Basic Short-Crust Pastry Recipe (2024)

By David Tanis

Basic Short-Crust Pastry Recipe (1)

Total Time
About 10 minutes, plus chilling
Rating
5(863)
Notes
Read community notes

Regarding this basic short-crust pastry: the dough takes just 10 minutes to make, so resist the temptation to buy that pre-made crust from the refrigerator case. Homemade pastry always tastes better. Make it the day before. You can even roll it out, line the tart pan and keep it frozen until you’re ready to bake.

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Ingredients

Yield:One 9 and ½-inch tart crust

  • 145grams all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1stick cold unsalted butter (¼ pound), cut in ⅛-inch pieces
  • 3tablespoons ice water

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

1268 calories; 93 grams fat; 58 grams saturated fat; 4 grams trans fat; 24 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 95 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 658 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Basic Short-Crust Pastry Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Put flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor. Add butter and quickly cut it into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal.

  2. Add ice water and mix briefly, about 30 seconds, to form a soft dough. Remove dough, shape into a thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring to cool room temperature before rolling.

  3. Step

    3

    To roll, lightly flour dough and counter. Roll out gradually, periodically letting dough rest for a moment before continuing. This makes rolling easier and will keep dough from shrinking back during baking.

  4. Step

    4

    Roll dough to a thin round approximately 13 inches in diameter, then trim to make a 12-inch circle (refrigerate and save trimmings for patching). Lay dough loosely into a 9½-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom, letting it relax a bit. Fold overlap back inside to make a double thickness, then press firmly against the pan so the finished edge is slightly higher than the pan. Refrigerate or freeze for an hour before pre-baking.

Ratings

5

out of 5

863

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Neiko

This recipe is wrong. I've been making this crust for years.1-1/4 cups of all purpose flour1 stick of ice cold butter cut in small pieces1/4 cup ice cold waterPulse flour&salt in food processor about 4 pulses. Then add butter, pulse until flour feels almost like sand. Start processor& slowly add water until mixture comes together. Dough will feel like clay. Kneed dough 2 or 3 times on a lightly floured surface. Form a disk wrap in plastic& chill for 30 minutes before using.

Tara

Made this today with the quiche with herbs recipe. Weighing the flour is KEY on this. Thank you for those that noted that in their comments. The flour amount is definitely more than a cup. With weighing the flour this recipe came out perfectly! This will be my go-to quiche crust from now on. It is heavenly!

Evelyn from Maine

This came out perfect. I pressed the dough into the side of the tart pan and had no problem with the sides collapsing. The baking time was not listed in this recipe and the recipe I was using said to bake at 375 for 10 minutes which was too short. I suggest baking at hotter temp (425).

Tina

The flour measurement is way off. Needs at least a quarter cup more, or more. I followed the directions to a T, and with one cup of flour, the "dough" was more like batter. Very disappointing. I added more flour and finally got it to be a ball. Will see how it bakes up.

Michelle

One cup of flour is equivalent to 120 grams, so 145 grams is going to be a little more than a cup. Probably best to weigh the flour rather than rely on a measuring cup to ensure the proper flour to butter ratio.

drs

Made this, along with the quiche today. Delicious! Weighed the flour; proportions were correct. Once pastry was placed in tart pan, covered with parchment paper and filled with pie weights. Shrinkage was minimal.

Brian

DO NOT USE this recipe. The ratio is completely off. There should be about double the flour such that there are coated grains of butter. I used this and had to throw out over $5 in ingredients.

Shaila M

Despite my misgivings (followed weights and methods to a T, but dough was still very soft), it actually turned out fine. I worked in probably an additional 1/4 cup of flour when rolling it out and that helped. It took forever to blind-bake, even at 425 F, because it was still pretty soft (I ended up doing 20 mins with pie beans and 10 mins without to crisp up the bottom). But it held up to juicy fresh peaches with no soggy bottoms - take that, Mary Berry!

Werewindle

Pie weights. Ball bearings or -- my favorite -- dried beans. For a tart, I fill the tart pan all the way to the top to keep the sides from collapsing.

