Ingredient

Biscuits

Every biscuit is the same four ingredients in different proportions, and the texture you get — snap, chew or crumble — is almost entirely predictable from those proportions. Knowing which lever to pull is more useful than any single recipe.

The levers

More sugar

Spreads more, browns more, crisper when cool. Sugar melts and flows in the oven.

Brown sugar instead of white

Chewier and softer, because it holds more moisture and is slightly acidic.

More fat

Shorter and more crumbly, and it spreads more.

More egg

Cakier and more risen. Yolk alone makes it richer and denser; white makes it drier and crisper.

More flour

Thicker, drier, less spread.

Longer, cooler bake

Crisper all the way through, because more water leaves.

Shorter, hotter bake

Set edges and a soft middle.

Why biscuits spread

In the oven the fat melts before the structure sets, and the dough flows outwards. How far it gets depends on how liquid it becomes and how fast the egg and flour set around it.

So a warm dough spreads more than a cold one, a high-sugar dough spreads more than a low-sugar one, and a dough with melted butter spreads more than one with creamed butter. Chilling the dough — properly, an hour or more — is the single most reliable way to control spread, and resting it overnight also improves flavour noticeably as the flour hydrates.

If they spread too far, chill harder, add a spoonful of flour, and check the oven is actually at temperature. If they do not spread at all, the dough is too dry or too cold, or there is too much flour.

Getting a specific texture

• Snappy — low fat, higher proportion of white sugar, rolled thin, baked until evenly coloured through.
• Chewy — brown sugar, more fat, an extra yolk, baked briefly so the middle stays underdone.
• Cakey — more egg and flour, a raising agent, and often a softer fat or some liquid.
• Short and crumbly — high fat, low liquid, minimal working. This is the shortbread principle.
• Crisp edges, soft middle — a hot oven, a thick portion of dough, and taking them out while the centre still looks underbaked.

General method for a rolled biscuit

1. Cream or rub the fat and sugar according to the recipe, then bring the dough together with as little working as possible.
2. Chill the dough before rolling — it is far easier to handle and it spreads less.
3. Roll between two sheets of parchment to an even thickness. Uneven thickness bakes unevenly and is the main cause of some biscuits burning while others are pale.
4. Chill the cut shapes again on the tray for fifteen minutes before baking, especially if the kitchen is warm.
5. Bake in the middle of the oven and rotate the tray halfway.
6. Leave them on the tray for a few minutes before moving them. A hot biscuit has not set and will break.

Common questions