How Yogurt Can Transform Your Homemade Scones

Scones are often associated with a classy high tea, or an old-fashioned English picnic with sandwiches out in the rose garden -– sounds delightful, doesn't it? And these baked treats are pretty easy to make, too. It takes just a few ingredients mixed together into a dough, which is then cut and evenly-spaced on a tray to be baked in the oven to produce delicious, buttery scones to slather with butter, jam, cream, cheese, or all of them together.

But don't start until you've read this really cool hack, which will take your scones to a light and fluffy level that even the Bridgertons would be envious of. It's another UK favorite — yogurt. But not in the way you think. With this trick, you brush the top of your scones with a layer of yogurt before putting them in the oven. The chemical reaction of your yogurt with certain other ingredients in the mixture, accelerated by the heat, will fluff up the top of your scone with an additional fairylike airiness.

Yogurt is often added into the scone mixture as one of the ingredients. If your recipe uses baking soda or citric acid, a chemical reaction will occur between these ingredients and the natural acidity in the yogurt, resulting in carbon dioxide which causes little bubbles that make the scones extra light and fluffy. Also, if you use full-cream yogurt with its higher fat content, this adds to the scones' richness. If your recipe just calls for baking powder -– which only needs liquids as a reactive agent -– the yogurt will add extra moisture to your scones.

Other useful scone tips for light-as-air bakes include using cold butter instead of room-temperature butter. This stops the butter from melting before the scones are fully baked, giving your scones that flaky texture for which they are known. Also, don't go wild when mixing the ingredients together as overworking the dough can make your scones a bit chewy, so mix them just enough to come together; it's OK for there to be a few lumps –- these will cook out in the baking process.

When your scones are ready, there are many creative toppings to enjoy them with. Try a dollop of chantilly cream, or switch the cream for firmer mascarpone, dusted with cocoa powder and topped with crumbled Flake and a maraschino cherry. Or go more savory and create a little Caprese topping of sundried tomato paste topped with buffalo mozzarella and shredded basil leaves. For this option, you could make savory scones instead, like these ham, cheese, and scallion scones.