Short Pastry Technique 1- in a Processor

Assembling the recipe:

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Short Pastry Recipes

Have all your ingredients ready - the butter, egg and milk need to be cold. So cut the butter up first then put it back in the fridge while you get the other ingredients together. Butter and lightly flour your tart pan and set aside. I only use good quality tart pans with removable bottoms. (see below)

Sift the flour and place in the bowl of the food processor with the sugar, salt. Then take the cold butter that you have cut up and add it to the processors bowl.

Pulse a with a few short bursts until the butter and flour look crumbly but not completely incorporated, then add the egg pulse once or twice and then the milk and pulse a little more. Just enough that it all comes together. As I said use a light hand if it does not all go together you can lightly knead it using the heal of you hand on the counter when you remove it from the processor bowl. Use a light dusting of flour on the counter, the dough and on your hands as you gather up the dough. Shape it into a ball and flatten in a disk, wrap tightly in cling film or place in a plastic bag and put it into the fridge to rest for at least one hour.

Butter and lightly flour your tart pan and set aside. I only use good quality tart pans with removable bottoms. (see below)

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Rolling out the dough: On a cool work surface (wood will only make your life miserable at this moment) take the dough and dust it lightly including your rolling pin and work surface.

It will be hard and you might have to put your shoulders into it but it will roll out. Your patients will be rewarded. You can at this point wait for a few minutes but as soon as the dough begins to roll out more easily you will find that unless your fast it will get too warm to easily handle as it gets thinner.

The technique for rolling is to roll it out a bit in one direction then give it a quarter turn and roll again. Continue this method, roll then a quarter turn until the dough is the size and thickness you desire. This method insures that you get a circle instead of an oval or who knows what! Start small and as the dough gets warmer it will be more easy to roll. Flip the dough over from time to time, this will also help with the rolling. At least I find it does.

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Roll the dough to a thickness of 3 millimeters or 1/4 if an inch. I admit that this can take a bit of practice and patience but after you have done this recipe 3 or 4 times it will be completely natural to you.

Dust off any excess flour with a pastry brush and line your tart pan with the dough.

Some people find it a bit easier to do this by rolling the dough around the rolling pin then positioning the the rolling pin over the tart pan and letting the dough fall back into the pan. Avoid any stretching of the dough while you do this or you might find yourself baking an egg shaped tart.

Push the dough into the corners of the tart pan, then push the overhanging edges down into the tart pan to thicken the sides of the shell slightly making a nice fit. This thickening up of the sides slightly will help later after the tart is baked when trying to slice it. Trim off the excess dough by pushing down with your thumb in an outward direction or trim with a pairing knife.

If your using this pastry on another type of baking pan (American pie pan) you may crimp the edges of it. In a tart pan like the one shown crimping isn't necessary.

You can see that the shell here has been docked as I was using it for a banana tart which required a fully cooked shell. Docking (small holes made with the tines of a fork), the crust is a way to help steam escape from under the crust as it bakes. This reduces the chances of it shrinking from the sides of the pan as the bottom can rise up in a dome shape from air trapped underneath it.

Do not dock your pastry if you are going to bake it with anything liquid in it, like you would a quiche or apple tart.

Your tart shell is now ready to put it into the fridge to rest for at least one hour overnight is better.

Tip: If the dough splits or cracks while you are rolling it out or putting it into your tart pan don't worry. Wet your finger with a little water, dampen the dough where its broken and make repairs by pressing the dough back together or patching with a little left over dough. Do the same for any holes you might have.

After an hours rest your uncooked pie shell is ready for the filling you have chosen or ready for baking blind.

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Baking the tart case blind (empty). Many recipes call for a fully cooked shell (as for strawberry tart) or partially baked tart shell (as for quiche). Place a piece of baking parchment or aluminum foil (slightly larger than the tart pan) in the bottom of the uncooked tart shell and pour in a couple of cups of dried uncooked white beans (kidney or navy will do, rice also works). Distribute them evenly over the bottom and into the corners of the unbaked pie shell. These will stop the pie crust from shrinking and will also stop air from lifting up the bottom of the shell during the baking process. We want a thin and completely flat crust when we are done.

This is a fully cooked tart shell suitable for an open Strawberry Tart.

For a partially cooked shell which you usually need for quiche and some savory pies bake at 200 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes minutes.

For a fully cooked shell which you would make for a classic strawberry or banana tart, bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 200 degrees.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack for 20 minutes before removing the beans.

Note: Baking times vary from oven to oven especially if you have a convection oven, begin checking from the earliest times given here.

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If you would like more information about tart and baking pans go to our Baking Equipment page.

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