Surely, many noticed that some types of baking - cakes, cookies, pastries - have an unusual friable structure, similar to sand.
Similar items are baked from shortcrust pastry. Its recipe differs from other types of dough, but even at home, with great desire and elementary rules, the sand base for pastry dishes can be prepared independently.
Shortbread dough opens up great potential for creativity! Try to cook everyone’s favorite "nuts" with boiled condensed milk inside (yes, they consist of shortcrust pastry), a beautiful cake soaked in sour cream sauce with strawberries or dessert sausages, and there simply aren’t any number of cookie variations: with chocolate, marshmallows, in the form of funny figurines, wicker baskets and even with the addition of cream cheese.
Shortcrust pastry - general principles and methods of preparation
How to make a “golden” friable dough at home? In fact, everything is very simple - there are hands, and the rest will follow! So, the first rule to be learned: shortbread dough must be prepared with a lot of fat and sugar. It is the oil that gives the product a characteristic friability. Enveloping flour, it does not allow its parts to tightly connect and stick together.
For greater porosity, baking powder can add baking powder such as baking soda or ammonium carbonate. The flour should contain an average percentage of gluten, otherwise the baking will turn out to be somewhat tightened. If you take flour with a low percentage of gluten, there will be the opposite effect - the products will quickly crumble.
The traditional recipe for making shortcrust pastry is based on the following principles:
- flour sifted slide on a cutting board;
- sugar, soda, quenched in lemon juice, vanilla and butter sliced into medium-sized cubes are placed on top;
- the oil is chopped with a sharp knife along with the rest of the ingredients, eggs are added at the end;
- the dough is kneaded with hands, then it is removed for an hour in a cool place, and after that it is used for the intended purpose.
Now let's determine the amount of ingredients used. To prepare the classic recipe we will need: three glasses of flour, 300 gr. butter (cream), a glass of sugar (powder), two eggs, on the tip of a knife soda, a spoonful of lemon juice and vanilla.
Shortcrust pastry - product preparation
All components (eggs, butter, flour), implements (including a cutting board, rolling pin) and appliances used should be strictly chilled, otherwise the dough will lose its “zest”, and baking will eventually lose its desired structure. Product kneading times are also reduced to a minimum.
Remember: dry ingredients always mix with flour, and liquid ones with an egg, and only at the end do they combine. In some variations, part of the flour for making shortcrust pastry is allowed to be replaced with ground nuts, grated almonds or starch. Another important nuance: take the finished dough out of the refrigerator only as needed - in portions.
In addition to the basic recipe for sweet shortcrust pastry, there are alternatives that have been obtained as a result of culinary experiments. The recipes described below will help not only to diversify your table, but also to get real pleasure from joint, family creativity.
Recipe 1: Shortcrust pastry with potatoes
This dough fits perfectly into the composition of salty pies - with meat or vegetable filling.
Ingredients:
- 200 gr. flour
- 200 gr. boiled potatoes
- 150 gr. butter
- one egg
- salt - about 1 tsp.
- a spoonful of sugar
Cooking method:
Mix flour (sifted) with salt, sugar, then add the egg. Knead chilled potatoes in mashed potatoes (or three on a grater), add to the mixture, put pieces of butter. We chop the resulting mass finely with a knife until crumbs, and then knead with our hands until the lumps disappear. We roll the dough into a ball and send it to the cold for 40-60 minutes, before use.
Recipe 2: Shortcrust pastry with cottage cheese
It goes well with fruit and berry filling, as well as with chocolate, condensed milk and walnuts. We select cottage cheese fresh, fat, but not liquid.
Ingredients:
- 300 gr. flour
- 200 gr. cottage cheese
- 200 gr. drain. margarine (butter)
- one egg
- a pinch of salt
- two table. lies. sugar (small)
Cooking method:
We wipe the cottage cheese through a sieve, then cool along with other components. Mix flour with salt, sugar. Break the egg into the core. Distribute the cottage cheese and slices of butter over the flour and, without wasting time, chop the knife into crumbs with a knife, after which we will bring the dough to uniformity with our hands. Next - in the refrigerator, and go!
Recipe 3: Shortbread Dough with Cheese
Try to make such a dough for a pie with fish, potato filling - you will certainly be satisfied.
Ingredients:
- 200 gr. flour
- 200 gr. hard salty cheese
- 150 gr. oil drain.
- a pinch of salt and sugar
- a pinch of ground pepper
- one egg
Cooking method:
Pour flour into a chopping board. Sprinkle with salt and sugar on top. In the middle of the flour we make a deepening and break the egg there. We rub the cheese on a coarse grater (by the way, do not forget to cool it first) and distribute it on the surface of the flour. We do the same with pieces of butter. We chop everything with a knife, bring the dough with our hands to readiness (as quickly as possible). Roll the finished base for the pies into a ball, send it to frost and get it as needed.
Recipe 4: Shortcrust pastry with sour cream
A great base for cakes, pastries, pastry sausages, cookies and other sweet pastries.
Ingredients:
- three glasses of flour
- 200 gr. drain. oils
- one and a half glasses of sour cream (medium fat content)
- two or three table. l Sahara
- egg
- at the tip of the knife soda
- vanillin
Cooking method:
Mix sugar, baking soda, vanillin with flour, add pieces of butter, an egg (one), sour cream and chop into a crumb with a knife. Next, we finish the dough to softness and uniformity with our hands, roll it into a ball and, wrapping it with cling film, remove it to frost on demand (for 1-2 hours).
Shortcrust pastry - useful tips
- Shortbread dough must be rolled out in uniform, thin enough layers so that it bakes well. Optimum thickness - from 3 to 7 mm;
- Partial replacement of whole eggs with some yolks increases the friability of products. This approach is especially relevant when using flour with a high level of gluten;
- Baked layers of shortcrust pastry before being sent to the oven should be punctured in several places to avoid the appearance of ugly bubbles on their surface from the emitted carbon dioxide;
- The baking tray for shortbread should be dry. It is not necessary to lubricate it, since shortbread dough does not stick to the bottom during heat treatment. The optimal temperature for baking is from 220 to 250 C.
