Full Answer
How does short crust pastry taste like?
This pastry dough is used to line tart molds. The pastry is very similar to Pâte Sablée, but sweeter. This dough tastes like a sweet, buttery, shortbread cookie.
What qualities should shortcrust pastry have?
Much sturdier than puff, shortcrust pastry is a combined dough of flour and fat, resulting in a crumbly texture, rather than flaky. As it has a much closer crumb structure, it can be used to construct robust cases and exteriors for pies and tarts, and can stand up to both wet and dry fillings.
What should the texture of shortcrust pastry be?
Shortcrust has a slightly biscuity, crumbly texture that is resistant to soaking up fluids so is perfect for quiches, tarts, samosas and other savoury delights with wet fillings or those that are not being served immediately. It is surprisingly sturdy when removed from its tin.
What should pastry taste like?
Homemade pastry will taste rich, light and buttery because it will usually be made with equal quantities of butter and flour.
What are the faults in making shortcrust pastry?
Oven temperature too cool. Steam has not been produced quickly enough.Insufficient liquid added, mixture was too dry.Pastry folded and rolled unevenly.Pastry has not rested long enough in a cool environment.Pastry folded too thinly.
What are 3 characteristics of a quality pastry?
A good pastry is light and airy and fatty, but firm enough to support the weight of the filling. When making a shortcrust pastry, care must be taken to blend the fat and flour thoroughly before adding any liquid. This ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and less likely to develop gluten.
What are the rules for making successful shortcrust pastry?
Tips for working with shortcrust pastryDon't overwork the dough. Roll and handle shortcrust pastry as little as possible as overworking it can produce tough and unpleasant results.Use a metal tart tin. ... Don't stretch. ... Repair tears. ... Allow a little overhang. ... Rest. ... Bake it blind. ... Watch the colour.More items...•
What happens if you overwork shortcrust pastry?
Overworking the pastry will develop the gluten in the flour, which will make the pastry hard to roll. Overworked pastry is also more likely to shrink during cooking and to be tough once cooked.
Is shortcrust pastry supposed to be crumbly?
Shortcrust means that the fat content (butter in this recipe) is high, and the baked result will be flaky and crumbly.
What should a good pie crust taste like?
A good premade pie crust should, of course, taste as homemade as possible. Crusts should be flaky, buttery and something you enjoy with a delicious filling (sweet or savory).
Does a pastry have to be sweet?
Pastry is a type of dough made with flour, water and shortening. Baked pastry dough can be sweet or savory, and consumed alone or with fillings.
Why does my pastry taste bitter?
If you find that your baked goods that used baking powder are tasting strangely bitter, then there is an extremely good chance that you have put too much baking powder into the dish. The general rule of thumb is that you should be adding between one and two teaspoons of baking powder for each full cup of flour.
What are 5 qualities of a good pastry?
criteriassize.shape.color.texture.
What are the sensory qualities of a good rubbed in pastry?
Textures and sounds, another world of sensations There are two textures favoured by consumers of pastries and biscuits: crispiness (or crunchiness) and sponginess. If you look at the advertising for this type of product, it always emphasizes these qualities.
What two characteristics are used to describe high quality pastry?
High-quality pastry is both tender and flaky. The amount and distribution of gluten determines tenderness. Flakiness is due to layers of gluten separated by layers of fat and expanded by steam.
What are the characteristics of a standard pastry product?
Pastry is characterized by its flaky and crumbly texture, and rich buttery flavor. Shelf life of filled pastry is dependent on free water availability and susceptibility to moisture migration. Typical pastry shelf life ranges from a couple of days for meat-containing pastries, to a few weeks for high sugar fillings.
The best fat for pastry-making
Unless you don’t eat dairy, we recommend butter for flavour and texture. You can also try a 50/50 split between butter and lard, which works well for savoury recipes like quiches.
Make your pastry richer
You can make a very simple pastry from butter, flour and water, but to give an extra edge, use an egg yolk beaten with a little water. Our Crab Quiche is a shining example.
How to make your pastry light
Keep all your ingredients as cool as possible – you can even weigh everything up and chill it all beforehand (even the flour!).
How to stop pastry being tough
Tough pastry is difficult to roll, shrinks during baking and isn’t pleasant to eat. Add just enough liquid to make the dough come together and don’t knead it – a brief squish to press it all together will do. Too much water or movement develops gluten in the flour, which equals hard pastry. The warning sign? Your dough will feel elastic.
Chill time
Time in the fridge helps gluten to relax (you might be seeing a theme here: the cold is your friend). A step you should never miss is chilling the dough after you make it (regardless on whether it’s elastic or not). It’s also a good idea to do it before once you’ve assembled your pastry creation, before baking.
Gluten-free pastry
Gluten may sound like a pastry pest, but it’s there even in the shortest shortcrust, holding everything together. Though it sounds like that would be helpful, gluten-free pastry can go the other way and be too crumbly. Try our foolproof recipe in this gluten-free Lemon Tart.
Cracking pastry
Trying to work with pastry straight from the chiller will result in cracks, so make sure you give it 10min at room temperature before you attempt to roll it.
French Shortcrust Pastry
As with so many things in the world of baking, it should probably come as no surprise that the French are well known for the perfection of shortcrust pastry. In fact, there are no fewer than four distinct varieties of French shortcrust pastry, each of which we’ll discuss below.
