Makes 8 pieces
Preparation time 15 minutes, plus chilling
Cooking time 45–60 minutes
250 g (8 oz) plain flour
125 g (4 oz) rice flour or ground rice
125 g (4 oz) caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
pinch of salt
250 g (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
Sift the 2 flours (or flour and rice), sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips. When the mixture starts to bind, gather it with one hand into a ball. Knead it on a lightly floured surface to a soft, smooth, pliable dough.
Put the dough in a 20 cm (8 inch) flan ring set on a greased baking sheet. Press it out with your knuckles to fit the ring. Mark the shortbread into 8 pieces using the back of a knife. Prick right through to the baking sheet with a fork in a neat pattern. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before baking, to firm it up.
Bake in a preheated oven, 150°C (300°F), Gas Mark 2, for 45–60 minutes, or until the shortbread is a pale biscuit colour but still soft. Remove the shortbread from the oven and leave to cool and shrink before removing the ring, then dust lightly with caster sugar. When cold, cut into 8 pieces. It will keep, in an airtight container in a cool place, for a few days.
For cinnamon shortbread, sift 150 g (5 oz) plain flour, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 25 g (1 oz) ground rice into a bowl and stir in 50 g (2 oz) caster sugar. Rub in 125 g (4 oz) unsalted butter, then knead, shape, prick with a fork and chill as above. Bake in a preheated oven, 160°C (325°F), Gas Mark 3, for about 40 minutes or until pale golden. Leave on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.