Name: Easy Shortcrust Pastry - Printable Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 410
Cuisine: English
Ingredients: 210g (1 + 2/3 Cup) Plain/All Purpose Flour; 1/2 tsp Salt; 113g (1 Stick or 1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter, COLD & CUBED; 5-6 tbsp Very Cold Water; Large mixing bowl; Pastry Blender *; Clingfilm

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By the end of this post, not only will you love this easy shortcrust pastry recipe but you will have mastered making it like a total baking pro! It can seem tricky at times but if you let me show you how to make shortcrust pastry (the easy way!) I promise you won’t ever be intimidated by it again. Read on for all my helpful tips and tricks!

A loose bottomed fluted tart tin lined with unbaked shortcrust pastry surrounded by pastry leaves, a pastry blender and some fabric.

When you feel confident making shortcrust pastry, baking epic desserts like butterscotch tart and cornflake tart will become second nature too. That’s what this super easy shortcrust pastry recipe will do for you – give you confidence!

A golden baked shortcrust pastry case surrounded by golden pastry leaves, a pastry blender and a piece of fabric.

I was just like you before creating this recipe. I’ve had many failed attempts over the years, plenty of soggy bottoms and lots of very unsatisfactory results. In all honesty, it made me not want to bake it anymore so I used shop bought instead. (Which generally tastes rubbish and costs more!)

This shortcrust pastry recipe changed all that! It’s such a simple method using simple ingredients that make a very robust and easy to use pastry. Trust me, you’re going to fall in love with it!

So if you’re ready to up your pastry game and never buy one from the supermarket again, keep reading!

And if you like what you read, and want more baking knowledge, read through baking for beginners. It will really boost your confidence!

Why make THIS shortcrust pastry recipe?

I admit, there are literally thousands of shortcrust pastry recipes out there. So what makes this one special? I’ll tell you…

It’s really easy to make.
There’s no egg so it’s easy to halve the recipe.
It’s suitable for both sweet and savoury recipes.
You can freeze it.
It’s very cheap to make.
It’s packed full of tips to help you every step of the way.

I really do implore you to try it. It’s game changing, I promise!

Can you freeze shortcrust pastry?

Yes you can! If you flatten it, wrap it tightly in clingfilm and place it into a freezer bag, you can freeze it for up to 1 month. Just remember to thoroughly defrost it in the fridge before using. (This could take up to 10 hours or so.)

Shortcrust pastry – recipe summary

Mix flour and salt together in a bowl
Rub cold, cubed butter into the flour
Add a little cold water to bring it together
Wrap in cling film and chill

And that’s it! Yes I know, it almost sounds a little too simple. Believe me, it really is a simple recipe, but I agree, there are a few things you need to know about pastry first. Check out the golden rules below…

The golden rules of shortcrust pastry

Shortcrust pastry is simple to make and requires only 4 ingredients. But if you’re going to make beautiful golden flaky pastry without a soggy bottom in sight – there are a few golden rules you need to know.

Make sure your butter and water are cold – This is essential, not just at the start, but the whole way through the recipe. That’s why we chill it before we bake it, to resolidify the butter. Otherwise you would end up with badly mishapen and possibly greasy pastry, as the butter would melt too quickly.
Don’t mess around with it too much – The more you play, poke and prod pastry the worse it gets. A light touch is key.
Cold hands – Warm hands will melt the butter. You don’t want that in pastry making. Run your hands under cold water before you start to help with this. Alternatively you can use a pastry blender to avoid it completely.
Time and patience – Making pastry can be a bit of a waiting game. If you rush anything (particularly the refrigerating) it will likely be your downfall. So be patient.

A loose bottomed fluted tart tin lined with unbaked shortcrust pastry surrounded by pastry leaves and some fabric.

Shortcrust pastry ingredients

Here’s everything you need to know about the ingredients needed to make shortcrust pastry.

Flour – Plain (all purpose) flour is best for shortcrust pastry. Different flours react differently in many ways and we like to keep things simple don’t we?! Stick to plain.
Salt – Table salt will do absolutely fine here. It’s super important for flavour though so don’t skip it!
Butter – I always use unsalted butter as it puts you in complete control of the salt content (and therefore, overall flavour). Just make sure it’s cold!
Water – Tap water is perfect, just make sure you run it for a little while to ensure it’s as cold as possible.

Shortcrust pastry recipe tips

Even though shortcrust pastry appears easy enough to make, we all know that there are many ways for it to go wrong. Here’s a few top tips to help you avoid any pitfalls along the way.

Make sure your butter is cold. Rubbing warm butter into flour is not fun and will make bad pastry.
Ensure you use very cold water. This helps to keep the butter cold which makes for good pastry.
Add the water 1 tbsp at a time. You can always add more but you can’t take it out!
Don’t overwork it! The less you touch it the better. Remember – a light touch is key.
Remember to chill it after you first make it and after you’ve rolled/cut it too.
The larger the surface area, the faster it will chill. So flatten your pastry into a disc rather than leaving it in a ball to chill it quicker.
Don’t have time to burn? Place your pastry in the freezer for a faster chill time.
Roll it out quite thinly as it will puff up during baking.
Blind baking? Don’t forget to prick the base all over with a fork to prevent any puffing up.
Brush your pastry with beaten egg for a shiny golden finish.

What can you make with shortcrust pastry?

Honestly, the possibilities are endless! Here are a few tasty ideas for you though…

Easy Shortcrust Pastry – Step by Step Picture Recipe

Here is what you will need to make 410g (14.5oz).

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Ingredients

210g (1 + 2/3 Cup) Plain/All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
113g (1 Stick or 1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter, COLD
5-6 tbsp Very Cold Water

Essential equipment

Large mixing bowl
Pastry Blender *
Clingfilm

*While not technically ‘essential’, a pastry blender makes quick work of pastry and avoids your warm hands touching the cold butter. In other words, it makes making good pastry a lot easier!

Instructions

To make your shortcrust pastry, first add the plain/all purpose flour (210g | 1 + 2/3 Cup) and salt (1/2 tsp) into a large bowl and mix briefly.

Then cube up the unsalted butter (113g | 1 Stick or 1/2 Cup) and add it to the bowl. Make sure it’s cold!

Flour and salt in a large glass bowl with cubed cold butter on top

Now there’s two ways of doing the next step. Either you can rub the butter and flour between your forefingers and thumbs until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs OR you can use a pastry blender to achieve the same thing in a quicker time without your fingers aching. (I highly recommend the second option but the traditional way will work fine too.)

Flour, salt and butter in a fine breadcrumb consistency in a large glass bowl with a pastry blender

Next, run the cold tap until the water is as cold as possible, then add 4 tbsp to your pastry. Give it a quick mix then use your judgement to decide whether it needs another 1 – 2 tbsp of water. The dough should come together into a ball but it shouldn’t be sticky.

Remember, you can always add more but you can’t take it out. So add the water 1 tbsp at a time.

Finally, tip the dough out onto some clingfilm, flatten into a disc, wrap tightly and chill for 1 hour.

Shortcrust pastry wrapped in cling film and flattened into a disc.

At this point you can now use the shortcrust pastry however your recipe states.

Have you used this recipe?

Have you used this shortcrust pastry recipe? I’d love to know if you have! Send me your pics, comments and questions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or email me at emma@kitchenmason.com.

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