Shortcrust pastry is great for making pies, tarts or quiches. I use the same method every time to make this pastry so, rather than repeating myself in each post, I’ve put together a more detailed explanation of making shortcrust pastry by hand. This is the method I was taught at Patisserie school. It’s a quick method and there is no danger of overworking the flour. The method below is for sweet shortcrust pastry and makes enough pastry for four individual tartlets.
Ingredients
- 200g plain flour
- 50g caster sugar
- 100g unsalted butter
- a pinch of salt
- 1 medium egg
To start with, use your fingertips to rub together the flour, sugar, salt and the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg to the bowl and roughly mix everything together. Tip the contents of the bowl onto a clean work surface.
Use the heel of your hand to push a small amount of the mix away from you and against the work surface. Then repeat with another small amount of the mix. Repeat until you have worked through the whole dough.
Then, use a dough scraper to bring all the dough back together and start again, pushing a small amount of the mixture away from you at a time. Repeat this method until a smooth dough forms.
Then wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge, ideally for at least an hour. Once the dough has chilled, you can roll out to use however you like. Easy!
