Getting the perfect biscuit base
If you are battling to get that perfect biscuit base, you’ve clicked on the right blog post.
Here are a few tips that I have learnt over years. I trained as a chef down in Durban many years ago, my passion back then was cooking food more than baking. I have never considered myself a great baker, but over the years through trial and error (lots of errors and disastrous results) I have learnt what not to do.
I believe the perfect biscuit needs to be about 6.25mm thick, slightly golden, crunchy, smooth on the top, a perfect shape (no spreading or shrinking)
With these following tips you’ll be baking the perfect biscuit in no time.
Dough preparation
Sugar biscuit dough likes to be well rested before being rolled out and baked
- When the dough has rested and is chilled, it is less likely to spread or loose shape.
- Try not to over work the dough as this can lead to tough misshaped biscuits.
- The eggs and butter must be at room temperature. Cold butter doesn’t combine properly, leaving your dough with little lumps of butter. Margarine contains too much water which causes the dough to spread while baking. I suggest using butter, if possible.
- Cut the dough in half, wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge. (for at least 2 hours, or even better overnight)
Even dough thickness
It’s important to get the dough rolled out as evenly as possible, nobody wants a lopsided biscuit.
- By adding rolling pin guides to each end of the rolling pin, this prevents an unevenly rolled out piece of dough.
- The guides come in a pack of four. We use the yellow guides which are 6.25mm thick, creating the perfect biscuit thickness.
- The guides fit our non-stick rolling pin. Which is 50cm wide and also non-stick, so you not adding loads of flour to your work surface.
Cutting out your biscuits (cookies)
We have a variety of biscuit cutters to choose from, plastic and metal
- Do not over flour the surface as this will dry out the dough.
- Be careful not to over work the dough, this causes biscuits to shrink and change shape while baking.
- Once cut out, carefully lift the cut out dough with a palette knife and transfer to a baking tray which is covered with either baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
- A silicone baking mat helps prevent bubbles forming on top of your baked biscuits. Bumpy biscuits are not easy to decorate.
- The cut out biscuit shapes (raw) can be frozen. Layer them in a large plastic container with baking paper in between each layer to save space. There is no need to defrost the cut out biscuits, they bake perfectly from frozen.
Baking your biscuits (cookies)
- Do not overcrowd the baking tray, I recommend about 9 large biscuits and 12 medium to small biscuits per tray.
- If you are using a thermo fan oven, bake two trays at a time.
- Rotate the tray half way through the baking time, for a evenly golden brown biscuit.
- Cool on a wire cooling rack.
- Pack in an airtight container once they are completely cool.
