Classic shortbread dough

Properly prepared sand dough is very fragile, crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth. Sand dough can be used to make cookies, pastries, cakes and the base for open pies (tarts) with various fillings, etc.

Sand dough can be used to make cookies, cakes, pies and the base for open pies (tarts) with various fillings, etc.

Composition:

• flour - 150 gr.
• butter - 100 gr.
• sugar (powdered sugar) - 50 gr.
• egg yolk - 1 pc.

Cooking:

Classic shortbread dough is prepared according to the formula 1:2:3, i.e. 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat and 3 parts flour are used. Egg is usually used for binding, but sometimes there are recipes with a few spoonfuls of water added. Leavening agent is not used in the preparation of this dough - it turns out crumbly due to the high fat content.
Products for making the dough should be very cold, otherwise the butter in the dough will soften and separate from the rest of the ingredients, and because of this the dough will lose elasticity and the baked goods will turn out stiff.
Using powdered sugar instead of sugar makes the dough even more crumbly.
To make the products from sand dough well baked, you should not roll it out thicker than 4-8 mm.
So, to prepare the shortbread dough, mix the flour, sugar and well-cooled butter in a food processor until crumbly. Add egg yolk and knead well.
If you prepare the dough with your hands, put the butter in the freezer for a few hours, then rub it on a coarse grater into the sifted flour and sugar. Quickly rub your hands together the butter with the sugar and flour mixture until crumbs form. Add the egg yolk and knead the dough.

You must not knead the dough for a long time, otherwise it will lose its plasticity. A proper dough will turn out quite dense.

Put the dough in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and put it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to chill well, then use it to prepare your dishes.
Sand dough products should be placed on a dry baking tray, as due to the high fat content they will not stick to the tray.
Sand dough products should be baked at 230 degrees Celsius, the optimal baking time is 10-15 minutes (if no filling is used).
If you are preparing the base for a pie or tart, then, placing the dough in the mold, it is necessary to press it tightly to the baking mold, so that no air pockets are formed, and to prick the dough base with a fork, so that it does not swell and does not deform during baking.
As a rule, the base for a shortbread pie is baked first separately and then filled with the filling. To keep the baked base crumbly and brittle, warm base should be slightly smeared with beaten egg - it will fill the voids on the surface of the dough and will not allow the filling to seep out, which will keep the base crispy.
If you want to bake a closed pie from sand dough, cut a few holes in the top layer of dough to allow steam to escape - this will ensure a crumbly, crispy crust.
Before serving, the shortbread pie should be cooled completely so that the filling hardens slightly and does not leak out when cutting.
Bon appetit!