Know Your Pastry
Cooking Skills: Pastry 1
Chapter 1 · Know Your Pastry
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The basics
Shortcrust is the everyday pastry for pies and tarts. It has just four things: flour, fat, a little water and salt. The classic ratio is 2 parts flour to 1 part fat by weight (200 g flour to 100 g fat), with about 3 to 4 tablespoons of cold water. In the mixing, fat coats the flour grains and stops water joining the proteins into long, stretchy gluten strands. That is what makes the pastry short (crumbly and tender) rather than chewy.
Cold is the main skill. Cold fat stays in small pieces until the oven, where it melts and leaves tiny gaps, so the pastry is light. Warm fat smears into the flour and gives a greasy, hard pastry. Butter gives flavour; lard or white vegetable fat gives crispness and is more forgiving; a half-and-half mix gives both. Quiche and savoury custards are in Cooking Skills: Eggs 2, chapter 4, which uses a pastry case like these.
The method
- Cut cold fat into small cubes and chill the flour and bowl if the kitchen is warm.
- Rub the fat into the flour with the tips of your fingers, lifting to add air, until it looks like breadcrumbs with a few pea-sized bits.
- Add cold water a spoonful at a time, mixing with a knife, until the dough just comes together. Too much water makes it tough.
- Press into a flat disc, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, so the gluten relaxes and the fat firms up.
- Handle as little as you can. Overworked pastry shrinks in the oven and bakes hard.
| Pastry | Fat | Flavour and texture | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain shortcrust | Butter, or butter and lard | Light, crumbly, buttery | Pies, tarts, quiche |
| Food-processor shortcrust | Butter | As plain, faster | Quick bakes in a warm kitchen |
| Cheese pastry | Butter and cheese | Savoury, rich, golden | Straws, savoury tarts |
| Wholemeal pastry | Butter | Nutty, a little denser | Rustic pies, pasties |
Cold and warm kitchens: pastry hates heat. If the kitchen is hot, chill the bowl, the flour and the butter, work quickly, and put the dough back in the fridge whenever it turns soft and sticky.
Allergens: pastry contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter); egg washes contain egg. Use a plant block fat for a dairy-free version, and note that gluten-free flour needs a different method.
Try it
Plain shortcrust by hand
Rubbing in by hand teaches you what pastry should feel like. Use your fingertips, not your palms, which are too warm. Stop as soon as the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Ingredients (1 batch)
- 200 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 100 g cold unsalted butter, cubed (or 50 g butter and 50 g lard)
- 3 tbsp cold water, plus a little more if needed
- Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips for 3 to 5 minutes, lifting the mixture as you go, until it looks like breadcrumbs.
- Add the water a spoonful at a time, stirring with a knife until the dough clumps. Squeeze a handful: it should hold together without being sticky.
- Press into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes before rolling.
Allergens: pastry contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter); egg washes contain egg. Use a plant block fat for a dairy-free version, and note that gluten-free flour needs a different method.
Shortcrust in a food processor
A processor is quick and keeps the fat cold, which is good in a warm kitchen. The risk is going too far: pulse in short bursts and stop the moment the dough begins to clump.
Ingredients (1 batch)
- 200 g plain flour
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 100 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 3 tbsp ice-cold water
- Pulse the flour, salt and butter for 10 to 15 seconds until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
- Add the water through the funnel and pulse in 1-second bursts until the dough just starts to form clumps.
- Tip onto a worktop, press into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Raw dough and raw flour: raw flour and raw egg can carry germs, so don't taste raw pastry or filling that contains raw egg or raw meat. Wash hands, bowls and the worktop afterwards, and keep tasting for the cooked result.
Cheese pastry
Cheese and a pinch of mustard powder turn plain shortcrust into a golden, savoury pastry that suits straws, savoury tarts and pie lids. Use a strong cheese; a mild one gets lost. Grate it finely so it blends in.
Ingredients (1 batch)
- 200 g plain flour
- 1 pinch fine salt
- ½ tsp English mustard powder
- 100 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 75 g mature Cheddar, finely grated
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp cold water
- Rub the butter into the flour, salt and mustard powder until like breadcrumbs, then stir in the cheese.
- Add the egg yolk and the water a spoonful at a time, mixing until the dough clumps.
- Press into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6).
Allergens: pastry contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter); egg washes contain egg. Use a plant block fat for a dairy-free version, and note that gluten-free flour needs a different method.
Allergens: contains egg, milk and mustard.
Wholemeal pastry
Wholemeal flour has bran, which cuts gluten and soaks up more water, so the pastry is nutty, a little crumbly and needs a bit more liquid. Mixing wholemeal with white gives the best balance and is easier to roll.
Ingredients (1 batch)
- 100 g wholemeal flour
- 100 g plain flour
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 110 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 4 tbsp cold water, plus more if needed
- Mix the flours and salt and rub in the butter until like breadcrumbs.
- Add the water a spoonful at a time until the dough comes together. It should feel slightly damper than white pastry.
- Press into a disc, wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes, so the bran softens, before rolling.
Allergens: pastry contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter); egg washes contain egg. Use a plant block fat for a dairy-free version, and note that gluten-free flour needs a different method.
Experiments
Butter, lard or a mix
Flavour and crispness.
- Make small batches with all butter, all lard and half and half, and bake a strip of each at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 12 minutes.
Look for: Butter tastes best and browns well; lard is the crispest and shortest; the mix gives a good balance of both.
Cold water against warm
Gluten.
- Mix two small batches, one with ice-cold water and one with warm tap water, and roll out both.
Look for: The warm-water dough is sticky, tough and shrinks when baked; the cold one is crumbly and rolls well. Use ice-cold water.
Rested or not
Relaxing the dough.
- Roll a piece straight after mixing and a piece after 30 minutes in the fridge, and bake both.
Look for: The unrested one shrinks and curls; the rested one holds its shape. Chilling is not optional.
A lot or a little handling
Overworking.
- Knead one piece of dough for a minute, and leave another barely touched, then bake both.
Look for: The kneaded dough turns tough, dense and shrinks. The lightly handled one is tender and crisp.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain shortcrust | ||||
| Food-processor shortcrust | ||||
| Cheese pastry | ||||
| Wholemeal pastry | ||||
| Butter, lard or a mix | ||||
| Cold water against warm | ||||
| Rested or not | ||||
| A lot or a little handling |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dough too crumbly to roll | Not enough water | Sprinkle on a teaspoon of cold water and press together |
| Dough sticky | Too much water or fat warm | Chill for 20 minutes; dust lightly with flour |
| Tough, hard pastry | Too much water or overworked | Use less water and handle gently next time |
| Greasy pastry | Butter warm and smeared in | Chill everything and work faster |
| Shrinks in the oven | Stretched when rolling, or not rested | Roll without stretching, and chill the lined tin for 20 minutes |
| Pale pastry | Oven too cool, or no wash | Bake hotter, and brush with egg or milk |
Raw dough and raw flour: raw flour and raw egg can carry germs, so don't taste raw pastry or filling that contains raw egg or raw meat. Wash hands, bowls and the worktop afterwards, and keep tasting for the cooked result.
Keeping and freezing: raw pastry keeps in the fridge for about 2 days wrapped tightly, and freezes for about 3 months (general guidance). Cooked pies and tarts keep for about 2 days chilled; reheat pies until steaming hot all the way through, and freeze cooked pies for no more than about 2 to 3 months.
- I know what flour, fat, water and cold do.
- I can rub fat into flour to breadcrumbs.
- I can add water a spoonful at a time.
- I know why pastry is rested.
- I can make shortcrust by hand and by machine.