Shortcrust Pastry

Fat used in pastry making is called 'shortening' and the proportion of it to flour will determine how crisp - or 'short' - your pastry will be. The more fat you use, the shorter the pastry and the more difficult it will be to handle.

Shortening can be butter, margarine, lard or any number of vegetable fats including such things as olive oil.

However I want to keep this simple to encourage the cook who has yet to approach the subject. So let's just do a very easy regular fat pastry and see how we go.

For that we need:

* 200g (8oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
* 100g (4oz) butter or margarine, cut into squares
* 1 beaten egg
* pinch of salt

Note that the quantity of fat is exactly half that of the flour. That's really all you need to remember, then you can use any measurements you like.

The Classic Method
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl that is wide enough for you to easily get your hands inside it. The purpose of sifting is two-fold. It removes lumps from the flour and it aerates it at the same time.

Now add the fat, all of it, and coat it with the flour. This makes it easier to handle, because the next step is to rub the fat into the flour, which you do by picking up a piece in each hand between fingers and thumb and rubbing. Raise your hands above the bowl as you do this, allowing the rubbed in mixture to fall back in, collecting air as it does so. This helps to lighten your pastry.

When you have a mixture resembling fine breadcrumbs in your bowl, make a little well in the centre of it and add the beaten egg. Then use an ordinary knife blade or a palette knife to mix the egg into the flour. This is known, not surprisingly, as 'cutting'.

As the pastry forms there will come a point when the blade no longer works. Dip your fingers in flour and quickly form it into a ball, then cover it and put it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Use your fingers as little as possible because the warmth from them melts the butter and stretches the gluten strands in the flour. This makes for a 'tough' finish.

When rolling the pastry out, use a lightly floured surface and also flour your rolling pin. Keep your strokes light and even with no undue pressure.

The Cool Cook's Method
With some variation, most pastries can be made using the above method. I also have a never fail emergency method which I use when I realise I'm running out of time. The result is not so good - the pastry is inclined to be a little tough - but it still works well enough for most uses.

Using the same ingredients, put the flour and salt in a food processor and whiz it. This sieves and aerates it as above.

Add the fat and blitz until you have a mixture resembling bread crumbs. It takes about two minutes with these measures.

Add the egg and blitz again. The pastry will very quickly form into a ball at which point stop and chill it, if you have time. Roll out as before.

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First published on Qassia