Easy Basic Shortcrust Pastry

What do pies, tarts, quiches, cheesecakes, and pie bars all have in common? If you answered they all have a pastry base, you'd be correct! Ok, technically some of those items don’t necessarily have to have a crust, but work with me here.

I've written about making a basic pie crust, using shortbread as a pie bar (aka slab pie) base, and graham-cracker crusts for cheesecake. It's now time to talk about how to make a basic shortcrust pastry.

What you need

Shortcrust pastry (aka short crust pastry or just short pastry) at its core is an enriched pie crust. That is to say pie crust that has an egg whisked into the liquid before adding it to the flour and butter mixture. If “enriched” sounds familiar, that’s because we use the term to describe scones…they’re just enriched biscuits. And challah is enriched bread dough. I love parallelisms.

Since pie crust and shortcrust pastry are so closely related, the ingredient list shouldn’t surprise you: it's just flour, salt, sugar (for sweet recipes), and a fat. Adding a little bit of acid (lemon juice or vinegar) helps tenderize the dough. Don't worry, you won't be tasting it so it won't matter which acid you choose.

The egg yolk adds sturdiness to the crust (as a binding agent) and richness without sacrificing flakiness.

The fat used in making shortcrust dough could be butter (my choice), vegetable shortening (like Crisco), lard (many people's choice), or something else entirely. I've seen recipes with coconut oil (to make it vegan), and I've used rendered beef or chicken fat on occasion (for savory dishes).

By the way, if you're looking for ways to use a weekly sourdough starter discard, here's my recipe for Sourdough Shortcrust Pastry. It's great for savory pies and tarts, adding a little extra touch of tang to your recipe.

How to make shortcrust pastry

Step 1: Make a shaggy dough

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar (if using), and salt.

Grate frozen butter with a box grater and toss it directly onto the flour mixture, mixing it up as you go. After all the butter is grated, use a pastry blender to cut it into the flour until coarse, pea-sized crumbs appear. If you prefer to use chilled butter instead of frozen, cut it into small cubes and toss it into the flour, then blend it into the flour as usual.

Whisk the ice water, egg yolk, and lemon juice or vinegar together. Add to the dough and mix until the dough just holds together (photo 1).

You can use a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a food processor to make the dough. Just be mindful to pulse the ingredients quickly so as not to overwork the dough. You want that butter to stay cold and to keep the flour from developing too much gluten so the crust will be flaky.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and push together into a rough ball. Knead a few times to combine. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers. If it is very crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time (photo 2).

Divide the dough into two equal balls (keep it whole if you're making a large tart). Flatten each ball into a disk with smooth edges, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to overnight. You want that butter to get cold again from all that manipulation.

Step 2: Roll out the dough

If you refrigerate the dough for more than 30 minutes, you may have to rest it for a few minutes at room temperature before it will be soft enough to roll out.

Lightly dust your rolling surface with flour. Use even pressure to roll the dough out front to back and on the diagonals. Turn and loosen the dough occasionally as you continue to roll the pastry out into a circle about 2 inches larger than your pan with a thickness of approximately ¼-inch (about the height of two stacked quarters), unless otherwise directed by your recipe.

Step 3: Transfer the dough to the pan

Transfer the dough to the pan you're using. Here I'm using a 9-inch tart pan.

Ease the crust into the pan, pressing up on the sides and leaving the dough overhanging the rim (photo 4). Don't forget to save the dough scraps to repair the crust later if needed.

• For a tart pan: Use your rolling pin to roll over the rim to create a neat edge.
• For a pie pan: Trim the overhang to 1-inch, then turn the overhang inward and crimp as desired.

Step 4: How to blind bake the crust

You can blind bake your shortcrust pastry without pie weights. I learned this trick from Smitten Kitchen for successfully blind bake pie dough and shortcrust pastry: freeze the crust in its pan tightly covered with foil. You don't need to use pie weights or dried beans using this frozen-foil method (photo 5).

1. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork.
2. Tear off a piece of foil that fits over the entire pan with overhang (or add extra foil as needed).
3. Spray the foil with baking spray to keep it from sticking to the dough.
4. Press the foil into the pan and tightly up against the sides. Bring the foil up over the rim and mold it to the sides of the pan.
5. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.
6. Bake the crust with the foil on for 20 minutes. At this point the crust is par-baked.
7. Carefully remove the foil from the crust. If the crust has puffed up, gently press it back down. Any tears or cracks in the crust can be repaired with dough scraps. Return the crust to the oven and bake the crust until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more.

There you have it. No more slumping sides or messing around with dried beans. Oh, and the leftover egg white can be whisked with a teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt for use as an egg wash before par-baking. It won’t result in quite as golden a crust as a whole-egg wash, but it’s a great way to avoid waste.

I'm all in for that!

Questions asked and answered

Here are some questions you might have...

Pro tip: Make mini tartlets

For mini tartlets (like these Two-Bite Lemon Tartlets), spray the cups of two mini muffin pans with baking spray. Roll out the chilled shortcrust pastry and cut rounds using a 2½-inch round cookie cutter. Using a pastry dough tart tamper, push the rounds into the muffin pan cups.

Chill the dough for 15 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the refrigerator to firm up (you don’t want slumped tartlet shells). Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F for par-baked shells or 20 minutes for fully baked shells. Allow to cool before proceeding with filling.

A versatile pastry crust

This easy shortcrust pastry is buttery, flaky, and delicious. It's sturdy enough to hold up a large free-standing tart (like this quiche), and works well for personal-sized mini tarts.

Shortcrust pastry dough can be frozen in an airtight bag after shaping into disks and wrapping with plastic wrap. Just defrost the dough overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding with rolling it out. It can also be frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in an airtight bag, before starting the blind baking process.

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