TINY SALTY TEA BISCUITS - SÓS APRÓ TEASÜTEMÉNY

Before potato chips burst onto the market these tasty morsels used to be the quintessential appetizers at large gatherings, home parties and even at modest wedding banquets at restaurants. Much like mine was many years ago in Budapest, with close family at a good, but not overly posh restaurant.

Coffee houses used to sell them by the kilo, they were good and reasonably priced. Nobody I knew would even think of making them. It might be different now; the last time I visited the old country was back in 1990. 

These are extremely simple to make and they last well... if they last. It is best to make the dough in a stand mixer, avoid touching the dough by hand. I didn’t get too fancy with the shaping, but you can cut rounds, half moons and triangles. The topping can vary: different types of seeds, caraway and poppy or various types of grated cheese will give them an entirely different flavour. 

TINY SALTY TEA BISCUITS

3/4 cup butter

2 cups flour

1 tsp instant yeast

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sour cream + 1 Tbsp

1 egg for brushing, lightly beaten

1/8 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup grated parmesan

• Combine the butter with flour and yeast in a stand mixer.
• Don’t whip, knead or over mix. Make sure the beater is on slow speed at all times.
• Add the egg yolks, sour cream and the salt and stir to combine.
• On lightly floured cutting board, roll the dough into a ball.
• Press down and shape into a square about the thickness of your fingers.
• Brush with egg and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Dough should be stiff but not fully frozen.
• Meanwhile turn the oven to 450F and line a rimless cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove the stiff dough and place it onto the prepared cookie sheet.
• Divide the dough in two parts for two types of toppings. I used sesame seeds and grated parmesan.
• Again, brush with egg yolk and douse the tops with the toppings. 
• Shake off the excess toppings and with a sharp chef’s knife cut into squares or rods or any other shape desired. The most economical shapes are squares and rods.
• Separate the biscuits leaving a little room for expansion.
• Bake the biscuits in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Note: the original recipe called for an inordinate amount of salt, I reduced it by half and still I found the biscuits too salty. The second time I only used 3/4 tsp and it was perfect.

There are endless recipes of salty tea biscuits, the following video shows the process really well.