History
Louis Lefèvre-Utile was the son of the couple whose initials became LU, and in 1886 he put out a plain butter biscuit modelled on the English biscuits of the day, with a scalloped border and a stamped face. It took over. By the end of the century the Nantes works were turning out hundreds of kilos of biscuits a day and roughly a third of that was Petit-Beurre, and LU took the Grand Prix for biscuits at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The old central factories were demolished during the city's rebuilding, but the LU tower still stands beside the Cité des Congrès and is now the Lieu Unique arts centre. Production continues at La Haie-Fouassière.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 250g plain flour
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g good salted butter, softened (or unsalted plus 3g fine salt)
- 80ml whole milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon milk, to glaze
Method
- Warm the milk with the sugar until the sugar dissolves, then cool to lukewarm.
- Rub or beat the butter into the flour and baking powder until sandy, then pour in the sweetened milk and bring together into a smooth, firm dough. Do not knead it hard.
- Wrap and chill for at least an hour. The dough must be cold to keep its cut edge.
- Roll out on a floured surface to 3mm, no thicker. Cut into rectangles about 6cm by 4cm, notch the long sides with the back of a small knife or a fluted cutter, and prick a grid of holes across each biscuit with a fork so they stay flat.
- Brush with the yolk glaze, lay on a lined tray and bake at 180C for 10 to 12 minutes until evenly pale gold. Cool on a rack; they crisp as they cool.
Tip from the editors. The holes are not decoration: a short dough rolled this thin domes and blisters without them. Prick right through to the tray, and reroll offcuts only once.
Where to eat petit-beurre nantais
Petit-Beurre nantais in Nantes
Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Nantes. See where to eat Petit-Beurre nantais in Nantes or the Nantes signature dishes guide.
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