How do I make pastry?

Shortcrust is fat coating flour particles so they cannot form gluten — that is what 'short' means. Warm butter smears instead of coating, and over-working develops gluten, so the two rules are keep it cold and stop early.

What you'll need

• Plain flour
• Cold butter
• Cold water
• Food processor (optional)
• Rolling pin (optional)

Step by step

1. Use half the weight of butter to flour.250g plain flour to 125g butter is a standard shortcrust. Add a pinch of salt for savoury or a tablespoon of sugar for sweet.
2. Cube the butter and keep it fridge-cold.If your kitchen is warm, freeze the cubes for ten minutes first. Cold butter is the entire technique.
3. Rub the butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.Fingertips only, lifting the mixture to keep it cool. A food processor in short pulses is faster and warms it less.
4. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time.Around 2-3 tablespoons for 250g flour. Add the minimum that brings it together — excess water develops gluten and makes it tough.
5. Bring it together into a disc without kneading.Press, do not knead. It should look slightly rough rather than smooth. A smooth dough has been over-worked.
6. Wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.This relaxes the gluten and firms the butter. Skipping it is why pastry shrinks in the tin.
7. Roll on a lightly floured surface, turning a quarter-turn between rolls.Roll from the centre outwards. Turning keeps it even and stops it sticking.
8. Rest again in the tin before baking.Another twenty minutes in the fridge once lined. This is the difference between a case that keeps its shape and one that slumps.

Tips

• Blind bake with baking beans for filled tarts — line with parchment, fill with beans, bake 15 minutes, remove and bake 5 more.
• A tablespoon of the water replaced with lemon juice or vinegar inhibits gluten slightly and makes pastry more forgiving.
• Shortcrust freezes very well, both as a raw disc and as a lined tin. Make double and freeze half.

Common mistakes

• Adding too much water — It seems easier to handle but develops gluten, and the pastry bakes hard and shrinks badly.
• Skipping the rest — Unrested pastry shrinks down the sides of the tin during baking and becomes tough.
• Working it until smooth — Smooth means the gluten has developed. Rough and just-combined is correct.

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