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need english translation again...

post #1 of 20
11/14/06 at 10:59am
Thread Starter 
So I have an Australian cookbook...

when they are asking for frozen, premade "shortbread" dough, are they talking about the premade pie dough? (It's a canape recipe). Definately not puff pastry or phyllo dough, those are called for elsewhere. I'm guessing pie dough, but want to make sure there isn't a 4th type of premade dough out there.

Thanks
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post #2 of 20
11/14/06 at 11:09am
If the Australian term is anything close to the British term, then a shortbread is a crumbly cookie made along similar lines to a pie dough.
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post #3 of 20
11/14/06 at 11:28am
Thread Starter 
yes, I have a shortbread cookie recipe, but this is different, & a savory recipe for mini quiches, canapes etc. Where it is used, it seems similar to pie crusts, but I am not sure if it is the same or if pie crust dough & shortbread or shortcrust dough are the same.
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post #4 of 20
11/14/06 at 12:03pm

A glance at the recipe would help.

Shortbread can be made sweet or savory. Even the 'sweet' isn't really THAT sweet. I've used it for shortcake recipes. It's a crumbly texture as compared to flaky, philo, or puff pastry. Sort of like a denser textured scone?

I've got an Aussie professional cookery book here somewhere (we've been moving so it's Godknows) and when I find it I'll have a look and fire off any info I come up with as far as a recipe.

I don't think you'll find what you are looking for at a market over the shelf here. Unless you have access to some of the specialty delis or markets. (In which case you'll pay an arm and a leg for the privledge of getting authentic Aussie shortbread.)

Luckily making shortbread is EEEEZZZZ.

April
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post #5 of 20
11/14/06 at 12:33pm
I've "translated" a couple of Australian cookbooks into American, and never came across anything like that. :confused: But as April says, you can make a savory short dough (the main thing about it is a high proportion of fat to flour, and leaving it very crumbly). Maybe you want to repeat your question on the Pastry board.
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post #6 of 20
11/14/06 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 
Here's an example:

mini quiches:

Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200C. Grease two round based shallow 12-hole patty tins. Lay 2 sheets of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry on a work surface & cut 12 rounds from each w/ an 8cm cutter. Line the tins w/ pastry, fill w/ one of the following suggestion & bake as instructed.

one of the suggested fillings: creamy herb: Mix together 2 beaten eggs, 2T milk, 1/2 C cream, 2t chopped fresh chives, and 1t each of chopped fresh dill, thyme & parsley. Pour into the patry cases & sprinkle with grated Parmesan, using only about 2 T altogether. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until puffed & golden.
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post #7 of 20
11/14/06 at 5:38pm
Now there is a difference between "Shortbread" and "Shortcrust". The shortrust pastry is not sweetened like the shortbread and the proportions of fat and flour are different. I've seen premade shortcrust pie doughs at places like Wholefoods but they are exorbitantly expensive. Much cheaper to make your own. It is a very forgiving dough too so if you are not practiced in the gentle art of pie crusts, this one will cut you some slack.

Jock
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post #8 of 20
11/15/06 at 6:29am
I'd bet that any good recipe for Pate Brisee would work in this situation.
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post #9 of 20
11/15/06 at 7:26am
Thread Starter 
so could I use the premade pie crust stuff?

also how about cornflour? is there such a thing, or is that australian for cornstarch before I go looking hither & yon?
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post #10 of 20
11/15/06 at 7:43am
Cornflour is what's known as cornmeal here in the US.
I'm sure you could use some premade pie crust for those little quiches and be satisfied with the result.
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post #11 of 20
11/15/06 at 8:01am
Thread Starter 
just the regular cornmeal that I use for cornbread, not something more finely ground? I was expecting to have to order something fancy...

I really like this book, but next time I think I need to look at the publisher...

Never occured to me, & so many of the recipes looked good, not just one or two like what is usually I find.

