Shortcrust pastry

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Shortcrust pastry
Recette pate brisee etape 8.jpg
A shortcrust pastry pie crust
Type Pastry
Region or stateWestern countries
Main ingredientsFat (lard, shortening, butter or full-fat margarine), flour, water [1]

Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie.

Contents

A sweetened version using butter is used in making spritz cookies.

Shortcrust pastry recipes usually call for twice as much flour as fat by weight. Fat (as lard, shortening, butter or traditional margarine) is rubbed into plain flour to create a loose mixture that is then bound using a small amount of ice water, rolled out, then shaped and placed to create the top or bottom of a pie. Often, equal amounts of butter and lard are used to make the pastry, ensuring that the combined weight of the two fat products is still half that of the flour. The butter is employed to give the pastry a rich flavor, while the lard ensures optimum texture.

Types

Techniques

In preparing a shortcrust, the fat and flour are "cut" into each other, rather than blended, and the ingredients are kept cold. This ensures that the fat remains distinct in the crust, and when it heats during baking, steam is released, resulting in the pockets that make a flaky crust. [3] Water is only added once the fat and flour are thoroughly combined. This ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and are less likely to develop gluten. [4] This may be achieved with the use of a food processor, a specialized kitchen utensil called a pastry blender, or through various alternatives, like a pair of table knives held in one hand, or smearing the flour and fat together using the heel of the hand in a method known as fraisage. [5]

In addition to over-warming the dough, overworking it is also a hazard. Overworking elongates the gluten strands, creating a product that is tough, rather than light and crumbly or flaky. Flour made from low protein soft wheat, like cake flour, is used for pastry making because it does not become overworked and tough as easily as bread flour.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "Shortcrust pastry". BBC Food . Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 Roux, Michel (2010) [First published 2008]. "Shortcrust pastries". Pastry. London: Quadrille Publishing. pp. 20–23. ISBN   978-1-84400-827-8.
  3. Magazine, Cook's Illustrated (2004). Baking illustrated : a best recipe classic (1st ed.). Brookline, Massachusetts. ISBN   0936184752. OCLC   54454496.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Cheaib, Rana. Predicting Baking Performance through Evaluation of Short-crust Dough (Masters thesis). Malmö: Lund University. Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2018-10-09 via Perten Instruments.
  5. "What is fraisage, and how do I use it for flaky pie dough?" . Retrieved 2022-01-09.