Scottish Shortbread

Which isn't a helpful answer...

I make 2 types of shortbread - same recipe, all butter like yours, but I use white sugar. A traditional extra is to substitute about a fifth of the flour for rice flour too. (I mix sugar & flour, then rub-in the butter and eventually knead into a smooth paste)

Baking time varies on the thickness of the rolled out dough. If I'm making 3mm thick biscuits then it's fairly quick - 15 minutes maximum, but if it's pressed into a big mould and a little thicker then it will take longer (half an hour or more). I bake at 180°C and mostly go by colour - you want it to just be starting to turn a golden brown. Any more and it'll be caramelising.

So I'd suggest going by colour and as long as the oven is hot enough then it'll be baked through.

-Gordon

to use low heat (160ºC) and prick the shortbread all over before baking until golden.

I have had great results with this recipe from the Guardian (UK newspaper). The secret is rice flour, it gives that really short texture. In the newspaper article, this ingredient is attributed to a number of authentic Scottish sources.

The formula for shortbread is, by weight, 1 part sugar to 2 parts butter to 3 parts flour.  Some recipes call for powdered sugar.  Some use "corn flour" (cornstarch) instead of rice flour.  Some use only flour.  The "plain" flour used by the Scots has no equivalent in the United States.  I try to use a shiny pan rather than a dull gray pan.  My Scottish dad said that shortbread should be docked with a two-tine fork. 

All ingredients should be cold.  It's easier and more precise to use a scale to weigh ingredients rather than to measure volume.

16 ounces    all-purpose flour (about 3-3/4 cups)
  8 ounces    rice flour (1-1/2 cups less 4 teaspoons.  Brown rice flour is ok)
  8 ounces    sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon.)
  1 pound     unsalted butter
  1/8 tsp.      salt (optional, and only if using unsalted butter)

375º F for 5 minutes, then 300° for 40-50 minutes.
11x17 jelly roll pan or half-sheet pan, preferably shiny

Spin the sugar in a blender until fine.  (The Scots use "caster" sugar, which is more finely granulated than North American sugar.)  Mix flour, rice flour, sugar (and salt) in a large bowl.  Rub in butter (work it in with your fingertips) then knead to a smooth dough.  You'll think you have too much flour, but eventually the dough will come together.  (OR you can mix it in a food processor.  My 7-cup processor will only accommodate half of this recipe.)  Pat into a jelly roll pan and smooth the surface with a rolling pin.  The interior dimensions of my pan are 15x10", but you can use a larger pan.  My oven won't accommodate a larger pan.

Use the back of fork tines to mark the edges with "rays of sun".  Score into 1" x 3" fingers  and pierce each finger all the way through with a fork, two or three piercings for each.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.   Bake until golden.

Turn off the oven and remove shortbread after baking.  Immediately cut it into fingers along the scored marks.  Spread the fingers out on the pan, placing half on another baking sheet.  Set the two pans in the warm oven for about 5 to 10 minutes to crisp up.  Cool on the pans, then store in airtight tins.

This is a stiff enough dough that you can cut it into individual fingers before baking.  It takes more time, but baking them separately yields crisp shortbread.  Roll out the dough into two portions of about 7" by 12" each, cut into 1" by 3" fingers, pierce with a fork, refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake them spaced apart on the pans.  They tend to spread slightly while baking.

Here's a curiosity ... Rice flour is a common additive in (Scottish) shortbread, but rice is not a native crop to the UK.

Plain flour is otherwise known as soft flour, cake flour, etc. In the UK it's typically plain flour or self-raising flour (or strong/bread flour) Typically about 8% gluten/protein.

-Gordon

might make perfect shortbread, worth a try.   Might just have to wear my wet cotton gloves if it gets sticky!  3mm shortbread!  Who ever heard of such nonsense!  Finger thick, the bigger the finger the thicker the bread.  Not a problem, cool oven 160°C till just starting to turn on the edges.  I like a  shot of whiskey or Southern Comfort beaten into Summer butter, frozen and thawed.   

I haven't settled on a shape yet, make 'em different every time.  Often just large donuts cut into pointless pie shapes.  Scoring is very important and so is docking the dough.  Toothpick, all the way through.  

Why is docking so important for shortbread? I've never done it, believing that it was applicable only for flakey pie doughs, to prevent the big bubbles. I thought the docking that you see on store-bought shortbread was just cosmetic. Does it serve some purpose?