Basic Recipes > Shortcrust Pastry
4 level tablespoons lard
4 level tablespoons butter or margarine
pinch of salt
cold water
(see measure conversions for more information)
- Add the lard and the butter and chop it up roughly with a knife.
- With cool fingertips, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cold water and then, using a knife, mix lightly into a dough.
- Add a little more water if necessary but be careful not to add too much.
- The dough should not be sticky.
- Gently bring the dough into a ball by hand, gathering up any stray bits of dough.
- Leave to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours before using.
- To use, roll lightly with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.
Biscuit Crumb
Biscuit Pie
Choux
Cream
Flaky
Fleur
Hot Water Crust
Potato
Puff
Rough Puff
Suet Crust
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How to make shortcrust pastry:
Shortcrust pastry is the most common type of pastry, used for both sweet and savoury pies, tarts, pasties and quiches. The usual recipe is half the quantity of fat to flour. The higher the fat content the "shorter" or more crumbly the pastry. All the ingredients need to be kept cool and handled as little as possible.Ingredients
2 cups (8oz) plain flour4 level tablespoons lard
4 level tablespoons butter or margarine
pinch of salt
cold water
(see measure conversions for more information)
Method
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.- Add the lard and the butter and chop it up roughly with a knife.
- With cool fingertips, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cold water and then, using a knife, mix lightly into a dough.
- Add a little more water if necessary but be careful not to add too much.
- The dough should not be sticky.
- Gently bring the dough into a ball by hand, gathering up any stray bits of dough.
- Leave to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours before using.
- To use, roll lightly with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.
Here are links to our other pastry recipes:
Biscuit Crumb
Biscuit Pie
Choux
Cream
Flaky
Fleur
Hot Water Crust
Potato
Puff
Rough Puff
Suet Crust
If you have a question or comment relevant to this page, then please post it below.
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For an easy shortcrust pastry blend 2 cups high-grade flour with a pinch of salt and 125 grams of cold, diced butter in your food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs. This should happen quite quickly. You may need to stop the processor halfway and push the mixture down the sides and break up any solid mixture at the bottom of the processor to incorporate it. Then, with the motor still running add 1/2 cup cold water a bit at a time until the mixture clumps together in a ball. When it does this, stop the processor straight away and wrap the ball of dough in plastic cling film and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Pastry needs to be chilled to prevent shrinkage and toughness.
Good luck,
Tracey
I have tried it in my food mixer, my food processor, and by hand
and still I can not get it right
any advice on the above would be much appreciated.