[Sca-cooks] Shortbread was Period Flour Query

[Johnna Holloway]

Actually there are a number of modern shortbreads that contain other 
ingredients. An article of mine back in 1981 noted that
The Brides Boon of the Shetland and Orkney Islands contain caraway seeds 
while some Edinburgh shortbreads
contain silvered almonds and fruit peel. McNeill mentions that Hogmany 
shortbread might contain candied citron and almond comfits.
taking a look today I can find that Lizzie Boyd in British Cookery 
includes a recipe for Ayrshire shortbread that contains cream and eggs!
A number of recipes include the rice flour (a number use cornflour); 
also many use powdered sugar rather than granulated sugar.
Catherine Brown notes that Pitcaithly Bannocks contain almonds  and 
caraway seeds, and are decorated with
orange or lemon peels and blanched almonds. Brown mention that Mrs. 
MacIver in 1773 used 3 pounds of melted butter
to four pounds of flour. This melted butter was a method apparently used 
into the 20th century. This kind of ruins
the old adage about your hands not being too warm and melting the butter 
when working the dough. There are
a number of other variations.

Johnnae


David Friedman wrote:
> I have three problems with labelling this shortbread, a label that 
> suggests that it is more or less the same as what we now call 
> shortbread.
>
> 1. It is spiced--cloves, mace and saffron.
>
> 2. While no quantities are given, the sugar is in the list of spices, 
> which suggests to me that you are using a lot less sugar than flower 
> and cream. Looking over a few modern recipes, the ratio of sugar to 
> butter seems to be in the range 1:1 to 1:2.
>
> 3. Clotted cream is preferred to butter. I have never cooked with 
> clotted cream so don't know how much difference that would make.
>
> Incidentally, does anyone have a good explanation of why you bake the 
> flour first?
>