BBC

Rubbing in

'Rubbing in' is a technique where flour is rubbed into a fat to make dishes such as shortcrust pastry, crumbles and scones.

-Using your fingertips, rub the flour and butter together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (fine or coarse, depending on the recipe).

-Lift the mixture up as you rub it in so that the air going through it keeps it cool.

-Shake the bowl every so often to bring the larger lumps of butter to the surface.

See recipe in full

Rich scones Rich scones

By Lesley Waters

Skill level

Easy

Equipment you will need for this technique

  • Mixing bowl

Quick recipe finder

Type the ingredients you want to use, then click Go. For better results you can use quotation marks around phrases (e.g. "chicken breast"). Alternatively you can search by chef, programme, cuisine, diet, or dish (e.g. Lasagne).

Related techniques

Easy

Intermediate

Other

See all cooking techniques