Cedarglen

This is my Go-To formula. With processor I make 2x batch and use large pan(s). Chill for a full day and roll gently. For Extra Rich, also use ~ 1/2 cup more nearly frozen Unsalted Butter (1/4 for single.) OK to freeze for ?months. Rules: COLD flour, nearly frozen butter and Iced water. At every step, keep it COLD! Especially good for (broken key) uiche. Start COLD and keep it COLD; No hands in dough, ever!-C.

margaret

Should mention pie weights for those of us who never make our own crusts. This is a serious omission in the recipe.

Athena

Weighing the ingredients produced a beautiful result. I only refrigerated for 30 minutes then rolled, baked (with weights) for 15min at 425F, then added a quiche filling. AMAZING!

pre bake instructions

Bake chilled dough in a 9 ½-inch tart pan at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Patch any small holes with leftover dough. Cool.

bg

Made exactly as written and it turned out beautifully! I was a little anxious by the ratio too, but it's a perfect short crust recipe. Made two of the three quiches in the article & they're great too, though I bump up the herbs because I love all that fresh counter to the rich crust & dairy :)

marymc

Strange. It works for me really well. It stands up to quiche.

Lola

terrible recipe. WEIGHING everything is key - this crust came our hard and icky. I used a BBC recipe and weiged everything - use the ratio of 1:2 fat to flour. food processor fat and flour until bread crumb stage, add salt and pulse, add water till JUST coming together. Turn out onto a board and gather into a disk and refrigerate at least 2 hours - pref overnight. This crust came out tender and rich and was totally perfect for my curried salmon hand-pies.

disaster

I knew I should have added pie weights and did not because the recipe didn’t mention. Ugh complete collapse of sides. Rolled out nicely though so I’m sad it will likely go in the bin. Use pie weights or leave your edges overhanging to trim after the bake!!!

Deborah

This was the best crust I have ever made. I weighed the flour. It needed pie weights to keep from puffing up.

:made w panko it burned , needed binder as , others great tips said dont rinse the pototes -

Put plastic wrap so it can support edges of Doug , and found on T o disc you have roll out dough onto !

katie

1 cup of all purpose flour (properly measured) weighs 120 g. Follow the weight measurements or else plan to use more flour (scant 1 1/4 cup should do).

Dove

We made a gluten-freen and vegan version of this short crust pastry and it turned out perfectly. Weighed everything and used 145 g of Bob's Red Mills Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Flour and 4 oz of Miyoko's Vegan Cultured Butter. Mixed with a food processor. Pre-baked the crust at 375 for 15 minutes.

fn

Just made the recipe as directed and it seems fine. Don’t know why people think it needs way more flour. Dusted the board to roll and it worked fine after and hour of chilling. My only thought was that it was a tad salty. I will use less in the future.

Kerry

I swear by pastry flour for pie crust.

Joni

I think it's important to note that flour must be weighed to get this recipe right. I started weighing flours, sugars etc a while back and everything turns out better.

lola

This is a terrible recipe...I followed it to a "T" but my kitchen scale was broken and the crust was slumpy and way too rich and pooled butter all over the place. I'll be sticking to Paul Hollywood short-crust and pate brise recipes

Emrie

Would definitely recommend this for a tart pan but didn't quite make enough for individual pasties. Got a little dry in the oven but was flaky and held up to filling.

Rosy

Can anyone share how long this needs to be pre-baked? Thank you in advance!

lucy

This was hell. My dough was very dry, and I kept having to add water to make everything stick together. And yet the actual end result was terrific!

Carol

I live in Reno, NV, and it took 7 tablespoons of water to form a dough that would even stick together. The humidity of your locale makes all the difference (humidity here is usually around 15% here).

HKanthou

Made two batches using the food processor and weighing the butter and flour, only varied the amount of water (3 TB) in second batch and taking dough out 10 minutes before rolling. First batch was easier to handle, and both took quite a bit of flour while rolling. Both held their shape well with blind baking, and both were pleasingly light and easy to cut through with a fork.

