Friday, February 01, 2008

Scottish Shortbread


Shortbread is a biscuit ‘shortened’ by the prodigious use of glorious butter. The texture of the biscuit is crisp and snappable- hence ‘short’. The term 'bread' has been used interchangeably with 'cake' for many centuries (cakes, as we now know them, derive from sweetened, yeast-risen breads), and shortbread is the descendent of the short cakes baked from the the 16th century. One story has it that Scottish bakers used the name shortbread to argue the case against paying the government’s tax on biscuits (shades of Jaffa cakes v the VAT man/woman. VAT is currently not paid on cakes and biscuits, as they are deemed a necessity by UK law - the law is not always an ass it seems! - chocolate-covered biscuits, on the other hand, are considered luxuries and therefore are taxable). Short cakes were made from the same ingredients as we would use for a sweet shortcrust pastry (short, again refers to the texture), with the addition of a little yeast. The yeast in these early cakes could result in an uneven rise, remedied by the baker ‘docking’ or pricking the surface of the cake. Some modern biscuits have kept these pricked holes as decoration. Short cakes were eaten across Britain, and many local biscuits (i.e. Shrewsbury cakes, or Goosnargh cakes) are variations on the basic recipe. Shortbread, however, has a definite association with Scotland, and the best of its type has long been an export to the rest of the country, and to the rest of the world.

It is the quality of the ingredients that make shortbread so decidedly delicious, and a lightness of touch in the making. Classic shortbread is made from only flour, butter and sugar, so that gives three opportunities for buying the best, or three chances to produce a disappointing biscuit. F. Marian McNeill writes in 'The Scots Kitchen’ that,

‘Only the best ingredients should be used. The flour should be dried and sieved. The butter, which is the only moistening and shortening agent, should be squeezed free of all water. The sugar should be fine castor. Two other things are essential for success - the careful blending of the ingredients and careful firing.

The butter and the sugar should first be blended. Put eight ounces of butter and four ounces of castor sugar on a board, and work with the hand until thoroughly incorporated. Mix eight ounces of flour with four ounces of rice flour, and work gradually into the butter and sugar, until the dough is of the consistency of short crust. Be careful that it does not become oily (a danger in hot weather) nor toughened by over-mixing. The less kneading, the more short and crisp the shortbread. Do not roll it out, as rolling has a tendency to toughen it, but press with the hand into two round cakes, either in oiled and floured shortbread moulds or on a sheet of baking-paper. The most satisfactory thickness is three-quarters of an inch for a cake eight inches in diameter, or in such proportion. If you make a large thick cake it is advisable to protect the edges with a paper band or hoop, and to have several layers of papers underneath and perhaps one on top. Pinch the edges neatly all round with the finger and thumb, and prick all over with a fork. Decorate with “sweetie” almonds (for small cakes, caraway comfits may be used) and strips of citron or orange peel. Put into a fairly hot oven, reduce the heat presently, and allow the shortbread to crisp off to a light golden brown.’


Jane Grigson suggests having in the kitchen a jar of plain flour mixed with rice flour or cornflour with a 3:1 proportion so that you have this to hand for biscuit making and for light sponge cakes. She helpfully notes that the proportion of ingredients for shortbread are 3:2:1 - flour:butter:sugar.

Advice also comes from ’The Baker’s Repository of Recipes - With Special Reference to Scottish Specialities’, published post-WWII by The British Baker to help reinvigorate the baking trade by providing a comprehensive collection of national recipes:

‘Flour, butter, sugar, and sometimes eggs, was the order of the day at one time, but in shortbread making the type of ingredient used is the chief essential.

There are no spices, fruits, etc., to counteract in the matter of flavour, therefore a good-flavoured butter comes first in importance. Flour would seem to be of next importance, and a very soft flour is not to be recommended. A top-grade winter or blended flour is usually selected. Sugar chosen is usually somewhat hard in the grain.

The ingredients may be well chosen yet the results desired not obtained. This may be caused in the method of making up the dough. Good judges declare shortbread is often spoiled by overworking or overmaking the dough.

The butter, sugar and eggs should be roughly creamed, the flour added, and the dough just formed.

Finally, the baking must be correct. An oven of moderate temperature is used, but the exact temperatures have to be noted from experience. The thickness and type of shortbread being baking govern the baking temperature.’


There are variations on the classic recipe - Ayrshire shortbread also includes cream and eggs, Pitcaithly bannock has chopped sweet almonds and citron peel mixed in with the flour and is decorated with peel. Petticoat tails are a thin form of shortbread baked in a distinctive circular shape with a smaller circle cut from the centre, and then the remainder divided up. Shetland Bride’s Bonn/Bun is flavoured with caraway seeds and baked upon a girdle. I am keen to try out this girdle-cooked shortbread, but I feel that I should give the ‘original’ recipe a go first.

My ingredient quantities came from ‘A Cook’s Tour of Britain’, by the WI and Michael Smith (just a little more butter than Jane Grigson’s ratios), and the method I employed was from Marcus Wareing’s ‘How to Cook the Perfect...’

