Shortcrust and Sweet shortcrust pastry

YIELD: 400 g (14 oz) shortcrust pastry 450 g (11b) sweet

basic recipe for shortcrust and sweet shortcrust pastry from Gary Rhodes

INGREDIENTS:

• 225 grams Plain flour, 8 oz
• Pinch of salt
• 50 grams Butter, diced, 2 oz ;100 g, if the lard is omitted, 4 oz

+

• 50 grams Lard, 2 oz, diced
• 1 small Egg

Or

• 2-3 tablesp. Water or milk
• 2 tablesp. Water or milk
• 50-75 grams Caster or icing sugar, for the sweet shortcrust – only

Instructions

Notes: For plain shortcrust, the fat content can he split between butter and lard: the two work well together giving a good flavour, and the lard helps shorten the dough texture. Sweet shortcrust, however is best made purely with butter, its richer flavour complementing the sweet filling. The fats should he cool before use, rather than refrigerated, as this can make crunching hard work.

Always allow the, finished dough to rest for 20 – 30 minutes. The gluten content in the flour reacts with the liquid (water or milk), giving a better texture to roll and work with. Always roll pastry out on a cool and lightly floured surface. Pastry must remain cold, and the dusting of flour will prevent the pastry from sticking

• Sift the flour with the salt. Rub the butter and lard. if using. into the flour until a breadcrumb texture is achieved. Beat the egg, if using, with the water or milk and work gently into the crumbs to form a smooth dough (if excess crumbs are left in the bowl, add an extra tablespoon of water or milk). Wrap in cling film and allow to relax fn the fridge for 20-30 minutes before using. When needed, remove from the fridge and allow to return to a cool room temperature before rolling. For the sweet shortcrust pastry, omit the lard and use all the butter, then simply add the caster or icing
  sugar once the breadcrumb stage has been reached,
• The scraped seeds from a vanilla pod added to the sweet pastry mix at ist crumb stage will introduce another flavour, which enhances the taste of many fillings.
• Another flavour that works very well in the sweet version is the finely grated zest of one lemon.
• When lining a flan case or mould, it’s best to leave excess pastry hanging over the edge during the cooking time to prevent it from shrinking into the case. Once removed from the oven, gently trim the excess pastry away, leaving a neat finish

total time: 40 minutes
preparing time: 30 minutes