# Cutting butter into scones

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-butter-into-scones/441573>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 16, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-butter-into-scones/441573 "2008-03-16T19:41:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-butter-into-scones/441573/1 "2008-03-16T19:41:51Z")

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Or other baked goodness… what’s going on behind the scenes? I know _when_ to cut in and when to add melted butter (or shortening), but I don’t know in a food-science sort of way _why_.

Thanks~

Rhythm

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-butter-into-scones/441573/2 "2008-03-16T20:00:27Z")

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You cut in shortening and butter, so the mix is not homogeneous. This is why you can make a flaky pie crust. You also don’t activate the gluten as much by cutting in ingredients.

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**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-butter-into-scones/441573/3 "2008-03-16T20:08:53Z")

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Yeah, you _want_ little lumps of fat, so it will melt in the oven and form layers.

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**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-butter-into-scones/441573/4 "2008-03-16T20:48:00Z")

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First, picture the dough with the lumps of butter or shortening “cut in”. You have many small lumps of easily melted substance between layers of dough, forming pockets full of solid fat throughout the dough. When this is baked, the fat melts and coats the dough in its pocket, preventing the layers it previously separated from sticking together. It bakes up as flaky layers of dough, like a good pastry, because all of those layers were separated by butter or shortening.

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**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-butter-into-scones/441573/5 "2008-03-16T22:41:49Z")

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I use a chilled food processor, and chilled flour and butter. If I don’t have a processor, I use a pastry blender. The more chilled your tools and ingredients are, the better results you’ll get; soft butter is messy.

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**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-butter-into-scones/441573/6 "2008-03-17T03:51:28Z")

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I’ve lately learned that grating frozen butter makes for excellent biscuits or any other thing that calls for cold butter or shortening to be cut in.