Aberdeen Butteries

Introduction & method

Aberdeen butteries, also known as rowies or Scottish croissants are like a cross between a breakfast roll and a croissant and they are delicious. One of Scotland's best-kept secrets - you must try them!

Make the dough

Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast, then slowly add the water. You might not need all the water - stop adding it when the dough comes together in a ball. Tip it out onto a floured worktop and knead for about 10 minutes until it's smooth and elastic. Place it in a bowl, drizzle oil over it, cover with plastic film and leave in a warm place for an hour or two until it has doubled in volume.

Laminate with fat

Make sure your butter and lard are at room temperature. Cut the fats into small pieces and mix them together with a fork. Flour the worktop and tip out the risen dough. Roll it into a rectangle that is 3 times longer than it is wide. Spread one quarter of the butter on the lower two-thirds of the dough. Fold the top, unbuttered section of dough down over the middle buttered part. Lift the lower buttered part over the top of the middle segment (dazed and confused? Watch the video!). Rotate it 90 degrees and roll it out into a 3 x 1 rectangle. Repeat the butter and folding process three more times until all the butter is used up. If the fat is getting too hot at any point, place the dough in the fridge or freezer to cool down.

Form the butteries

Tidy the dough into a neat square about 1 cm (half an inch) thick. Divide it into 4 small squares, then divide each small square into 2 triangles. You can make your butteries any shape you like - square, rectangle, circle etc - but I prefer triangles. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper sprinkled with rice flour, semolina or polenta and place your butteries on it. Leave space between them because they will expand. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise again.

Bake the butteries

Heat your oven to 180°C (356°F) for a fan/convection oven or airfryer, 200°C (392°F) conventional, gas 6. Put the butteries in and bake for 15-18 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Butteries are eaten for breakfast, maybe with some jam on top (not inside, apparently). They're also great with cullen skink, the fabulous Scottish fish soup.

The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Aberdeen Butteries on YouTube.

Cullen Skink

Print This Recipe

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Ingredients & Info

250 grams strong white bread flour

175 ml lukewarm water

1 tsp active dried yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

140 grams unsalted butter

50 grams lard

Makes 8
Prep time: 15 minutes.
Proving time: 2 hours.
Cooking time: 18 minutes.
Total time: 2 hours 33 minutes.

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