Italian Shortcrust Pastry
If you’re a lover of Italian desserts, then there’s a shortrust pastry you’ll want to try. Like its French counterparts, it’s rich and delicious but unlike French options, best suited for sweet dishes.
What Is Shortcrust Pastry?
Shortcrust pastry (or short dough) is a specific term that refers to a ratio of ingredients.
Shortcrust Pastry History
Some food historians trace the earliest development of shortcrust pastry over a thousand years ago where it’s thought to have originated in Venice, Italy.
What Is Shortcrust Pastry Used For?
Modern shortcrust pastry is most often used in delicious foods like quiche, tarts and pies.
What Does Shortcrust Pastry Taste Like?
Shortcrust pastry is quite different from other kinds of pasty, like puff pastry, in terms of its taste and texture.
1. Use butter at room temperature
Keeping the butter out of the fridge and letting it soften before starting your preparation is the best way to definitely ruin the shortcrust pastry before you even weigh the ingredients. So be very careful, the butter must be very cold: that's the tip to make a perfect shortcrust pastry.
2. Work it too hard
This second point connects directly to the previous first point: the secret of the shortcrust pastry is in the temperature of the butter, it goes without saying that working the ingredients too much, once mixed, risks overheating the ingredient that will make the shortcrust pastry crumbly and crisp at the same time.
3. Wrong order of ingredients
You are not preparing the Sunday pasta, forget the classic flour small mountain in which to combine all the ingredients without order and without criteria.
4. Icing sugar or granulated sugar?
Let's immediately debunk this myth: for the shortcrust pastry you need icing sugar. The choice is not accidental: granulated sugar could in fact also be used, but it would make the shortcrust pastry less smooth and creamed.
5. Forget the salt
You are almost there, your shortcrust pastry is almost done, but something is still missing: a pinch of salt, which is often essential in pastry-making.
6. Let it rest
In pastry-making as in life you need to be patient: do you want to prepare a last moment tart for your friend’s birthday? We are here to help you but please don't think about rolling out your shortcrust pastry before it has rested in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Before You Start
As with most baking projects, it's important to start off well prepared. It makes the entire process much easier and quicker. First, you'll need to choose your recipe and familiarize yourself with the steps involved.
Gather Your Equipment
Next, gather all the equipment you will need. Again, having everything on hand means you will work more quickly. It helps avoid digging through the cupboards for something when you're in the middle of a crucial step or when your hands are covered in flour. It will also help your pastry turn out great.
Keep Everything Cool
There is an old saying that cold hands make good pastry. The first golden rule of making shortcrust pastry is to keep the ingredients, the bowl, the surface, and your hands as cool as possible. When the pastry mixture becomes too warm, the end result is a greasy and/or heavy, dull finished pastry crust.
Work Quickly
Don't dawdle when making a pastry. It will turn out better and ensure you get a lighter, crisper pastry if you work quickly. This is why the previous suggestions for assembling your ingredients and equipment before you begin and keeping everything cold are so important.
Rest, Rest, and Rest Again
Once the pastry dough is made, it must be wrapped in plastic wrap or greaseproof paper and rested in the refrigerator for a minimum of 15 minutes. Resting allows time for the gluten (proteins) in the dough to relax.
Use a Hot Oven
Always put pastry into a preheated, hot oven (425 F /220 C/ Gas 7). If the oven is too cool the pastry will melt rather than cook.
Ensure a Crisp Bottom
No one wants a soggy bottom when their pastry is cooked. To ensure your tart or pie crust is crisp, place a heavy baking sheet in the oven while it is heating up. When you're ready, place the tart or pie directly on the heated tray.
Common Problems and Solutions to Making the Perfect Pastry
Professional blogger and cookbook author Bethany Moncel has become an expert on making delicious, healthy meals on a budget. She also holds a nutritional science degree.
Tough or Gummy
A tough or gummy pastry is basically due to the fact that too much gluten has developed. This can be caused by a few factors, such as overmixing or over-kneading, there not being enough fat, the addition of too much flour, or too much liquid.
Crumbly or Too Tender
A too delicate pastry dough or one that falls apart is a result of the exact opposite causes of a tough or gummy pastry. Under mixing, using too much fat, or too little liquid does not allow the ingredients to bind together and virtually no gluten is formed, providing no structure.
Doughy or Wet Texture
If your pastry has a doughy or wet texture it can be a result of one of two things. The first is using more liquid than needed, which causes too much gelatinization of the flour and leads to a doughy texture.
Dry or Mealy Texture
Here, the reverse is also true: using too little liquid will not allow enough gelatinization of the flour and there won’t be enough “glue” to hold the dough together, resulting in a dry dough.
Burned or Over-Browned
A pastry that is too dark is most likely due to too much time in the oven and over baking. However, if your pastry has baked for the recommended time and temperature and is much darker than expected, the dough may have been rolled too thin; thinner dough will cook much faster than thick dough.
Pale or Dull Color
A pale pastry usually means that it is undercooked. Undercooking can be a result of rolling the dough too thick or setting the oven temperature too low. Also, not using enough fat in the dough will create a pale color as fat aids in the browning process.
