Scottishshortbreadrecipe
A good Scottish shortbread should taste wonderfully buttery and have a light, crumbly texture.
Shortbread gets its name from the crumbly texture, which is called ‘short’. The term ‘short’ relates to the length of gluten strands that form in the biscuit dough.
A loaf of bread has ‘long’ developed strands of gluten that make the dough stretchy. The high-fat content of shortbread prevents long gluten strands and gives the biscuits their delightful texture.
If you make this with regular flour, be careful not to handle or knead the dough too much as this can encourage long gluten formations, which will make the shortbread tough.
This area of baking is almost easier to bake gluten-free: you can’t overwork the gluten as none is present!
INGREDIENTS
MAKES ABOUT 18 BISCUITS
■ 100g unsalted butter, softened
■ 25g caster sugar
■ 25g icing sugar
■ ½ teaspoon salt
■ 125g plain flour (gf + ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum)
■ 25g cornflour
■ 30g demerara sugar (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 150C fan/160C conventional/gas mark 3. Line 1 or 2 baking trays with baking paper.
1. Cream the butter with the caster sugar, icing sugar and salt using an electric whisk or stand mixer until light and fluffy (this takes 3 to 5 minutes).
2. Stir through the remaining ingredients, excluding the demerara sugar, and gently work it together with your hands until it comes together into a dough.
3. Roll the dough into a rough log about 18cm long. If you want to add a sugary crunch around the biscuits’ edge, roll it in the demerara sugar.
4. Wrap the dough in baking paper or cling film. Twist the ends of the paper or film and roll again, so it is tight around the dough. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.
5. Take the dough out of the fridge and slice into discs about ¾ cm thick.
6. Place the biscuits onto your baking trays and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly golden. The biscuits will be very soft out of the oven but will be firm enough to handle once cool.