INGREDIENTS
- 200g / 7 oz plain flour or all purpose flour (see tip below)
- Pinch of salt
- 110g / 4 oz butter, cubed or an equal mix of butter and lard
- 2-3 tbsp very cold water
Directions for the Quick, Easy, Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
1.
- Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
- Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
- Add the water to the mixture and using a cold knife stir until the dough binds together, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry.
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm / plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
Shortcrust Pastry Recipe – Using a Food Processor
If you have a food processor it can speed up the the making of the pastry and I prefer to use a processor as by using the pulse setting you will avoid over handling of the mixture which can result in hard, dry pastry – a common fault in pastry making.
- Place the the flour, butter and salt into the bowl of the processor.
- Using only the pulse setting, pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Avoid over mixing if you can,
- Through the funnel on the top of the processor, slowly add the water a little at a time until the mixture comes together in a ball.
- Wrap the pastry in Clingfilm / plastic wrap and chill as above in the hand-made method.
