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Scotch Shortbread
1 lb. flour 3/4 lb. shortening 1/3 lb. light brown sugar 1 tablespoon caraway seed Mix flour and shortening together with hands, then add sugar and seeds, mixed. Knead paste smooth, roll out 1/2-in. thick and cut in oblong cakes. Prick all over and bake in a moderate oven 30 minutes. Makes 4 doz.
A classic three-ingredient shortbread by weight, with caraway added in the older British manner. The proportions are unusually rich in fat, so the handling matters more than the baking.
- Weights to volume1 lb flour is about 3 1/2 cups spooned and levelled; 3/4 lb shortening is 3 sticks of butter or 1 1/2 cups; 1/3 lb light brown sugar is roughly 3/4 cup packed. A scale gives far better results here, since the flour-to-fat ratio is what makes it short.
- What "shortening" meansIn a Scotch shortbread this would normally be butter, and butter is what gives the flavour. Vegetable shortening was also widely used in American books and will work mechanically, but tends to produce a blander, slightly waxy biscuit.
- Oven temperatureA moderate oven is 350F, but shortbread of this richness is better at 325F. At the higher setting the edges colour well before the centre has dried out, and the full 30 minutes will overtake them.
- The hinge: do not overworkRubbing the fat into the flour with the hands and then kneading only until smooth is deliberate. Once the dough warms and the gluten develops, the texture turns tough and biscuity rather than crumbling; work quickly and stop as soon as it holds together.
- PrickingThe docking holes let steam escape so the thick slabs bake flat instead of doming. Prick right through to the pan, and space the holes across the whole surface.
- CarawayCaraway seed in sweet baking was common in Britain into the early twentieth century and has largely fallen out of fashion. One tablespoon in about two pounds of dough is assertive but not overwhelming; halve it if the flavour is unfamiliar, or leave it out for plain shortbread.
- Cutting and yieldFour dozen from this quantity means small oblongs, roughly finger-sized, about 2 1/2 by 1 inch at half an inch thick. Cut them before baking but leave them on the sheet; they are fragile until cool.
- CoolingShortbread is soft when it comes out and firms as it cools. Judge doneness by a pale gold edge, not by the feel of the centre.