Scottish Shortbread

Shortbread is a type of unleavened biscuit which is traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oatmeal flour. The use of plain white (wheat) flour is common today, and other ingredients like ground rice or cornflour are sometimes added to alter the texture. Also, modern recipes often deviate from the pure three ingredients by splitting the sugar portion into equal parts granulated sugar and powdered sugar and many further add a portion of salt.

Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word short). The cause of this texture is its high fat content, provided by the butter. The short or crumbly texture is a result of the fat inhibiting the formation of long protein (gluten) strands. The related word “shortening” refers to any fat that may be added to produce a “short” (crumbly) texture. Alternatively, the name may be derived from ‘shorts’, the bran and coarse part of meal.

Shortbread is different from shortcake, which can be similar to shortbread, but which can be made using vegetable fat instead of butter and always uses a chemical leavening agent such as baking powder, which gives it a different texture.

Shortbread biscuits are often associated with normal egg-based biscuits, but they hold their shape under pressure, making them ideal for packed meals.
Shortbread is traditionally formed into one of three shapes: one large circle, which is divided into segments as soon as it is taken out of the oven (petticoat tails, which may have been named from the French petits cotés, a pointed biscuit eaten with wine, or petites gastelles, the old French for little cakes); individual round biscuits (shortbread rounds); or a thick (¾” or 2 cm) oblong slab cut into fingers.

The stiff dough retains its shape well during cooking. The biscuits are often patterned, usually with the tines of a fork before cooking or with a springerle-type cookie mold. Shortbread is also sometimes shaped in hearts and other shapes for special occasions. The classic Girl Scout cookie “Trefoils” are shortbread in the shape of the Girl Scout trefoil logo.

Shortbread is generally associated with and originated in Scotland, but due to its popularity it is also made in the remainder of the United Kingdom, and similar biscuits are also made in e.g. Denmark, Ireland and Sweden. The Scottish version is the best-known, and Walkers Shortbread Ltd is Scotland’s largest food exporter.
Shortbread was chosen as the United Kingdom’s representative for Café Europe during the 2006 Austrian presidency of the European Union. Scottish chef John Quigley, of Glasgow’s Red Onion, describes shortbread as “the jewel in the crown” of Scottish baking.

Recipe for Scottish Shortbread

Light, crisp shortbread looks very professional when shaped in a mould, although you could also shape it by hand.

Makes 2 large or 8 individual shortbreads

INGREDIENTS

175g/6oz/3/4 cup plain flour
5Og/202/ ½ cup cornflour
5Og/202/ ¼ cup caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
115g/4oz/’/2 cup unsalted butter, chopped

1 Preheat the oven to l60°C/325°F/ Gas 3. Lightly flour the mould and line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. Sift the flour, cornflour and sugar into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it binds together and you can knead it into a soft dough.

2 Place the dough into the mould and press to fit neatly. Invert the mould on to the baking sheet and tap firmly to release the dough shape. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until pale golden in colour.

3 Sprinkle the top of the shortbread with a little caster sugar and cool on the baking sheet. Wrap in cellophane paper or place in a box tied with ribbon to make a delicious Hogmanay gift.

spanishchef note: You can buy these shortbread moulds from any good baking equipment supply shop. We bought ours from Lakeland at Bluewater in Kent Follow the link to take you to their website.

baking with Bill & Sheila
_____________________________________________________________________
If you require a high quality printout of this article, just click on the printer symbol next to ’Share and enjoy’, and we will do the rest. This site is hosted by (click on the graphic for more information)

Return from shortbread to Home Page

If you want to increase your site popularity and gain thousands of visitors – check out these sites THEY ARE FREE. Spanishchef more than doubled its ‘New Visitors’ last month simply by signing up to these sites:

Follow spanishchef.net on TWITTER