Short Pastry Recipes

Steps:

• Place the flour, salt, and butter in a food processor and whiz or pulse briefly. Add half the beaten egg and continue to whiz. You might add a little more egg, but not too much as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together.
• If making by hand, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Then, using your hands, add just enough egg to bring the dough together. With your hands, flatten out the ball of dough, until it is about 3/4-inch thick, and then wrap in plastic wrap, or place in a plastic bag, and leave in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or, if you are pushed for time, in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Variations:
• Sweet shortcrust pastry: In place of the pinch of salt, use 1 tablespoon of icing sugar.
• Sour cream shortcrust pastry: Replace the egg with 2 tablespoons of sour cream or creme fraiche, adding just enough to bring the dough together.

Steps:

• Sift flour into a bowl and rub in butter. Add egg yolk and enough water to make ingredients cling together.
• Press dough into a ball and knead gently on a floured surface until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Use pastry for tarts, pastries, quiches, or other savory goodies.

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 9 1/2-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.

Steps:

• Put the flour and butter in a food processor and blitz to bread crumbs. If using your hands, rub the butter and flour together until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the egg yolks (and if making sweet pastry, the sugar) and a pinch of salt and stir together with a knife. Squidge the mixture together into a ball. If the pastry feels very dry add the water (or if making sweet pastry, the cream or milk), but try and get by without for a more tender pastry.
• Once the pastry is all squidged together, pop it in the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, remove it from the refrigerator and let it warm up a little (if you use it straight from the refrigerator and try to roll it out, the pastry will just be a hopeless crumbly mess). Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured board and use as required.

Steps:

• Sift 225g plain flour into a large bowl, add 100g diced butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Stir in a pinch of salt, then add 2-3 tbsp water and mix to a firm dough.
• Knead the dough briefly and gently on a floured surface.
• Wrap in cling film and chill while preparing the filling.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour and salt.
• Add the butter and cut into flour until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
• (Using a food processor fitted with the dough blade makes the"cutting" process a little easier and faster).
• Mix in enough cold water to hold mixture together.
• Form into a ball.
• Wrap in wax paper (preferred) or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
• Assembly: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a baking sheet, muffin tray, etc.
• with nonstick cooking spray or grease with shortening.
• Remove pastry from refrigerator.
• Lightly sprinkle work surface with flour.
• Roll out pastry to about 1/8-inch thickness.
• Cut into circles, squares, or any shape and size that you like.
• Use any filling that you want.
• To"join" separate pastry pieces together, moisten the edges with beaten egg and gently crimp the edges together.
• If your dish is to have pastry on the top, brush the top of the pastry with beaten egg.
• Place on prepared baking sheet, muffin tray, etc.
• and bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown on top.
• Pastry freezes extremely well.

Steps:

• Sift together the flour and the salt. Slice the cold butter rapidly and drop the slices into the flour. With a pastry blender or two sharp knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal.
• Sprinkle the ice water of the flour-butter mixture and stir it very quickly with a fork, until the dough gathers together. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper or foil, and chill for about 2 hours.
• A note here that Canadian wheat is 'harder' than wheat from the USA, and you may need to add a little more water to make it gather.
• Makes enough dough for 1 large, 11 or 12 inch quiche shell.
• PREPARING A QUICHE OR TART SHELL.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough out into a circle about 2 1/2 inches larger than your quiche pan. Roll the circle of dough loosely around your rolling pin and unroll it over the quiche pan, centering it as well as possible. Press the sides against the rim of the pan, pushing the extra dough down a bit to make and edge that is slightly thicker than the bottom. Trim the dough off with a sharp knife about 1/4 inch above the rim of the pan (it shrinks down a bit while baking).
• Using a pastry crimper of the blunt end of a kitchen knife, crimp the ridge of the dough neatly just above the rim of the pan. Prick the bottom of the shell all over with a fork (VERY IMPORTANT!) and chill it for 1/2 hour.
• PREBAKING A QUICHE OR TART SHELL.
• Line the inside of the pastry shell with a piece of aluminum foil. and fill it with dried beans or rice (which can be kept in a jar and reused for this purpose forever). Bake the shell in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 8 minutes, then remove the beans and foil, prick again with a fork (VERY IMPORTANT!), and return to the hot oven for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until the bottom of the shell begins to colour. Allow the shell to cool slightly on a rack, then fill and finish baking according to recipe.

Steps:

• Pulse flour, salt, butter, and shortening in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor running, drizzle in 1/4 cup water until dough just comes together. (If dough is still crumbly, add up to 1/4 cup more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Do not process for more than 20 seconds. Divide dough in half; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Place the bowl and butter into the fridge to make it cold. This is REALLY important
• Throw flour, butter and salt into the food processor and blitz for 15-20 seconds until it is a soft fine breadcrumb texture. You dont NEED a food processor and can use your fingertips like your gran used to, but make sure you hands are ice cold first.
• Pour mixture into the cold bowl, make a well in the centre and add around 3/4 (75ml) of the water. With fingers like a claw, turn the pastry mix in the bowl. Get in and twist, mopping up all the dry ingredients. Add the rest of the flour and continue twisting together until the mixture is a lump.
• lightly flower the board and place pastry on top. Push it together and gently kneed it. until it has a soft texture when pinched.
• Cover with clingfilm, place back into the bowl you used earlier and place in the fridge. Ready to take and use whenever you need it (preferably for a stake and ale pie that afternoon).

Steps:

• Place flour in bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment. Add butter, and mix on low speed until butter is size of peas.
• Dissolve sugar and salt in scant 1/2 cup cold water. Sprinkle over flour mixture, and mix briefly at low speed until dough just comes together. Divide dough in two slightly unequal halves, and roll out for pie. Or form dough in flattened disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use or overnight.