How does a scone develop a 鈥渨aist鈥� as it rises in the oven?
Dominique Pechon
London, UK
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Scones develop a waist because the heat at the top and bottom of the oven bakes the lower and upper surfaces of the scone first, before the side of the scone is baked and set. Adjoining scones also act to shield the side from the heat of the oven.
The rigidity of the bottom and upper baked surfaces prevents their changing shape to any marked degree, while the side of the scone remains softer and can flex as the dough rises during baking. The water in the scone dough escapes from the side as steam during the baking process. This draws it inwards to form a waist as the steam is lost.
The scones in the picture (above) look more like ones made on a factory production line* than ones made by hand by an artisan as they show a tear at the midpoint. This is because industrially made scones need a firmer dough to be able to go through the production line, and less liquid in the dough means that the sides will tear and not merely be drawn inwards during baking. Factory-made scones are also cut into hexagon shapes so no offcuts are produced.
The artisan scone is made using more water and milk in the dough, which isn鈥檛 over mixed. This prevents gluten in the flour from developing strength, which would make a tough scone. This softer dough usually bakes without producing a tear on the side of the scone. The artisan scone is usually turned upside down when placed on a baking tray so that the upper surface is flat and aesthetically pleasing once baked.
In an episode of the TV show Downton Abbey, scones that looked as if they were factory-made were served at afternoon tea. Given the amount of money spent on making the series, I was disappointed that they didn鈥檛 appear to have made proper scones for that scene.
I trained as a geologist and mineral chemist, but ran the family bakery firm for 32 years.
[*Editor鈥檚 note: Geoff Rowlands, who posed this question, assures us his scones (pictured) were hand made! He says: 鈥淚 expect that the hexagonal shape makes them look factory-made but, being an engineer, I made a set of hexagonal cutters to minimise the 鈥榳aste鈥� when cutting them from the dough.鈥漖
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