[Sca-cooks] Shortbread was Two questions VERY Long

Sat Sep 12 17:45:15 PDT 2009

>Please excuse the length.
>
>
>Classic proportions for shortbread are 3, 2, 1 or 6, 4, 2.
>
>Here are some modern recipes for versions with those ingredients
>that His Grace didn't find:

Unless I missed something, none of these uses cream instead of 
butter. They use butter plus a little cream in addition. None uses 
mace. One uses cloves, but it's quite obviously intended as a chinese 
influenced variant--shortbread cookie dough plus five spices.

There is a modern recipe that uses saffron, but it's pretty clear 
reading it that the modern author regards coloring the cookies with 
saffron as an innovation of her own.

So I think I count that as one of the ingredients in the recipe being 
discussed being used in a modern shortbread.

>
>From The Independent "Food & Drink: A short story for Hogmanay"
>The origins of the New Year's Eve festival of hogmanay are French 
>rather than from north of the border, discovers Michael Bateman. But 
>the traditional treat of the season, crumbly shortbread, could not 
>be more Scottish
>
>Michael Bateman
>Sunday, 29 December 1996
>
>Shortbread will be cheaper and, certainly, more satisfying to make 
>at home. Here Catherine Brown shares with us her recipes for 
>achieving shortbreads of three different textures; granular, crunchy 
>and smooth. And for good measure less known, traditional recipes; 
>Pitchaithly ban-nock, Yetholm bannock, and a marmalade-filled 
>shortbread. The recipes are taken from her book A Year in a Scots 
>Kitchen.
>
>HOGMANAY FAVOURITES
>
>SHORTBREAD
>
>The texture of the shortbread is a matter of taste, adjusted by 
>varying the coarseness of the flour, using ground rice for 
>grittiness, and cornflour and icing sugar for a more melting texture.
>
>For a `gritty' granulated texture:
>
>125g/5oz plain flour
>
>25g/1oz rice flour
>
>100g/4oz butter
>
>2oz/50g castor sugar
>
>For a fine but crunchy texture:
>
>100g/4oz plain flour
>
>25g/1oz rice flour
>
>25g/1oz cornflour
>
>100g/4oz butter
>
>25g/1oz castor sugar
>
>25g/1oz icing sugar
>
>For a smooth `melting' texture:
>
>100g/4oz plain flour
>
>50g/2oz cornflour
>
>100g/4oz butter
>
>50g/2oz icing sugar
>
>Put the butter on to a work surface and knead in the sugar, then the 
>flour until it becomes a reasonably firm ball of dough. (To make in 
>a food processor pulse butter and sugar till creamy, add flour and 
>pulse until smooth. Remove and knead, adding more flour if needed.)
>
>Either press dough into a greased 270 by 175mm (1014 by 7in) 
>Swiss-roll tin and prick with a fork, or use a special shortbread 
>mould, or roll into a cylinder shape and coat in granulated sugar. 
>Chill and slice into thin round biscuit shapes. Bake slowly at 
>170C/325F/Gas 3 until an even golden brown.
>
>PITCAITHLY BANNOCK
>
>Add one tablespoon flaked almonds, caraway seeds and crystalised 
>orange to the shortbread recipe. Roll out to a round shape about 2cm 
>(34in) thick. Prick the top with a fork or skewer. Sprinkle with a 
>further tablespoon of flaked almonds and press in lightly. Pince the 
>edge with finger and thumb to decorate and bake for one to one and a 
>half hours till a pale golden brown throughout.
>
>YETHOLM BANNOCK
>
>Add two tablespoons of finely chopped stem ginger to shortbread 
>recipe and decorate on top with thin slices of stem ginger. Bake as 
>for Pitcaithly bannock.
>
>SHORTBREAD WITH MARMALADE
>
>Roll the prepared shortbread mixture into golf ball shapes. Make a 
>deep impression in the middle of each and fill with half a teaspoon 
>of marmalade. Close up, reshape and put on a baking tin. Press down 
>slightly and bake for 30 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve 
>warm.
>
>--------------------
>
>From 1901 King Edward's cookery book by Florence A. George
>
>Ayrshire Shortbread.
>one quarter lb. flour. one quarter lb. rice flour. 2 oz. 