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Basic Short-Crust Pastry Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret of good shortcrust pastry? ›

Tips for working with shortcrust pastry
  • Don't overwork the dough. Roll and handle shortcrust pastry as little as possible as overworking it can produce tough and unpleasant results.
  • Use a metal tart tin. ...
  • Don't stretch. ...
  • Repair tears. ...
  • Allow a little overhang. ...
  • Rest. ...
  • Bake it blind. ...
  • Watch the colour.
Oct 8, 2015

What is the simplest and most common pastry? ›

Shortcrust pastry is the simplest and most common pastry. It is made with flour, fat, butter, salt, and water to bind the dough.

What are the three 3 basic rules for pastry making? ›

General rules

Mix together the flour and salt by sieving. Keep everything as cool as possible otherwise the fat may melt which would spoil the finished dish. Introduce as much air as possible during making.

What are the two methods used to make shortcrust pastry? ›

The most common methods are 3:
  • Classic Method.
  • Creaming Method (Sablée)
  • Whipped Method.
Mar 6, 2019

Is milk or water better in shortcrust pastry? ›

Milk brings a softness to the crust, but if you prefer a dough that is harder and crispier then replace the milk with water. If the dough is slightly wet at the end when gathering it into a ball, just sprinkle a little bit of flour on your bench and roll the dough in the flour before kneading the dough.

Why add vinegar to shortcrust pastry? ›

But there are two much more important perks to using vinegar: it provides a little insurance against overworking the dough. And, that splash of vinegar will keep your dough from oxidizing and turning gray.

What is the golden rule of pastry? ›

Follow these easy tips the next time you're making pastry. The first golden rule of making pastry; keep the ingredients, the bowl and the hands as cool as possible.

What is the number one rules of pastry making? ›

How to master pastry
  • Memorise the rule 'half fat to flour' and you'll always have a pastry recipe in your head – so for 200g flour, use 100g butter.
  • Whether you're using butter, lard or dairy-free spread, it should be chilled.
  • Don't add too much water – try 1 tbsp at a time.

What flour is best for pastry? ›

Plain flours are best for pastry because their gluten strands are relaxed while the stronger gluten in bread flours can cause pastry to shrink back. Warm pastry cooked in an oven that was not pre-heated can collapse as its water evaporates before the pastry cooks and hardens.

What are the faults in making shortcrust pastry? ›

COMMON FAULTS & REMEDIES
  • of SHORT CRUST PASTRY. Chef Raj. Pastry is hard and tough.
  • • - Ingredients were too warm. ...
  • • - Uneven addition of water. ...
  • • - Too much fat. • - Over- rubbing the fat into the flour. ...
  • • - Steam not allowed to escape during cooking. ...
  • The crust's rollout wasn't even. Crust shrinks:

What is the best glaze for shortcrust pastry? ›

We feel that a whole egg probably is the best all-purpose glaze. A friend of ours swears that the secret to her signature apple pie is brushing the crust with three egg yolks, one before putting the pie in the oven and then two more in the first ten minutes of baking.

What do Americans call shortcrust pastry? ›

All butter flaky Pie Crust made with classic shortcrust pastry, with easy to follow concise steps AND a short video so you can nail your pie crust every.

What does butter do in shortcrust pastry? ›

In pastry making, butter plays a fundamental role because it makes the pastry ""waterproof"". At the same time, it adds crustiness and crumble to shortcrust and all dry pastries (small cakes for eating on the move, for example) and brings softness and creaminess to risen doughs.

Which fat is best for shortcrust pastry? ›

The best fat for pastry-making

Unless you don't eat dairy, we recommend butter for flavour and texture. You can also try a 50/50 split between butter and lard, which works well for savoury recipes like quiches. Make sure your butter is really cold when you rub it in to the flour.

What are some of the faults when making shortcrust pastry? ›

COMMON FAULTS & REMEDIES
  • of SHORT CRUST PASTRY. Chef Raj. Pastry is hard and tough.
  • • - Ingredients were too warm. ...
  • • - Uneven addition of water. ...
  • • - Too much fat. • - Over- rubbing the fat into the flour. ...
  • • - Steam not allowed to escape during cooking. ...
  • The crust's rollout wasn't even. Crust shrinks:

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