Description
Mary Berry’s classic shortcrust pastry offers a buttery, crumbly base for countless sweet and savory dishes. Simple ingredients and precise technique create a versatile pastry you’ll rely on for pies, tarts, and quiches.
Ingredients
Scale
- 225 g (8 oz) all-purpose flour
- 100 g (4 oz) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2–3 tbsps cold water
Instructions
- Flour Preparation: Meticulously sift flour and salt together in a spacious mixing bowl, creating a uniform base for the pastry.
- Butter Integration: Gently incorporate chilled butter cubes into the flour mixture, using fingertips to create a texture resembling fine, delicate breadcrumbs with a consistent, sandy appearance.
- Dough Formation: Gradually introduce ice-cold water, carefully mixing with a fork until the ingredients cohesively bind, forming a slightly rugged yet malleable dough that holds together without excess moisture.
- Pastry Shaping: Expertly shape the dough into a smooth, compact disc, ensuring even edges and a consistent thickness that will provide a perfect foundation for your culinary creation.
- Chilling Process: Wrap the pastry disc securely in plastic wrap, eliminating air pockets, and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes to relax the gluten structure and enhance the pastry’s ultimate texture and performance during baking.
Notes
- Chill Butter Strategically: Cut butter into small cubes and freeze for 10-15 minutes before mixing to ensure optimal pastry texture and flakiness.
- Handle Dough Minimally: Use light, quick touches when working the butter into flour to prevent warming and maintain a delicate, crumbly consistency.
- Water Temperature Matters: Use ice-cold water and add sparingly to prevent overworking the dough, which can lead to tough pastry.
- Resting is Crucial: The 30-minute refrigeration allows gluten to relax, preventing shrinkage and creating a more tender, manageable pastry for baking.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: None
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 286
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 0.6 mg
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg