Artisan Short Pastry
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Put flour and salt into a bowl.
Rub in the dripping until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Mix in cold water to form a stiff paste.
Shape
Roll out to the desired size and it's ready to use.
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
- Coombs' flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pastry together once water is added.
- Dripping
- Coats flour particles with fat, keeping the pastry short and tender rather than tough.
- Cold water
- Binds the flour and fat into a cohesive dough without developing much gluten.
The step that matters
Mix in cold water to form a stiff paste. Adding too much water or working the dough too long develops gluten, making the pastry tough instead of crumbly. Keeping the water cold keeps the fat firm, which helps the pastry stay short.
“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.
More short pastry recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.