The Pétrin

Historically, I dream of a large kitchen Gustavian bathed in natural light, warm and welcoming, the chest filled with bonbonnières transparent revealing full of sweets to chew: there were meringues, sketches .. and especially especially small shortbread.
Because sanded so evocative of childhood croquent any occasion, bitten by the children for a snack gourmet dipped into a glass of milk or filled with jam ..
Because shortbread with wonderfully large tea ..
Because with the same recipe, one can satisfy his desire to taste vanilla, lemon or orange, almonds or pistachios, because in some occasions you want to breathe festive and comforting flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg or anise ...
Because sand is good especially when the recipe comes from Christophe Felder and that can be manipulated at will by his fantasies as I do every batch!

(for a fifty sablés)

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, almond powder, yeast and spices. Add the soft butter, cut into small pieces and finely grated zest and incorporate the dry ingredients, working the dough with fingertips, then with palms to get a texture of fine sand.
Pour the egg yolk and perfumes and mix with a wooden spoon until a dough mixed. Pour on the work plan, the pulp mill for smooth by pushing upward with the palm of the hand by small quantities. Gather dough into ball should be smooth and homogeneous, the disk and overwrite the food wrap film. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven th.6 (180 ° C).

On a lightly flour work, spread the dough to a thickness of 3-4 mm. Cut shortbread with a round cookie cutter or fantasy and place as on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or simply buttered and floured. (keep space enough sand will be spread a bit during cooking). Gather excess dough (removing excess flour with a brush or a brush special) and repeat the operation until the dough.
Brown sand with a brush with egg yolk diluted in a little cream.
Oven and bake 10 to 14 minutes depending on your oven: The sand shall have a uniform golden brown. Cool on a rack in gently transferring the sheet of paper or parchment by moving sand with a palette.

My method: cutting biscuits

Prepare dough the same way as before. Divide the ball into 2 equal pieces and shape each half into pudding regular 4-5 cm in diameter, making sure to press from time to time the 2 ends to the center to eliminate any air bubbles.
Wrap each sausage of dough in the film and book food cool for several hours for the dough stronger (the ideal being to prepare the day before).

Cut the rolls into slices 5-8 mm regular with a pastry cutter or a knife (possibly reshape the slices to give them a rounded appearance way trade) and continue the recipe as prédemment.

Note: I also tested this recipe with the robot multipurpose double blade, it works very well. You just need to ensure work by brief pulses particularly when mixing butter to flour: it must remain streaks of butter in the dough to keep the sand texture subtly puff

These shortbread will keep several days in an airtight container (but I have not had time to check).

. If adventure one day you go to Bath 200km from London that it is to relax in the beautiful spa town for a romantic walk in the footsteps of writer Jane Austen or a romantic getaway, you can not to miss 2 more famous local specialties: the Bath Buns and Sally Lunn Buns.
According to Nigel Slater, the real Bath Bun to be smooth, midway between the bun and the classic French bun, filled with raisins and powdered sugar grain .. at least in its modern version as the bath bun at the origin was topped with caraway seeds preserved!
Today, this small brioche bread is usually stuffed grain sugar, flavored with lemon zest and spices, whose composition is still kept secret.
, ce sont surtout les légendes et les histoires sur l’origine de ces buns qui en créant le mystère contribuèrent à leur succès et à leur renommée. If the secrecy surrounding the recipe as the original Sally Lunn Buns served in the oldest house in Bath rightly named Sally Lunn's Hous e, it is particularly the legends and stories about the origin of the buns that helped create the mystery to their success and their reputation.
et servi coupé en deux, tartiné de confiture de fraise et de crème épaisse pour accompagner un bon thé comme le Sally Lunn Bun … Today, purists believe that the Sally Lunn Bun bun is the original of Bath and all others are pale copies, they do not want me to offer my recipe rich brioche, topped with raisins a Bath bun and served cut in half, spread with jam and thick cream to accompany a good tea as the Sally Lunn Bun ...

And if a trip to Bath is not expected soon in your projects, try this recipe and enjoy your bun still enjoy a hot Earl Gray (or your favorite tea) or Nigel Slater, toasted and buttered or spread of orange curd ...

(18 buns)

If you work the dough with a robot or the MAP, first pour the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar) to reserve 50g of total flour and add eggs, milk and yeast Fresh crumbled. Mix and knead until a ball is off of the walls (possibly adjust with a little flour rservée) then add the soft butter into several times and continue to knead until incorporation.

A Hand

Mix the crumbled yeast in milk tempered, add the sugar and mix. Book.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with salt for a few minutes until they are sparkling. Add dissolved yeast and mix aside to get a smooth paste.
Add 1 / 3 of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until it was almost embedded. Add 1 / 3 of the flour and stir as before and then finish with the last 1 / 3 of flour (50g about except to be reserved for kneading). Work first batter with a spoon and then hand mix the dough into rough ball around the spoon.

Add the very soft butter in small pieces 3 or 4 additions kneading after each addition to be incorporated in the dough (possibly add a little reserved flour if the dough is too sticky).

Knead about ten minutes, adding from time to time if necessary a little of the remaining reserved flour the dough should become smooth, supple and elastic.

Place dough ball in bowl, cover with film support and let stand for about 1h30 or until the dough double in size.

Transfer the dough on a work plan flour (the dough is quite soft and slightly sticky: lightly flour their hands before touching it) and fold 3 or 4 times on itself by ensuring that its entire surface is slightly floured.

Note: if you want to add raisins and zest, to get this stage without working the dough too

Divide dough into 18 pieces of equal weight (about 70g), very lightly flour their hands (the dough is quite sticky)
Divide into 18 pieces of equal weight (about 70g) and regular shape into balls (see technique). Place balls 1 or 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper making sure to leave a space of at least 5 cm between them.
Cover with a clean cloth and let rise 45 min.

Preheat oven th. 6 (180 ° C). Gently brown the buns with whole egg beaten with 1 pinch of salt. Sprinkle with sugar grains, oven and cook for about 20 min. Cool on rack.