110g slightly salted butter (or unsalted butter with a pinch a salt) - use direct from fridge
50g caster sugar
150g plain flour
50g rice flour/ground rice

1. Sift the flour into a bowl (along with the salt if you are using unsalted butter), and stir in the ground rice and sugar.
2. Put the bowl of dry ingredients on the scales and return the dial/reading to zero and (here is the clever bit) grate in 110g butter from a chilled block .
3. Work the grated butter quickly into the flour by rubbing first with the fingertips, and then between the palms of the hands. Once the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, stop.
4. Press the mix into a 20cm by 20cm square baking tin and level the surface. Chill in the fridge for about an hour.
5. Heat oven to 160C/320F/Gas 3, and then bake shortbread until light golden (about 40 minutes, but keep an eye on it).
6. Remove from oven and prick all over with a fork, then mark out into pieces (squares or fingers) cutting through to the bottom of the tin. Dust liberally with caster sugar, and then leave to cool in tin.

I thought the idea of grating in chilled butter was a good one, and one that I have since also used for pastry making. It means that the butter needs very little work to properly introduce it to the flour. Putting a bowl-load of buttery flour ‘crumbs’ into the baking tin required faith that the end result would be a biscuit and not crumble topping, but, what do you know, my shortbread was appropriately ‘short’ and the texture was good. The shortbread was very butter-rich, and the scent of butter was also strong (but that might be down to the warmth of my kitchen). The biscuits were perhaps a little sweet for my taste, but that could simply be due to a over-exuberant sugar sprinkle.

22 comments:

Jules said...

I love shortbread as it is delicious and can be made with with few storecupboard ingredients.

I like the fact cake is deemed as essential by the tax man!

Pille said...

I love a good Scottish shortbread, and now that I no longer live in Scotland, I must make my own. Thanks for an informative post and recipe, Anna!

Katie said...

I love your posts they are always so interesting and informative. Your shortbread looks great, soft and crumbly. Thanks for the info.

woodenspoon said...

oooh lovely. very interesting stuff. I made some bastardised shortbread with figs in for Burns Night... see my blog! I'd added a link to your blog, hope that's OK. thanks Katy

http://hackneyantics.blogspot.com/

a toi rose society said...

I really love your site. I tried the the gingerbread recipe. Thtre one with oatmeal in it. Keep up the good work.

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Perfect! As a southerner who spend a year living in Scotland, I have to say that Scottish shortbread really is the finest. The texture of yours looks fabulous!

ei! kumpel said...

I never tried shortbread but looks delicious! and that last photo is too funny :)
*margarida

Anonymous said...

I love shortbread and make it quite often (I like to add some grated orange zest if available in my kitchen at the time) but have never thought of grating the butter in, what a great idea! I usually chop the butter into small cubes and then work it in so that the dough isn't overdone.

Anonymous said...

We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email sophiekiblogger@gmail.com if interested. Thanks :)

rich (them apples) said...

Grating the butter into the flour seems like a masterstroke - I'll definitely try that.

The Cwtch said...

I have just found your blog and think it's fab, what a great idea and really interesting. Have you made any traditional Welsh cakes - pice ar maen (welshcake), teisin lap, bara brith etc? Let me know if you haven't and would like some good recipes! They are delicious!

AnnaW said...

I have made bara brith (Oct 2005), and a harvest cake (Teisen y Cynhaeaf - Sept 2007), but I have somehow, so far, omitted to make Welsh cakes, despite the fact that they are very delicious. I would love a recipe to try out!

Anonymous said...

belle le immagioni.
io scrivo dall' italiada una scuola di gastronomia internazionale.Se ti va inserisci il nostro blog nei tuoi link WWW.italcook.spotblog.com
www.italcook.it
Grazie ciao

Adam Balic said...

Lovely site Anna, beautifully done. It is interesting to compare shortbread recipes from 1800 - 1830, as the original recipes with yeast transform into the modern shortcake.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating! I find myself wondering:

At what point did the corn flour or rice flour get introduced? Would 19th century Scots have such a thing available? Or would something else have served the same purpose like barley or oat flour? I would think these additions are to increase the shortness / tenderness by diluting the gluten of the wheat.

On the other hand, the other author suggested winter and not soft wheat, which to me suggests stronger gluten (this author also doesn't mention the corn or rice flour, at least in the excerpt you included, but perhaps greater care in not working the dough makes up for this).

Also I wonder what "somewhat hard in the grain" means with regard to sugar.

San Francisco Catering said...

Shortbread is so easy to make. I make suggest it alot when i do catering in San Francisco because its fast and tasty

Aude dite Sala :) said...

Bonjour,
Je viens de decouvrir votre blog il est tres joli et donne envie de tester toutes ces si belles recettes :)
Aude

Izzy said...

My Granny was a confectionner in Clyde Bank about 100years ago. I live in Canada and this year I seem to have misplaced her shortbread recipe! Thank-you for posting this. She didn't use any white flour though, just rice flour, corn stach and potato or oat flour. She and my Auntie's liked a shortbread they could stir their tea with.

tracey said...

wow I just made short bread from this recipe tasted lovely I made second batch and added chocolate chips and they were fab too

ayn't no thing said...

I have some in the oven right now and I cannot wait!!!

Bakemate said...

Good information on the Baking Industry.

Biscuit Exporters and Suppliers to USA
Biscuit Exporters and Suppliers to Canada
Biscuit Exporters and Suppliers to Philippines

Bakemate said...

Largest Wholesale Exporters to Malaysia
Wholesale Chocolate Exporters to Mexico
Wholesale Confectionary Suppliers in Russia