We are delighted that the Great British Bake Off is back here at British Bakeware, and this week is biscuit week! We’ve chosen this fantastic shortbread biscuits recipe from Paul Hollywood as one of our favourite biscuit recipes, mainly because we love the taste of buttery shortbread and this particular recipe is a nice easy one to try at home! So why not get in the full swing of the Great British Bake Off by baking a batch of these delicious shortbread biscuits at home!

Who loves shortbread biscuits, because we certainly do. This fantastic recipe from Paul Hollywood for shortbread biscuits is one you simply must try at home. The buttery taste, crunchy finish and sweet sugary outside make this a perfect biscuit!

 

Ingredients:

  • 110g of caster sugar
  • 225g of plain flour
  • 110g of cornflour
  • 225g of softened, unsalted butter
  • A pinch of salt

Instructions:

Step 1- Place baking paper on two cookie trays.

Step 2- Start these shortbread biscuits by placing the 225g of butter and 110g of caster sugar in to a mixing bowl and mix together. You could use an electric whisk to speed things up, but a wooden spoon will work just as well, it just may take a bit more elbow grease. You want to mix the sugar and butter together until the mixture is a lot lighter.

Step 3- Add in the 225g of plain flour and the 110g of cornflour in the bowl before adding the salt. Mix together until all ingredients are smoothly combined. Dust some flour on to your kitchen surface before tipping the mixture from the bowl on to it. Knead until the mixture forms a soft dough.

Step 4-Preheat your oven to around 170 degrees celcius.

Step 5- Place the dough between two pieces of baking paper and roll it out until it is around 1cm thick. Prick the dough all over with a fork and cut in to triangular shapes, or whatever shapes you would like your shortbread biscuits to be! Take all the scraps of dough and re-roll it once more to try and get a few more biscuits in to the batch. Once you have done this, start placing them on the cookie trays or baking trays that you have lined with baking paper and place them in the fridge to chill for no more than 30 minutes.

Step 6-Once suitably chilled, place in the centre of your pre heated oven for about 20 minutes until the shortbread biscuits start to turn golden brown around the edge. Leave on the cookie tray for a few minutes more to allow the biscuits to firm up slightly before lifting them on to a small cooling rack, dusting them with any remaining sugar and leaving them to cool for 10 minutes.

Step 7-That’s it, this shortbread biscuits recipe by Paul Hollywood is that simple and equally as delicious!

Source: Paul Hollywood 

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Baguette

The winter months are now upon us and baking homemade baguettes are the perfect way to keep warm. Couple that with a delicious homemade casserole or a bowl of winter warming soup and it will be perfect!

Is there anything better than homemade bread? We struggled to find anything when we asked ourselves that question in the British Bakeware office! As winter has well and truly arrived, we thought we would choose our favourite recipe for making bread to help keep you nice and warm, and what better recipe to choose than one from the brilliant Paul Hollywood. These homemade baguettes may seem like a lot of work, but if you follow each step carefully and don’t over handle the dough, you will be left with a fantastic freshly baked baguettes! Also, by using the fantastic baguette tin you will find in our bread baking section, the task of making baguettes becomes a lot easier!

 

Ingredients:

  • 500g strong white bread flour
  • 10g salt
  • 10g instant yeast
  • Olive oil
  • 370ml cool water

Instructions:

Step 1- Lightly oil a 2-3 litre square plastic container. It has to square to help shape the dough!

Step 2- Take the bowl of your electric mixer and add the white bread flour, salt and yeast. It is important that you do not pour the salt immediately on top of the yeast. Also add three-quarters of the water and the olive oil, and slowly start to mix. When the dough starts to bind, add the remaining water and mix for a further 5 to 8 minutes until the dough forms an elastic consistency.

Step 3- Then add the dough to the lightly oiled square plastic container, and cover it with a tea towel. Leave the dough until it has doubled in size. This should take no more than 1 hour.

Step 4-At this point, line two baking trays with baking paper. Our baguette tins will also work really well here!

Step 5-Pick a work surface in your home and coat it with olive oil. Then carefully place the dough on to the surface and handle it gently so to keep as much of the air in the dough as possible. The dough should feel quite wet when you touch it, but should also contain plenty of air inside.

Step 6-Split the large piece of dough in to 4 or 5 smaller pieces. Make each piece of dough in to an oblong shape by making it flat and folding the sides in to the centre. Then roll each of the 5 pieces of dough in to longer sausage shapes. The top of the dough should be smooth with a join along the length of the base. Starting in the middle of each piece of dough, carefully roll each piece of dough with your hands until they fit the baking trays or the baguette tins you are using.

Step 7-If you are using baking trays, place two or three baguettes on each tray and place inside a plastic bag to prove for 1 hour until it doubles in size. Or you could use our baguette tin which is large enough to hold two baguettes. You will be able to tell it is done as the dough will be springy to touch.

Step 8-Preheat your oven to 220 degrees celcius and place a large roasting pan in the bottom to give it time to heat up.

Step 9-Once the dough has proven nicely, dust each one with flour and score each one a few time diagonally. Fill the large roasting pan at the bottom of your oven with hot water and return to the oven. This will create steam that is very important for the bread to bake properly. Bake the baguettes for 25 minutes until they turn a delicious golden brown colour.

Step 10- Allow these delicious homemade baguettes to cool for 1o0 to 15 minutes before you serve them as part of your celebration of National Picnic Week!

Source: Paul Hollywood 

Products You May Find Helpful

Baguette Tin
£12.10 inc V.A.T.
Enamel Baking Tray
£14.15 inc V.A.T.
Large Roasting Pan
£13.68 inc V.A.T.