Shortcrust pastry recipe, that is most useful to have in your repertoire. This was one of the first things I learnt to make in cookery lessons at school. It has served me well!
There is always those occasions where you forget to buy ready made pastry, cannot afford it or have decided to make a recipe at the last moment. This recipe is for shortcrust pastry not dessert pastry which is sweeter and delicate.
The one golden rule with any pastry is to keep it cool, let is rest and don’t overwork it. Flour your surfaces and try and keep your hands as cool as possible. I naturally have quite cool hands, but in summer I like to have a few ice cubes in a bowl to rub my hands with. I take some cubes, hold them and then dry my hands off. This really helps with pastry making.
Shortcrust pastry recipe Ingredients
- 225 g Plain Flour
- 125 g cold butter in cubes
- 3-4 tbsp of cold water
Shortcrust pastry recipe method
When making pastry there are a couple of rules. One, pastry likes to be cool and two, it is best left to rest in the fridge for about 20 mins before rolling out. You will get the best results by adhering to these two tips as mentioned in the narrative above.
Sift the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the butter, rub in the butter with light fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Then add the cold water tablespoon by tablespoon until it comes together enough to handle briefly. Place on a cool plate and put in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Alternatively if you have a food processor you can use that. Place the flour and butter into the mixer and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs, and then add the water gradually into the spout until it comes together. Place on to a plate and refrigerate.
When you roll out the pastry, do it on a floured surface. Keep turning the pastry over as you roll to the required size. It is also best if you roll in one direction. If you are lining a tart tin, then another tip to give you ,is that once it has been rolled out and put in the tin, put it back in the fridge for another 20 minutes. This helps to stop the pastry shrinking when cooking