Scones/Biscuits -- Melted Butter? (ingredients, baking, best, cheese)

[TheotherMarie]

My English grandmother made the best scones, plain or with cheese. They were light and airy and flavorful.
I remember her once saying that she did not cut in the butter. Instead she melted it and stirred it in.
Does anybody else do this? If so, is there a proper way to do it?
It seems like it would be a lot easier to do it this way.

(I only lived near my grandmother for 3 years. I wish I could have watched her make the scones but they seemed to just magically appear. The family is huge and yet nobody seems to know the recipe...or is willing to give it out!!)

[Dirt Grinder]

This is how we do it:

Cut the butter into the flour,
add the dry ingredients and mix well,
form a well in the middle of the mixture,
whisk wet ingredients together and pour into well,
then mix the dough as little as possible with a large spoon,
roll-out to one inch thick,
cut scones from dough.

These turn into wonderful scones that have a texture similar to a Southern biscuit.

This isn't to say there aren't other ways to make them. However, the above is probably closer to traditional scones.

[tpk-nyc]

Melting the butter would coat the flour better and prevent gluten from forming, thus creating a lighter texture. I’ve done it with cookies but never with scones. The challenge would be to prevent it from becoming a gooey mess.

I have made scone will heavy cream and no butter at all. It has a similar effect. The fat content in the cream is so high that it substitutes for the butter, but in a liquid form that is easier to manage.

[fibonacci]

Dunno but usually one of the dogmas of any baking is to leave out the butter and let it warm to room temp. Avoid thawing in the microwave or melting for best results.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by fibonacci

Dunno but usually one of the dogmas of any baking is to leave out the butter and let it warm to room temp...

There are many recipes that benefit from using chilled butter - they usually require little mixing and result in a very flaky/crumbly product (pie crust, shortbread, etc.). However, there are always recipes for the same thing that use a different trick to achieve the same results.