Making Proper Shortcrust Pastry
A good shortcrust shouldn't feel like a chore to eat. It should shatter the moment your fork touches it, providing a clean, buttery base for whatever filling you choose to house inside.
Cold ingredients are your only insurance policy.
If the fat melts before it hits the oven, you lose the layers that create the flake. Keep your butter in the fridge until the very last second.
- Large stainless steel mixing bowl
- Pastry cutter or two table knives
- Rolling pin
- Plastic wrap
- Pie dish or tart tin
What goes in.
- 250gall-purpose flour
- 125gunsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- 1 pinchfine sea salt
- 2-4 tbspice water
Stop before it becomes sand
Work the butter into the flour using your fingertips or a cutter until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs with a few pea-sized chunks of butter remaining. Those butter chunks are the secret to a flaky crust.
The method.
Mix dry ingredients
Sift flour and salt into the bowl. Add the cold butter cubes.
Cut the fat
Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour quickly. Keep the butter cold; if your hands are warm, run them under cold water first.
Bind with water
Add water one tablespoon at a time, mixing with a butter knife. Stop as soon as the dough starts to clump together. It should look shaggy, not like a smooth ball.
Chill and rest
Gather the dough into a disc, wrap it tightly in plastic, and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour. This allows the flour to hydrate and the gluten to relax.
Roll
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough from the center outwards. Rotate the dough a quarter turn after every few strokes to keep the thickness even.
Other turns to take.
Sweetened Crust
Add 30g of finely granulated sugar to the flour before adding the butter to pair with fruit-based tarts.
Herbed Crust
Stir a teaspoon of finely chopped fresh thyme or rosemary into the dry flour for a crust meant for quiches.
When it doesn't go to plan.
If the dough feels sticky while rolling, stop and put it back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Never stretch the dough into the tin; let it fall naturally against the sides to prevent it from shrinking during baking.
Use a fork to prick the base of the tart shell before blind baking to prevent large air bubbles from forming.
The ones that keep coming up.
Why is my pastry tough?
You likely over-worked the dough or added too much water. Minimal handling keeps the gluten strands short and the texture tender.
Can I make this in a food processor?
Yes, but use the pulse function only. Stop while the mixture is still crumbly, not a paste.
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