Description
Crumbly, buttery shortcrust pastry delivers classic British baking magic with simple ingredients and effortless technique. Professional bakers and home cooks alike can master this versatile pastry base that elevates pies, tarts, and sweet treats with delightful, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 1 cup (145g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (1 stick or 114g) cold unsalted butter, diced
Base/Seasoning Ingredients:
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Liquid Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Sift flour and salt together in a spacious mixing bowl, ensuring even distribution of ingredients.
- Use a pastry cutter or cold fingertips to incorporate butter into the flour mixture, creating a texture resembling rough, uneven breadcrumbs.
- Gradually drizzle ice-cold water over the mixture, gently folding and pressing until the dough just begins to cohesively bind without becoming overworked.
- Gather the fragile dough and shape into a compact disc, avoiding excessive handling that might develop gluten and toughen the pastry.
- Encase the dough tightly in plastic wrap, allowing it to rest and relax in the refrigerator for a minimum of 120 minutes, which helps prevent shrinkage during baking.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and let it soften slightly at ambient temperature for approximately 10 minutes to prevent cracking during rolling.
- Dust work surface generously with flour and roll the pastry into a thin, even circle about 1/8 inch thick, rotating periodically to maintain uniform thickness.
- Carefully transfer the rolled pastry into a 9-inch tart pan, gently pressing into corners and trimming excess edges with a sharp knife.
- Return the lined pan to the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes to stabilize the butter and prevent shrinkage during baking.
Notes
- Cold ingredients ensure a flaky, tender crust by preventing the butter from melting too quickly during preparation.
- Minimal handling prevents gluten development, keeping the pastry delicate and preventing a tough texture.
- Chilling the dough twice helps relax the gluten and solidifies butter, creating beautiful layers and preventing shrinkage during baking.
- For a vegan version, replace butter with cold coconut oil or dairy-free margarine to maintain the same tender, crumbly texture.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks, Appetizer, Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 717 kcal
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 11 mg
- Fat: 59 g
- Saturated Fat: 37 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 22 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 49 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 76 mg