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My aunt insisted I use cold butter for scones - ruined batch after batch
So my aunt, who has been baking for like 40 years, kept telling me that cold butter straight from the fridge is the only way to get flaky scones. I followed her advice for three months and every single batch came out dense and hard. Last week I finally tried grating frozen butter instead of cubing it, and oh man what a difference - they actually puffed up nice. Now I'm wondering if she just had a different technique or maybe her fridge runs colder than mine? Has anyone else had a baking rule from a family member that totally failed them?
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susansingh14h ago
Oh man, sticky butter is the enemy of flaky anything! I've had the same thing with my mom insisting on room temp eggs for everything when really straight from the carton works fine if you're in a rush. That frozen grated trick is genius though, I use it for biscuits and it makes the layers separate so perfectly. Have you frozen the butter first then grated it right into the flour?
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kai_webb9112h ago
Grated frozen butter is honestly life changing for biscuits, I’ll never go back to cutting it in by hand. But here’s what I’m wondering, @aaron740: Does your grandma’s ice water trick actually work better if you grate the frozen butter first before adding the water, or does the order not matter as much? I’ve always added the water after mixing in the grated butter, but I’ve seen folks add it during the grating step and it felt risky to me. That sticky butter problem Susan mentioned is exactly why I keep a stick in the freezer just for pastry days.
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Wait, your aunt swore by cold butter for three months of failed scones? That's brutal. I had a similar thing with my grandma insisting on ice water for pie crust - turned out her hands were just naturally cold, so the water temp didn't matter as much for her. Grated frozen butter sounds like a game changer though, I've seen bakers do that for biscuits and it always looks magical.
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