest issues when freezing something, from do-it-yourself 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. Whenever you’re prepared for contemporary scones, simply preheat the oven and bake as directed.
Since scones stale fairly rapidly as soon as they’re baked, this trick is particularly helpful within the quick time period, permitting you to take pleasure in freshly baked scones at their prime all weekend lengthy.
