

Recipes
(These Imperial measures of ounces, table and tea spoons
may differ from American ones, please check)
Shortbread
6oz Plain flour
2oz Rice flour
4oz Butter (proper; not processed with softeners)
2oz Caster sugar
-Cream the butter & sugar together, then work in the sieved flours, with a pinch of salt only if
the butter’s unsalted. Don’t knead for that will toughen it. Turn out on to a
lightly floured board or table and press with the hand into a large round.
Don’t roll, for that will also toughen it.
Put on to an ungreased baking sheet, pinch
edges with finger or thumb, prick all over and bake in a moderate oven
(250degF) for about an hour.
This same recipe is used to prepare rectangular cut
and pricked fingers, our normal form for shortbread nowadays.
Petticoat tails
6 oz Plain flour
3oz Butter,
3oz Caster sugar
2 tablespoons Milk ( ½
gill) or Sour milk
2 teaspoons of Caraway seeds
Cream the butter & sugar, then
work in the flour, seeds and milk. Then roll out to ¼ inch thick, put a dinner
plate on top to cut round outside and wineglass to cut round inside, pinch
outer edge of the ring, and of the middle circle, with thumb and finger, cut
into segments, and with inner circle cook for around 20 minutes at 350degF
(more or less as judged ready). Serve the petticoat tails together with the cut
inner circle, dusted with caster sugar.
Grannie Young’s Scones
8oz Plain flour
1½ oz Butter
pinch of salt
Jane’s Bread
As supplied to the Galley Café Penicuik
1988-2008
for 2 x2lb loaves:
4lb flour (I use a wholemeal
& strong white combination - organic of course) plus some 3 grain flour,
seeds, whatever takes my fancy.
1 sachet dried yeast (or a
dessertspoon of Fermipan) if you are lucky enough to
get fresh yeast you should mix this with warm water and a little sugar to start
it growing before mixing it into the flour.
1 tablespoon oil (sunflower or grapeseed)
1 spoon salt (or some in the bowl of my hand)
1 dessert spoon honey or sugar.
Mix all together with enough
lukewarm water to (about 1 litre) to make a stiff dough. Knead for as long as you want.
leave to rise in a warm place (I put
the bowl near the Rayburn or on a shelf above)
An hour or 2 later re-knead and
put into the oiled tins or onto a baking tray. Some you could divide into rolls
at this stage.
Bake for about 40 minutes in a
hot oven (oh yes I forgot the bit about lighting the oven :)
My Rayburn is not exact so I know
must be not as hot as for a pizza but pretty hot. Or you could place the bread
lower down in a very hot oven.
Turn out onto a wire rack for
cooling. Test by tapping the bottom. The loaves should sound hollow. They will
also have left the sides of the tins.
I have been told recently that
vinegar in the mix makes a good preservative if you want the bread to stay
fresh but I haven't tried that yet.
Organic wholemeal and strong
white flours by Marriages & Doves Farm, organic 3 Grain by Shipton Mill
Fermipan or Allinsons
Dried Yeast
Organic Oils, honey, maple syrup