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Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry
Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baking made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or Egg s. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked goods are called "pastries"....
 often used for the base of a tart
Tart

A tart is a pastry dish, usually sweet, that is a type of pie with an open top not covered with pastry. The Tarte Tatin is a particular kind of "upside-down" tart, of apples, other fruit, or onions....
 or pie
Pie

A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough shell that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweetness or savoury ingredients....
. It does not puff up during baking
Baking

Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by Heat convection, and not by Thermal radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones....
 because it usually contains no leavening agent
Leavening agent

A leavening agent is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batter that cause a foaming action which lightens and softens the finished product....
. It is possible to make shortcrust pastry with self-raising flour, however.

s based on a "half-fat-to-flour" ratio. Fat (lard, butter or full-fat margarine) is rubbed into plain flour to create a loose mixture that is then bound using a small amount of ice water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
, rolled out, then shaped and placed to create the top or bottom of a flan
Flan

Cr?me caramel, flan, or caramel custard is a rich custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to cr?me br?l?e, which is custard with a hard caramel top....
 or pie.
Sweet
Sweetcrust pastry is made with the addition of sugar
Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
, which sweetens the mix and impedes the gluten
Gluten

Gluten is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperms of some Triticeae glutens cereal, notably wheat, rye, and barley....
 strands, creating a pastry
Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baking made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or Egg s. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked goods are called "pastries"....
 that breaks up easily in the mouth.

oth sweetcrust and shortcrust pastry, care must be taken to ensure that fat and flour are blended thoroughly before liquid is added - this ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and are less likely to develop gluten.






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Encyclopedia


Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry
Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baking made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or Egg s. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked goods are called "pastries"....
 often used for the base of a tart
Tart

A tart is a pastry dish, usually sweet, that is a type of pie with an open top not covered with pastry. The Tarte Tatin is a particular kind of "upside-down" tart, of apples, other fruit, or onions....
 or pie
Pie

A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough shell that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweetness or savoury ingredients....
. It does not puff up during baking
Baking

Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by Heat convection, and not by Thermal radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones....
 because it usually contains no leavening agent
Leavening agent

A leavening agent is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batter that cause a foaming action which lightens and softens the finished product....
. It is possible to make shortcrust pastry with self-raising flour, however.

Proportions

It is based on a "half-fat-to-flour" ratio. Fat (lard, butter or full-fat margarine) is rubbed into plain flour to create a loose mixture that is then bound using a small amount of ice water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
, rolled out, then shaped and placed to create the top or bottom of a flan
Flan

Cr?me caramel, flan, or caramel custard is a rich custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to cr?me br?l?e, which is custard with a hard caramel top....
 or pie.
Sweet
Sweetcrust pastry is made with the addition of sugar
Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
, which sweetens the mix and impedes the gluten
Gluten

Gluten is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperms of some Triticeae glutens cereal, notably wheat, rye, and barley....
 strands, creating a pastry
Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baking made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or Egg s. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked goods are called "pastries"....
 that breaks up easily in the mouth.

Techniques

In both sweetcrust and shortcrust pastry, care must be taken to ensure that fat and flour are blended thoroughly before liquid is added - this ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and are less likely to develop gluten. Overworking the dough is also a hazard. Overworking elongates the gluten strands, creating a product that is chewy, as opposed to 'short', or light and crumbly.

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