![]() However my stone took a few bakes before it behaved itself. ![]() Then bake the stone on it’s own in the oven. I believe the best way to prepare a stone is to oil it, as you would a new wok to seal it. The idea of having to do this is heart breaking when making shortbread is in fact so simple. I’ve heard of nightmares where people have been left chipping away at new stones to remove burnt shortbread. Predominantly people use a stone to bake their shortbread in rather than use it just as a mould to shape. There are two schools of thought on how to use a stone. Stone Shortbread Moulds – can be a bit of a love hate kitchen item. I used to have a beautiful stone but it cracked and I’ve not gotten round to replacing it yet. Now I have to hold my hands up here and say I’ve never used a wooden shortbread mould. I thought I’d share this little revelation to point out that if you were before, you needn’t be scared of making shortbread it’s a forgiving biscuit dough.ĭownload now For all my baking equipment recommendations head to my shop What Shortbread Mould is better, stone or wooden? I hadn’t realised that I’d used all my cornflour up for thickening casseroles and pie fillings so had to make a quick sub. ![]() It has the same lightness in texture and a subtle hint of coconut. Want to know a secret? I didn’t use cornflour on this occasion. Secondly it add a creamy texture and flavour to the shortbread. Firstly it adds to the ‘shortness’ of the biscuit making it very light and melt in the mouth. The are two reasons why you add cornflour or corn starch to shortbread. The key to making a good strong shortbread biscuit it to tease the crumble mixture into the mould or tin and press hard with your hands, knuckles (or if you’ve got warn hands) the rounded side of a dessert spoon. If the crumble mixture comes together and forms a clump of dough you are good to go. A shortbread dough is meant to be very crumbly, the test is when you scoop a handful and crush it in your fist. Okay, so if you have followed the instructions for my gluten free classic shortbread recipe and you’re faced with a bowl of crumbs, fear not. Why is my Gluten Free Shortbread mixture crumbly? These days shortbread tends to be enjoyed in it’s basic butter form but sometimes with the addition of chocolate chips, however I did make my own version using some home grown lavender English Lavender Shortbread – a summertime treat ![]() I have the recipe in my Book of Household Management by Mrs Isabelle Beeton and this does indeed have caraway seeds in it. Something that the ladies would have enjoyed in the 16th Century, all the way through to the 19th Century, was the addition of caraway seeds in their shortbread to add a delicate aniseed flavour. The shape of the shortbread and it’s frilled edges was likened to the ladies petticoats, hence Petticoat Shortbread. As time passed the addition of butter made this a more expensive treat and the short biscuit was mainly made for weddings, Christmas and Hogmanay.Īs time when on the biscuit became more formal looking as ladies would enjoy a piece with their afternoon tea. This was (and still is) called a Bannock which was baked on a stone by the fire. The Scots used to enjoy a hardened biscuit made from left over bread dough with a bit of sugar thrown in. I’ll keep this short, despite the recipe being over 800 years old. The shape is just a bonus whether it be rounds, petticoats or fingers. What do I think? I think if you’ve been to Scotland like I have and eaten their Scottish Shortbread you know that is the simplicity of the recipe, the all butter flavour and the creamy melting texture that makes it traditional shortbread. Other sources paid closer attention to the shape and patination of the shortbread being the true indicator of it’s authenticity. I came across recipes claiming to be Scottish Shortbread but these had rice flour in them giving them more of a bite and crunch to them as opposed to the melt-in-the-mouth experience you’d expect from Scottish Shortbread. Some sources suggest that Scottish shortbread is ‘all butter’ while other shortbread can be a combination of butter and lard/white fat. It would seem that pretty much everyone agrees that there are four main ingredients flour, starch a fat of some description and sugar. Everyone’s an expert and few seem to agree. Researching this has had me running around in circles. What’s the difference between Shortbread and Scottish Shortbread
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