specialities: a lesson on cut-out biscuits

ok, preheat your oven to 180°C, then get on to setting up. if you have put the dough in the refrigerator overnight, you might want to take some of the chill off by placing it in the vegetable compartment for half an hour, or else rolling the dough may present problems.
you need a clean counter, a roller, some flour, and cookie cutters of various shapes. i simply used a bench scraper because i wanted to cut them free-hand into wedges.

now, lightly dust the work surface and rolling pin with flour - lightly being the operative word. you don't want to incorporate too much flour into the dough during the rolling process as this will toughen it up.

place one slab of dough on the counter and leave the other in the refrigerator until done with the first. roll the dough evenly until about 0.5cm thick. because i wanted to cut them into wedges, i chose to start off with the dough in a square shape; it's more convenient to roll into a big rectangle that way, hence allowing maximum use of the dough from the first roll.

as i said before, you should aim to cut as many biscuits as you can from the first roll - i tried my re-rolled biscuits, and they really are much tougher. if using a cookie cutter, dip it in flour before stamping the dough. stamp the entire piece of dough before taking the cut pieces out one by one.

one tip: do not twist the cutter after you stamp it in, as what people might teach you to do. this can distort the surrounding biscuits. just stamp it in, and lift the cutter up vertically; if you find the dough begins to stick on your cutter as you lift it up, you need to dip the cutter in flour again.
i used my bench scraper to cut the dough into wedges. (i decided to make bars with my second slab of dough because it would really maximise the use of the first roll.) i also pricked them with a toothpick to give a shortbread look.

after cutting up your dough, use a bench scraper to lift the pieces one by one onto the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each piece. the dough should not spread much during baking, so the spaces can be quite small; doing so will also allow you to bake as many biscuits in one batch as possible - you don't want to leave the dough out in the open for too long either. the cut dough should detach from the counter without sticking too much, and without being warped easily. otherwise, it means the dough has become too warm - aim to work in a cool environment. also, sweaty palms is your enemy: stay calm and work steadily.

now, bake the biscuits for 8-12 minutes. i honestly haven't been able to follow this timing given by nigella. often i take up to 18 minutes. really, go by eye - the biscuits should be golden at the edges when they are done.

while the first batch is baking, gather the scrap dough left over from the first cutting and roll into a ball, pat into a small disc, and refrigerate for some time.
when the first batch has finished baking, take the baking sheet out and leave on a wire rack to cool. now is a good time to start working on the scrap dough. repeat the same rolling and cutting process for this scrap dough. this time, try to finish using all the dough, because, really, if you gather the scraps and roll them yet again, the biscuits won't be tender anymore. you'll also find that the scrap dough is softer and warps more easily as you handle it (see photo above) - that's because with each thawing and refrigerating, it becomes wetter.

so, i say again: i cut the dough into wedges and bars so that there is minimal scrap dough. it is more economical, culinarily speaking, than using fancy cutters.

because there is a limit to how many you can bake at one go, and because you don't want to leave the cut dough out in the open for too long (condensation and softening), work with the dough in separate small batches instead of one big block. that is, take out the second slab to use only after you are completely done with your first slab. that's why if you decide to make up a big batch to store in deep freeze, store in separately wrapped discs, not as an entire block.

after all the biscuits have cooled completely, use a fork to gently push and release them from the baking sheet. take extra care with if you've used fancy cutter with small tails/curls/swirls - these biscuits tend to break at slim joints.
i know the biscuits are not identical in size and shape; their edges are not smooth but quite rugged; the pricks are not evenly distributed; the sides of the bars are not perfectly parallel; the triangles are not exactly right triangles. but that's ok. even sonya, queen of 45° and the parallel world, would approve.

that's because they're hand-made.