Shortcrust Pastry | Ask Nigella.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between shortcrust pastry and pie crust? ›

Shortcrust pastry dough is a type of pie crust. Known as pâte brisée in French, it doesn't include leavening agents and (usually) no sugar. It's flaky and crispy rather than puffy once baked. The most often used type of pastry, it's good for both sweet and savory recipes.

Plain flours are best for pastry. The gluten strands in bread flour are stronger than plain flour and can make pastry tough to roll out. If you used the wrong flour try resting the dough for half an hour to relax the gluten then follow our rescue tips below.

What's the difference between shortcrust and sweet shortcrust? Shortcrust or all-butter pastry is made with only butter, flour and water and used for both sweet and savoury recipes. Sweet Shortcrust is also made with butter, flour, water, sugar and occasionally eggs and flavouring such as vanilla.

The acidic properties of vinegar inhibit gluten, some will say. This theory proposes that once the water and flour are combined, gluten starts forming, causing the dough to grow tough. Adding an acid, the theory goes, stops the gluten in its tracks and rescues the crust from toughness.

In the US, shortcrust pastry is often referred to simply as “pie crust” or “pastry crust.

Egg (optional) – the fat of the egg yolk enriches the pastry whilst the egg white gives it structure (making it easier to work with). They're both also wet so help to bind the dry ingredients together.

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.

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.

All pie dough or tart pastry recipes that you will find online are either the basic type of shortcrust pastry (made with flour, water, some type of fat, salt, and sometimes sugar) or one of two common variations of shortcrust pastry, listed below (note: there are other variations, but these two are the most common).

Is filo pastry the same as shortcrust? ›

Filo pastry is notably different to both puff and shortcrust. Made with relatively little fat, the pastry comes in very thin sheets which usually need to be layered together to create a thin, flaky casing for fillings.

Perfect for cooks who love to bake, shortcrust pastry is a stout dough used to make thicker pastries like tarts and cookies. This pastry won't be as easily overworked as others as it takes about half of the fat to flour in its recipe, which binds the pastry together.

Use lemon juice

Bad pastry (hard and chewy) happens when the gluten in the flour is over-developed by too much handling. Lemon juice (from a bottle is fine) helps prevent this and results in a good, short pastry.

“Vodka allows you to wet the dry ingredients enough so it forms a dough that is easy to roll out and use, but has less water in it, so less gluten will form.”

Shortcrust pastry is the best for pies that fully encase a filling as they tend to be firmer and less likely to leak. Puff pastry is great if you prefer just a pastry lid on top of the filling. Ready rolled shop-bought pastry are easy to handle and quite reliable - even professional chefs appreciate the convenience!

Meat Pie Base – The traditional base for Meat Pies is shortcrust pastry. This is a buttery, flaky pastry that is used for things like quiche and sweet pies (like Pumpkin pie, Pecan pie). It is ideal for meat pies because it is sturdy enough to hold up to the rich, dense filling.

Brisée, Sucrée, & Sablée: The 3 Types of Pastry Dough You Need to Know.