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Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and is used to make crumbly pastry and other food products. The idea of shortening dates back to at least the 18th century, well before the invention of modern, shelf-stable vegetable shortening. [1] In the earlier centuries, lard was the primary ingredient used to shorten dough. [2]
Unlike butter, shortening does not melt or spread much. If you like a cookie somewhere in the middle of flat and cakey, use a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio of butter to shortening.
Because of the relatively large fat crystals in lard, it is extremely effective as a shortening in baking. Pie crusts made with lard tend to be flakier than those made with butter. Many cooks employ both types of fat in their pastries to combine the shortening properties of lard with the flavor of butter. [6] [44] [45]
This method cuts solid fat (whether lard, butter, or vegetable shortening) into flour and other dry ingredients using a food processor, pastry blender, or two hand-held forks. [10] The layering from this process gives rise and adds flakiness as the folds of fat melt during baking.
During the “creaming” process of mixing, butter, sugar, and eggs are beaten together to aerate dough, which helps to keep your cookies from becoming too dense.
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Fat (as lard, shortening, butter or traditional margarine) is rubbed into plain flour to create a loose mixture that is then bound using a small amount of ice water, rolled out, then shaped and placed to create the top or bottom of a pie. Often, equal amounts of butter and lard are used to make the pastry, ensuring that the combined weight of ...
In the case of butter, most baking recipes call for unsalted and include a separate measurement of added salt—that’s because the amount of salt can vary between butter brands. Using unsalted ...