Shortcrust pastry has got to be by far the toughest item to make. Sure it looks easy but it doesn’t always turn out as great. The dough needs to be rolled out right so it’s even and not too thick or thin on any given point. It needs to be rolled out to a size bigger than the pie dish and the list goes on – let me not start on the temperature of the dough when it needs to be rolled (that is a real mind boggler)
I’ve tried and tested many crusts, some were too crumbly, some were too dry. Finally after lots of trial and error I’ve come up with a simple recipe which seems to do the trick for me. I try not to keep it too sweet so keep the sugar low, especially since I usually fill it with dessert batter. I also don’t bother with mixing with my hands, the food processor is a machine I can not live without if I need to make a pie!
To begin with you’ll just need the basic ingredients, flour, butter, sugar and water.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup frozen butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup cold water
Directions:
- Place flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse a few times until you see the butter breaking and starting to combine with the flour. It should look like coarse crumbs
- Slowly add ice cold water 2 tablespoons at a time and pulse again. The dough should start to come together when held in between your fingers. Note: Do not pulse to the point where the entire dough is formed into a ball in the food processor
- Lay out the flour mixture onto your counter and bring the dough together with your hands and wrap in cling film in the shape of a disc and set to chill in the fridge for 30 mins or the freezer for 15 mins
- Once chilled remove from the fridge and put the dough between 2 sheets of clingfilm (this is y far the easiest way to roll the dough)
- Start rolling the dough from the center outwards and turning 1/4 clockwise after every roll
- Once the dough has been rolled out to the size bigger than the pie dish or tart dish, remove one layer of cling film and place down on the pie dish
- Tuck the dough securely onto the base of the pie dish and then cover the sides and cut off any excess or use to fill any holes that may have developed during the transfer from cling film to pie dish
- Bake for 15 mins in an 180 C oven and fill with beans or rice
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