Shortcrust Pastry

Home-made shortcrust pastry is perfect for all your savoury pies, tarts or quiches and it is made using only a handful of ingredients: flour, butter, salt, egg (optional) and water.

Shortcrust pastry doesn’t include leavening agents or sugar and once baked is flaky and crisp rather than puffed and layered.

This is an easy recipe and is best made by hand rather than in a food processor. We want to handle the dough as little as possible and keep it cold throughout the making of it. This way the dough won’t shrink so much and become tough after baking. Another important factor is resting the dough, it’s best to rest it after it’s made and then again once you have rolled it out and filled your baking form.

The French call this pastry pâte à foncer or pâte brisée, although the latter uses a slightly higher ratio of fat to flour, which makes the pastry a little richer in taste. Check out my variations section for the French version, pâte brisée.

While this recipe does contain egg, it is entirely optional. The egg aids in the richness and adds a little elasticity, I personally prefer to not use it when making a quiche as the custard already contains egg.

Here is a great recipe for this shortcrust pastry: asparagus and leek quiche.

If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and the other readers. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram. I love seeing what you come up with! 🙂

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RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS

• EASE: quick to make and is best made ahead.
• FREE FROM: this recipe is nut-free, check out my gluten-free and dairy-free options in the substitutions section.
• GREAT FOR: savoury pies, quiches, tarts and galettes.
• TASTE & TEXTURE: flaky, buttery, crispy savoury crust.
• QUANTITY: this recipe is enough to line a maximum of 25cm (10 inch) flan tin or eight 10cm (4 inch) tartlet tins.

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INGREDIENTS

For this recipe all you need are these ingredients:

• Plain or all-purpose flour – is ideal for the pastry as it does not contain high levels of gluten.

• Butter – gives the pastry a nice rich buttery taste and should be chilled to ensure the pastry dough remains cold to avoid overheating while mixing.

• Fine sea salt – enhances the ingredient flavours, bringing out the best characteristics of any recipe.  

• Egg or egg yolks – are completely optional for this recipe. They add richness and elasticity to the dough but are not fundamental to the dough working. A little extra water can be used in its place.

• Water (chilled is better) – helps to bring the dough together.

TIP: I highly recommend adding salt to your doughs and pastry. Salt helps balance out the sweetness and richness. It also elevates the other ingredients, bring out the best characteristics of any recipe. I recommend Maldon Sea salt flakes or Cornish sea salt.

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SUBSTITUTIONS

While I am making recommendations for alternative ingredients, I haven’t necessarily tried them. If you try making any adaptions, I would love to know how you get on and share it with the other readers.

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION

• Flour: replace the gluten flour with a 1:1 alternative gluten free flour, such as Doves Farm Free plain gluten free flour. If possible, choose a flour which contains xanthan gum or alternatively, add 1 tsp to your batter for stability. You can also try Doves Farm gluten free self-raising flour.

VEGAN OPTIONS

• Butter: I recommend Naturli vegan block or Flora plant-based block butter alternative.

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WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

• Using alternative fat – such as lard was a method often used by my grandmother. The lard creates a better texture although the flavour won’t be quite as rich as when using only butter. A common way around this is to use 50 / 50 split of both butter and lard.

• Pâte Brisée – is simple to make just follow the recipe, increasing the butter quantity to 160g. You may need less water so add slowly until it comes together into a ball.

• Flavouring – can be added by using dried herbs in the pastry such as thyme or rosemary.

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NUTRITION

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STORAGE AND FREEZING

This dough will keep well for up to 5 days, wrapped well in the fridge.

Freezing: Once prepared this dough can be wrapped in clingfilm and frozen for up to 2 months.

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TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Here is a list of some kitchen equipment that I use and recommend for this recipe.

• Earthenware Mixing Bowl Mason Cash, Cream 29 cm Chip Resistant.

I like the sturdiness of this bowl and its 4 litre capacity means I can use it for mixing just about everything in the kitchen. It is also microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe.

• Mixing Bowls Set of 5, Stainless Steel Nesting Bowls with Airtight Lids, 3 Grater Attachments, Size 5, 3, 2, 1.5, 0.63 QT

These different size mixing bowls are really useful depending on the amount of food you are preparing. They also have airtight lids that fit snugly to seal and keep food fresh, so this set can be used as dry storage bowls with lids on. The plastic lid of the largest bowl has a removable centre. Where one of 3 graters can be used.

• 3 Plastic Mixing Bowls, Non-Slip Base, Soft Grip Handle, Microwave and Dishwasher Safe, Compact, Stackable, Ideal for baking and cooking, off-white, 1.5 Litre, 2 Litre, 2.5 Litre.

I do own a plastic mixing bowl but I am personally not a big fan of them. These 3 bowls are on the smaller size but good for the odd cake making.

• Measuring Spoons Set, Magnetic Stainless Steel

These measuring spoons are really handy for getting the right measurements of those small ingredients. I also like the fact that they are magnetic, sticking together and narrow to fit into spice jars.

• Rolling Pin with Removable Silicone Thickness Guide Rings, Beech Wood (40 x 3.9 cm)

I love this rolling pin, its variable guide rings make rolling out biscuit doughs, pizzas, or flat breads so much easier!

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TIP: I highly recommend using metric measurements and a digital kitchen scale, rather than cup measurements. If you have ever ended up with dry, dense or crumbly baked goods, it might be because of inaccurate volume measurements, not all measuring cups are made equally. All my recipes on this blog are carefully developed so that you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success, using metric measurements. It is also a lot easier, less messy and you will get far better, consistent results. 🙂
If you are interested in understanding conversions, here you will find the best conversion chart.

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RECIPE TIPS

The golden rule of making shortcrust pastry is to keep the ingredients, equipment, and your hands as cool as possible. With this in mind, gather together all your equipment and weigh all the ingredients before you begin. 

Don’t skip resting the dough. This will allow the gluten in the dough to relax, making it easier to roll and decrease the amount of shrinking during baking.

Make sure to use flour that is low in gluten (proteins). Plain or cake flour are usually the best, alternatively 00 is good.

To get a really crisp bottom on your tart shell, place a heavy baking tray in the oven while it is heating up, then place the tart or pie directly on it.

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