Short Crust, Plain
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl.
Rub in the fat until well combined.
Add the water and mix with a knife to form a smooth paste.
Shape
Roll out to your desired shape and thickness, and use immediately.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the pastry once mixed with water.
- Lard
- Coats flour particles to keep the pastry short and tender.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to lift the pastry slightly.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so the mixture binds into a dough.
The step that matters
Mixing in the water. Handling the dough too much develops gluten, which makes the pastry tough rather than short. Mix only until the paste just comes together and roll out promptly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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