How to make a delicious homemade shortcrust pastry recipe in a savory or sweet version. This easy pie crust recipe is very quick to make, ready in only 5 minutes and perfect for all your sweet pastries and savory tarts.
What is a shortcrust pastry?
The shortcrust pastry recipe is a French basic recipe widely used in the kitchen for sweet pastriesand it's the main dough used to make savoury tarts like homemade quiche.
Made with few ingredients, flour, icing sugar (for the sweet shortcrust version), fine salt, butter and water, it requires only 5 minutes of prep time.
Its crunchy texture hence its French name "pâte brisée" which means that it is very crispy makes it a perfect shortcrust for classic fruit-based tarts such as the traditional French apple tart recipe.
For this dough we use the sanding method which consists in mixing the dry ingredients together with the butter until obtaining a sandy mixture in which we add ice water or as others alternate an egg.
It is very simple to make at home and is a delicious pastry filled with frangipane or almond cream filling especially with baked fruits such as apples, pears, raspberries etc..
>> See all basic pastry recipes
Material needed to make this recipe
No equipment is needed to make the pastry shortcrust, I recommend that you make this recipe using only your hands and a one bowl to mix together all the ingredients until they come together and without using a food processor or a stand mixer.
Compared to pie crust which has more of a flaky texture, this pastry crust has a smoother and more homogeneous texture where the butter is completely incorporated into the dry ingredients.
But if you wish you can use a food processor to make this recipe, just proceed in the same way as the pie crust recipe by mixing together the ingredients very cold.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour: Use preferably white all-purpose flour or plain flour perfect for tart crust recipes. You can replace it with wholemeal or semi-complete flour or gluten-free flour.
- Sugar: Optionally use icing sugar for the sweetened version.
- Salt: Half a teaspoon of salt is essential.
- Butter: Butter and lard can be used to make this crust, but I recommend to use preferably unsalted butter, cut into cubes, and very cold, to incorporate it well into the dry ingredients and obtain breadcrumbs.
- Water: Use ice-cold water that you can replace with a whole egg or an egg yolk.
Option: The dough can easily be flavored with spices, herbs and cocoa powder for a chocolate version.
⚠️ You will find the quantities and complete instructions in the recipe card further down this page.
How to make homemade shortcrust pastry
Sand the dry ingredients
- Place all dry ingredients, flour salt icing sugar in a bowl.
- Add the cold butter and cut into pieces.
- Mix the ingredients with your fingertips until that the mixture resembles sand and you have fine breadcrumbs.
Tip: use cold butter rather than room temperature softened butter and also cold water to make the dough easier to prepare by hand.
Add water
- Finish by adding cold water.
- And gather the dough with one hand until the ingredients come together and you get a homogeneous dough ball but without kneading it too much.
- Cover with cling film on contact and place the dough in the fridge for at least 20 - 30 minutes to chill before using in your pastries and tarts.
Tips: If the dough is too sticky and difficult to handle, it means that the butter has softened too much, place it in the fridge, after a cold passage it will be easier to handle with the hands.
How to use this tart crust
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about 3 mm.
- Line your pre-greased or foil-lined pie dish.
- Fill the shortcrust with almond cream (frangipane), then add your fruit pieces like apples, and pears.
- Bake the tart according to the instructions in your recipe.
Tips: For a faster way, you can also roll out the dough directly after preparation between 2 sheets of parchment paper and let it rest for 5-10 minutes in the freezer before using it in your recipe.
Frequently asked questions
These two doughs are very similar but they have a slightly different compositions and the method of preparation is also different. The pie dough has more butter and it has a flakier texture because the butter is not completely incorporated into the dry ingredients like in this shortcrust.
If the dough crumbles, add a little water and work it in a little to make it more homogeneous and flexible, then let the dough rest in the fridge before using it again.
Line a pie dish with your dough, and prick the bottom of the pie with a fork to prevent it from puffing up during baking. Then cover with a sheet of baking paper and fill the inside of the pie with ceramic balls, dried beans or white rice.
Storage and freezing
In the fridge: It can be kept for about 2 - 4 days in the fridge under plastic wrap. Let it soften a bit out of the fridge before spreading it with a rolling pin.
In the freezer: It keeps very well and very long in the freezer, place it in a conservation bag and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Defrosting: Let it thaw gently in the refrigerator until it is easy to handle.
More crust recipes
- How to make puff pastry
- Inverted puff pastry
- Rough puff pastry
- Pate sucree - Sweet tart crust
- Tart crust - Pâte Sablée
Recipes with this crust
Did you like this recipe? Don't forget to rate it and leave me a review in the comments! And to not miss any recipes follow @sweetlycakes on Instagram and tag me to share it if you make this recipe 😊!
Print
Shortcrust pastry
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 tart shell
Description
Recipe for quick and delicious homemade pastry shortcrust (to fill a 10 inch / 25 cm tart)
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 ⅓ cup) Flour - all-purpose
- 50 g (⅓ cup) Powdered Sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 100 g (⅓ cup or 7 tbsp) Butter - unsalted and cold, cut into pieces
- 50 g (¼ cup or 3-4 tbsp) Water - ice cold
Instructions
- Place the dry ingredients, flour, icing sugar and pinch of salt in a large bowl.
- Add the cold butter pieces and mix with your fingertips until the mixture is sandy and without lumps.
- Add the cold water and gather the dough quickly to form a homogeneous ball of dough, avoiding to knead it too much.
- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes or immediately roll out between 2 sheets of parchment paper and let rest for 10 minutes in the freezer before using it to line your pie dish.
Notes
Conservation: 2 days in the refrigerator under a cling film and up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: tart crust, pastries, cake basics
Leave a Reply