Video:5 Tips for Making Shortcrust Pastry

Transcript:5 Tips for Making Shortcrust Pastry

Hi, I'm Elaine Lemm at About.com British and Irish Food site. Today I'm going to show you five tips for making shortcrust pastry.

Use Cold Ingredients to Make Shortcrust Pastry

Now shortcrust pastry is really easy to make but some people are quite afraid of it, but there's really no reason to be, it's actually quite straightforward, particularly if you follow some of these tips. The first tip is, always make sure your ingredients are nice and cold. That's the butter and the water and importantly if you are making pastry by hand that your hands are cold as well so just give them a rinse under cold water.

Work Quickly When Making Shortcrust Pastry

Another tip when making pastry is to work quickly and try not to handle the pastry too much, which is why I prefer to use a food processor. When you're making pastry if you over-handle it, often the pastry will end up being quite tough. Rolling out pastry, it's really good if you can roll it out on a cold surface and for this, marble or granite work perfectly. Remember, before rolling out your pastry, sprinkle plenty of flour on the work surface, and don't forget the rolling pin. Doing this will stop the pastry from sticking to the surface, and to the rolling pin.

Rest the Shortcrust Pastry Before Baking

And finally, a really important tip: once your pastry's rolled and before it's baked, is to put it in the refrigerator to rest. 30 minutes is great, if you can leave it longer, that's ideal. This will prevent the pastry from shrinking in the oven when it's baked. Follow these tips and I promise you, you'll have perfect pastry every time.