Is room temperature butter really the hill to die on...

I spent 3 years with my grandma in Vermont insisting butter must be at 68 degrees for perfect scones, but last week my niece from Texas threw in cold butter straight from the fridge and her batch came out flakier than mine. Do you stick to the rules for traditional texture or just go with what works for your schedule and kitchen?

2 comments

2 Comments

diana_king1mo ago

Wait, you tried cold butter from the fridge and it actually worked better? I had a similar thing happen with pie crust last fall. I was short on time and just grated frozen butter into the flour and it turned out way flakier than when I let it sit out. Now I keep my butter in the freezer for biscuits and only let it warm up for cookies that need that spread. I mean, maybe it's just my kitchen being too warm or something, but cold butter seems to work better for me most days.

oscarb711mo ago

Well, I'll be. That's a good point about grating frozen butter. My grandma would probably roll over in her grave if she heard me say this, @diana_king, but I've been doing the same thing for pie dough lately. I think we get so caught up in what's "proper" that we forget the real goal is just good texture. Warm butter has its place, sure, but cold butter gives you those nice layers and that shatter when you bite into it. I switched to keeping a stick in the freezer just for baking and my biscuits have never been better. Sometimes breaking the rules is the right call.