Sablé Biscuits

Like other aspects of the menu, we made sablé biscuits for the very first Dedham Supper Club and they have been a feature ever since. Once, we did not make them and there was an outcry so now there is no discussion and no debate and often the biscuits are one of the very first things we make in the morning as the bread dough is proving.

No matter how many sablé biscuits you make you will never have enough. Sometimes we make extra batches to give each guest a little bag to take home. You can imagine a little cellophane bag with a ribbon – it makes a nice gift.

What is a sablé biscuit? Basically, it is a French version of shortbread; and these are very short. When we say short in cooking we don’t mean little or quick to make – even though they are both of these things – we actually mean they are very crumbly or crispy. These biscuits are especially crumbly because we do not use any eggs – just butter, flour and sugar with a touch of vanilla. 

Equipment

Today we shall make the biscuit dough by hand and we’ll do this in a large bowl but you could do everything on the work top or you could make the dough in your food processor or mixer. If you use the food processor or mixer just make sure not to overwork the dough – in other words just use short pulses until the dough comes together.

We like to make this dough by hand because it is easy and we avoid the washing up! Also it is always good to feel the dough – it is a rather meditative process.

Sablé Biscuits

Servings

40

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes


There are only four ingredients and we use a 1,2,3 recipe – one part sugar, two parts butter three parts flour. This simple ration model is always useful when it works because it makes it very easy to scale up.

Cook Mode

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Ingredients

  • 100 g 3 1/2 oz Caster sugar

  • 200 g 7 oz salted butter (you can substitute for unsalted)

  • 300 g 10 4/7 oz Plain flour

  • 0.5 tsp 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

  • Demerara sugar – or you can use white granulated sugar – we will use this to coat the outside of the biscuit so something with larger sharp crystals is best

Equipment

  • Bowl
  • Baking Sheet
  • Scales
  • Cooks Knife
  • Baking Paper
  • Cooling Rack

Directions

  • We want the butter to be soft but also cold – the easiest way to soften it is to bash it with the rolling pin to flatten it out – give six hits
    Chop up the butter into cubes around 1cm 

  • If you are using your food processor or mixer add the butter and sugar and pulse to combine, add the vanilla and pulse briefly, add the flour and pulse to blend everything together.

    If you are doing this by hand – 
  • Add the sugar to the bowl 
    Add the butter
    Work the sugar and butter together by pushing pieces of butter between your thumb and forefinger or by using a spoon.
  • When the sugar and butter are combined – add the vanilla
  • Add the flour via a sieve and continue to blend with the sugar and butter until you have a breadcrumb type mix.
  • If you want to really look like you know what you are doing, tip everything onto he work top and blend further by pushing the mix away from you using the heel of your hand. This is a technique called fraisage by the way. 

    Very quickly the mix will come together into a putty like consistency. Type not to work the dough very much because we do not want to work the gluten.

    Set the oven to 180°C (355°F)
  • Divide the dough into three equal parts.
  • Take one of the dough balls
    Use your hands to roll the dough into a cylinder around 3cm diameter – around one inch.
  • Sprinkle the demerara or granulated sugar on the work top
    Roll the dough cylinder across the sugar with gentle pressure to coat the cylinder in sugar
  • With a knife, cut the cylinder into slices – the thickness of the slice determines the size of the biscuit – around 1cm or 1/3 inch works well. 
  • Line a baking sheet with baking paper 
    Place the biscuits on the paper 
    Bake for 20 minutes
    After 20 minutes check the biscuits – they should be golden – you may need to bake for a few minute more
    Once cooked remove from the oven – leave to cool for a few minutes the move the biscuits to a wire rack to cool

Did you make this recipe?

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