Shortcrust pastry

Shortcrust pastry is the easiest type of pastry to make. It's also very versatile as it readily incorporates other flavourings. It can be used for sweet or savoury pies and tarts, pasties and other pastry parcels. Regular shortcrust pastry is made of ½ fat: 1 flour ratio and bound with water but for a richer version the water is replaced with egg. Perfect home-made pastry is quick and easy to prepare and it’s light and crusty.

Ingredients

200g plain flour

100g margarine

Pinch of salt

3 Tbsp water

1. Sift the flour and salt into large mixing bowl.
2. Rub the margarine into the flour Rub until the mixture gains sandy texture. At this stage it should resemble fine breadcrumbs. Try working as quick as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
3. Make a well in the centre. Slowly add water to the mixture and stir until dough is formed.
4. Cover with cling film and put to rest in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes.

Tips:

Shortcrust, puff pastry and their relatives need to be kept cool for best results. This means chilling the ingredients and the utensils before making the pastry, and working on a cool surface - marble is ideal. Traditionally, pastry was made first thing in the morning, before the kitchen had a chance to get hot.

Also for this reason pastry needs to be mixed quickly. This helps keep it cool but also minimises development of the flour's gluten content, otherwise the pastry may become too elastic, difficult to roll, inclined to shrink, and tough in texture. Too much handling can also make the fat soft and the finished pastry greasy.

You can use a food processor while making shortcrust pastry. It can be an advantage as it can help minimise handling. However it is important not to let the machine overwork the pastry – it will result in hard, dry pastry - a common fault in pastry making.

Chilling the dough in the fridge helps relax the gluten and set the fat, making the dough manageable and less likely to shrink. Raw shortcrust can be kept wrapped in cling film in the fridge for two or three days before rolling and baking. It can also be frozen for up to three months.