How to prepare shortcrust pastry

Recipe for shortbread (pâte brisée) or shortcrust pastry. 

In terms of dough, many of you have already trusted the blog, homemade pizza dough is one of our best-known recipes, so you will surely trust the dough that I present below.

This type of hard dough used in sweet and savory cake bases. The name ” shortcrust pastry or dough ” encompasses a whole family of classic doughs, the French friable pâtes , which are commonly used as the base for sweet or savory tarts.

The recipe for salty doughs usually includes loose flour, butter, water and salt. Normally for salty dough, 250 gr is usually used. of loose pastry flour, 125 gr. of cold butter, 60 ml. of cold water and 1 pinch of salt. In the case of sweets we add egg or yolk and sugar to the previous ingredients.

In addition, the shortcrust pastry has many applications, it is ideal for sweet cake bases, such as the classic French-style chocolate cake or the chocolate, banana and hazelnut cake (delicious) and salty cakes such as the famous Quiche Lorraine . 

It is a perfect dough for moist fillings or that contain fruit. I hope you like it and dare to make it at home, its taste is much better than that of the commercial masses. Try it and you will tell me.

Preparation of shortcrust pastry

1. First we sift the flour with a strainer over a surface where it is easy to work. The kitchen counter is perfect. Add the salt and mix.
2. We put the rest of the ingredient in a bowl as follows.
3. First add the sugar and then the butter cut into small pieces of about 2 cm. approximately. Butter should be at room temperature.
4. We put our hands together, without fear, mixing the butter with the sugar.
5. We can use glass sugar or granulated blanquilla, although with powdered sugar it is much easier to work. We beat the egg and toss it over the previous ingredients. We mix again until it is integrated.
6. We make a volcano with the flour on the counter and we open a hole in the middle to introduce the butter with the sugar and the egg.
7. At first it may seem that this dough will not be able to absorb all the ingredients but you will see how it is not.

Kneading and resting the shortcrust pastry

1. We begin to mix with the tips of our fingers. Gradually joining the center of the volcano with the flour until obtaining a mixture similar to coarse sand. As if they were crumbs.
2. We are crushing with the hands little by little, so that it unites well. In about five minutes you will be almost ready.
3. It is not convenient to knead too much to avoid that when it is stretched, the dough can break. We cut it in two and crush until it is like a disk.
4. Now we only have to wrap the portions in plastic wrap (transparent) and let them rest in the fridge for an hour.
5. If you leave the dough for more than an hour in the refrigerator it will get hard and you will have to let it temper something to spread it.
6. We can also freeze the dough and let it thaw little by little before using it.

Although it seems that it is a difficult dough it is not, in fact it is perhaps one of the simplest to work, very easy, fast and very versatile .

With this recipe you will get a dough with the exact consistency for cakes and you will see that it does not break or remain hard like others. Follow the step by step of this broken dough and it will be perfect.

Tips for a broken dough for yummy

• For this type of dough we are going to use the cremage or creaming technique , starting from butter softened at room temperature.
• To achieve a perfect dough, which is not forgotten, it is essential to use good quality ingredients, especially butter. You will notice it in the flavor.
• The broken mass owes its name to the fact that it is brittle, it must melt in the mouth. This is mainly due to the large proportion of fat, which barely allows the protein molecules of the flour to unite to form gluten. Which appears when adding water to the flour and gives cohesion to the masses.
• The most classic of the broken masses is the ” Pâte Sucree “, which is the one I usually use at home in most of my cakes. A dough with a very soft and crisp final texture after baking. Its preparation requires the use of butter , no margarines or olive oil.
• The butter must not mix completely with the flour. For gluten can then form a waterproof net that will harden when baked.