>castor-sugar.  one quarter lb butter. 1 yolk of egg. 2 teaspoonfuls 
>cream Pinch of salt.
>
>(Makes 14 oz.)
>
>Mix the flour, rice flour, sugar, and salt together, rub in the 
>butter, add the egg and cream, knead well, roll out thinly, stamp 
>into shapes, and bake in a slow oven. The baking-tin should only be 
>slightly buttered.
>
>---------
>from 1936
>Ayrshire Shortbread Recipe with Flour, Butter, Egg, Rice Flour, Sugar & Cream.
>INGREDIENTS
>
>8 oz (225g) Plain Flour
>4 oz (100g) Butter
>1 Egg Yolk
>4 oz (100g) Rice Flour
>4 oz (100g) Castor Sugar
>2 tablespoonful Cream
>METHOD
>
>Sift the Flour and Rice Flour into a basin, and lightly rub in the 
>Butter. Add the Sugar and mix the ingredients to a stiff paste with 
>the beaten Egg Yolk and Cream. Roll out thinly, prick all over with 
>a fork, and cut into rounds with a small cutter. Bake the cakes on a 
>baking sheet lined with buttered paper for about 15 minutes until 
>pale golden. Cool on a cake rake.
>Based on the Ayrshire Shortbread recipe in:
>Cookery Illustrated & Household Management
>by Elizabeth Craig (Odhams Press 1936).
>
>http://www.retrofoodrecipes.com/ayrshire_shortbread.html
>
>-----------------
>
>http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/food/ayrshire_shortbread.htm
>has this version posted:
>
>Ayrshire Shortbread - a delicious shortbread which has the added 
>delight of cream. Very appropriate as Ayrshire is famous for its 
>milk production.
>
>Ayrshire Shortbread
>
>Ingredients : 8 oz (225 g) flour; 1 tbsp rice flour; 4 oz (100 g) 
>butter; 4 oz (100 g) caster sugar; yolk of egg; 2 tbsp cream
>
>Preheat the oven to 350 deg F/ 180 deg C or gas mark 4
>
>Sieve the flour and rice lour together into a bowl. Rub in the 
>butter and add sugar. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk 
>and cream. Knead together lightly to make a fairly stiff dough. 
>Divide into three pieces and roll into sausage-shapes about 
>one-and-a half inch (4 cm) in diameter. Put into a cool place and 
>leave for several hours or overnight. Cut into        rounds a 
>quarter inch thick ( 1/2 cm), place on a greased baking sheet and 
>bake for 10-15 minutes.
>
>see also
>http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/frank/burns_lives4.htm
>
>---------
>
>Saffron in shortbread shows up in several cookbooks, especially 
>those for tea treats.
>On the web, it appears in several posted recipes including this one 
>which is based
>on a recipe from Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery.:
>http://www.mangopowergirl.com/2008/04/spring-saffron-shortbread.html
>
>------
>
>There are a number of shortbread recipes today that call for spices:
>http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Five-Spice-Shortbread-236615
>
>Other variations:
>
>http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Scarborough-Fair-Shortbread-232644 
>calls for 4 herbs.
>
>Johnnae
>
>
>On Sep 12, 2009, at 12:27 AM, David Friedman wrote:
>
>>On the shortbread question.
>>One problem in telling whether or not this would come out similar 
>>to a modern shortbread is the lack of quantities (except for the 
>>egg yolk). The same ingredients can produce very different results 
>>depending on relative amounts.
>>Googling around, the standard short bread seems to be, by volume, 
>>about 4 parts flour to 2 parts butter to 1 part sugar. That 
>>wouldn't be my first guess for  a recipe that lists the sugar along 
>>with the spices. And I haven't come across any shortbread recipes 
>>that used cream instead of butter. I would also be a little 
>>surprised to encounter a modern shortbread flavored with cloves, 
>>mace and saffron.
>>--
>>David/Cariadoc
>>www.daviddfriedman.com
>>_______________________________________________
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-- 
David Friedman
www.daviddfriedman.com
daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/