Creaming butter or cutting-in butter

[acidfrog]

I think the Answer is very obvious when conidering what you expect from a cake and what you expect from a pie crust

My query comes to when you see so many biscuit (uk), shortbread and cookie recipes differentiating between the two mixing methods ?

Which is ideal ?
Is one right and one wrong 

sometimes from the same chef you see two recipes with different mixing methods.

[CatPoet]

Creaming butter adds air, cutting doesnt, according to   Delia Smith, yeah I manage to see some old show about this.

[Mjx]

Both techniques are 'ideal'/'right' for different things: You'd typically cream butter if you're making softer, cake-like buiscuits, and cut-in butter for things like shortbread. Usually, if you cream butter, you cream it with sugar, then the rest of the ingredients are combined with that, in one sequence or another, so you get a somewhat wet mixture. When butter is cut-in, it's usually into flour, which yields small bits of butter, each of which is surrounded by flour, which is somewhat coated by butter; when the other ingredients are added, they usually include minimal liquid, so the mixture is firmer, and usually not intended to rise much.

[jmacnaughtan]

Mjx is right, and you'd also use the cutting method when you want a very short, crumbly finished product.  

 

It's probably a good idea to master both techniques.

[acidfrog]

sorry not what i want 

i will re write it

I think the Answer is very obvious when considering what you expect from a cake and what you expect from a pie crust

My query comes to when you see so many biscuit (uk), shortbread and cookie recipes differentiating between the two mixing methods ?
sometimes from the same chef you see two recipes for the same product with different mixing methods.

[pbear]

Perhaps you could post a link to a recipe or two illustrating the ambiguity.  It's always easier to deal with something like this by concrete example rather than broad abstractions.

[Mjx]

My query comes to when you see so many biscuit (uk), shortbread and cookie recipes differentiating between the two mixing methods ?

 

It's really straightforward, no mystery: these are two different techniques that give two different results when it comes to biscuit texture.

 

sometimes from the same chef you see two recipes for the same product with different mixing methods.

This just sounds peculiar, unless the biscuits in question aren't actually specific types, but broad categories (e.g. 'Christmas biscuits' or 'sweet biscuits').

 

pbear's suggestion is a good one: post a couple of links demonstrating what you mean by 'sometimes from the same chef you see two recipes for the same product with different mixing methods.'.

[acidfrog]

shortbread

cut in butter to flour 
add seasoning bring in to ball and re-fridge

cream butter and sugar in mixer 
add flour and seasoning 
ball and re-fridge 


also pate sucree often comes in the same two varieties.

Edited December 17, 2014 by acidfrog (log)

[jmacnaughtan]

shortbread

cut in butter to flour 

add seasoning bring in to ball and re-fridge

cream butter and sugar in mixer 

add flour and seasoning 

ball and re-fridge 

also pate sucree often comes in the same two varieties.

 

Pâte sucrée is always made using the creaming method.  If you use the cutting method, it becomes pâte sablée.

[djyee100]

Is shortbread the item that's giving you trouble? It can be made by cutting in butter or creaming in butter. I've done it both ways, with different textures in the result. If you try the two recipes, you'll find out.

 

You'll find various baked goods may have different methods in different recipes. It's not as though one is right and the other is wrong. Both work for the people who wrote the recipes, and the methods may produce different results in texture and flavor. You choose among recipes according to your preference.

 

I agree with Mjx's and JMacnaughtan's posts. They're giving you the right info, and good info.

Edited December 17, 2014 by djyee100 (log)

[Norm Matthews]

To paraphrase Shirley Corriher, cutting in butter coats the flour so the liquid does not have as much ability to develop gluten.  When creaming butter, air bubbles are incorporated which assist leavening.  

Edited December 18, 2014 by Norm Matthews (log)