Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.
On 2/4/2017 at 2:48 AM, pastrygirl said:Working the dry ingredients for 2 minutes sounds like a very long time.
Less mixing = less gluten development = weaker shortbread, not stronger. The amount of water in butter is minimal, so less or more mixing isn't going to make that much of a difference to texture, but if the OP wants strength, less mixing is the wrong direction, imo.
19 hours ago, pastrygirl said:Working the dry ingredients for 2 minutes sounds like a very long time. Cream the butter until it is smooth, it doesn't have to be super light and fluffy for most shortbread. Then mix in the flour just until it is combined.
Less mixing = less gluten development = weaker shortbread, not stronger. The amount of water in butter is minimal, so less or more mixing isn't going to make that much of a difference to texture, but if the OP wants strength, less mixing is the wrong direction, imo.
18 hours ago, pastrygirl said:It may just be under baked since you say it is soft, though in my convection oven 30 min at 160 C should bake most cookies nice and golden. How thick is the layer in your baking pan and what is the pan made of?
Working the dry ingredients for 2 minutes sounds like a very long time. Cream the butter until it is smooth, it doesn't have to be super light and fluffy for most shortbread. Then mix in the flour just until it is combined.
Less mixing = less gluten development = weaker shortbread, not stronger. The amount of water in butter is minimal, so less or more mixing isn't going to make that much of a difference to texture, but if the OP wants strength, less mixing is the wrong direction, imo.