Thank you for the help.
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post #12 of 20
11/16/06 at 7:11am
Hiya Rzn, here in Au, cornflour would pretty much be your cornstarch (finely milled white powdery stuff, as opposed to polenta/cornmeal et al).

Let me know whom the Author/s of the book and i can get back to you on this, but it sounds very much like a short pastry (i.e high proportion of fat to flour) mixed very quickly. I can get a recipe, but Im a little unsure of the American equivalents.

You can always PM me too.

Regards

Nick
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post #13 of 20
11/16/06 at 8:13am
Thread Starter 
Editor: Wendy Stephen, Managing editor: Jane PRice
Food editor: Kathey Knudsen, Food director: Jody Vassallo

It's the Essential Finger Food Cookbook, originally published in NSW by Murdoch books. in the US by Thunder by press. Don't know if that helps.

Thank you for your offer. There is definatly a big difference between cornstarch & cornmeal. And of course I was noticing this stuff as I was looking through the cookbook, now that I am trying to find a specific example, I can't find the ones where it was used.

I also wouldn't mind your short pastry recipe if you don't mind parting with it, I can always figure out the conversions (I think) if I have to, but if I can't find the proper stuff pre-made at least then I can make it myself.
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post #14 of 20
11/16/06 at 5:09pm
Cornflour is the British/Austrailian equivalent of Cornstarch.

Jock
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post #15 of 20
11/16/06 at 5:56pm
Thread Starter 
thank you.
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post #16 of 20
11/16/06 at 6:04pm
Oops....my bad.
Sorry RZN
Thus another example of miscommunication even within the same language.
What do you call cornmeal in the Queen's English? My Welsh grandmother always called cornmeal, cornflour. Of course she always said "al-you-MIN-yum" for al-OO-min-um.
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post #17 of 20
11/17/06 at 7:44am
Thread Starter 
it's OK, I have an Australian friend who to this day (30 years later) is still embarassed about having asked our high school chemistry teacher for a "rubber" (eraser).

BTW the chem teacher was the 64 year old ex home-ec little old lady that got bumped when there were cut backs, nobody wanted to fire her, & the chem slot was open that year, so she was basically a year long sub.

My friend had just come over, no one had any idea what she was asking for, when it was finally figured out, the teacher told her the proper term was eraser, but was to mortifed to explain rubber, so a couple of her classmates got to do that later since she had no idea why the teacher was so embarassed...
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post #18 of 20
11/17/06 at 2:20pm
Rubber :lol: :lol: :lol: That's funny and I can totally relate.

I do not recall growing up ever seeing anything that came close to what we call cornmeal. These days in Britain you can buy Polenta which is a coarser grind of cornmeal but I believe cornmeal as we know it is still unheard of in Britain. I can't speak for Australia though.

Jock
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post #19 of 20
11/17/06 at 5:44pm

No, Cornflour in Oz is the equivalent of Cornstarch here.

Found my book...still looking...

April
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post #20 of 20
11/18/06 at 5:15am
To echo Jock, Cornflour is cornstarch - but, it depends what you are using it for.
The primary ingredient for cornflour over here is Wheat starch.
Yes you can get cornflour which is cornstarch (are you still with me?) but it is usually packaged as maize starch or maize-cornflour.:D If it is for baking, then the only issue is if the customer is a coeliac.
If it is for thickening a sauce, different starches have different properties and maize cornflour is more likely to undergo retrogradation than wheat starch (wheat cornflour). Don't worry I think this is only an Australian phenomenon!

Lets talk shortbread. Shortbread can be either sweet or savoury. In your case it is savoury and the confusion comes because the author should have used the term shortcrust. Foodnphoto is right, just use a pate brisee recipe. BTW sweet shortbread may also be referred to as sweetpaste or just good old shortbread. Most of these books are written by food editors/food stylists/home economists, so sometimes they can be innacurate in the wording.
Good luck!
;)
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