Today I reveal the secrets and tricks to make a perfect shortcrust pastry. Making a professional shortcrust pastry is not impossible; just follow some precautions during preparation. The secret is all about controlling temperature and structure.
These are the essential tips for a perfect result:
1) COLD
The shortcrust must not heat up between your hands or in the mixer. If the butter melts while you work it, the pastry will become hard and elastic instead of crumbly. So cold hands and above all butter in small pieces taken straight from the fridge. Do not wait to work it because it must be very cold. It can also be useful to chill your work tools like the bowl, beaters and wooden spoons. Another very important thing is resting. The longer the pastry rests the better it is. Minimum 30 minutes; I personally make it the night before for the next day.
2) The SABBATIZATION (SANDING)
Do not knead everything together at once but create a granular dough, that is, sand the flour with the sugar and very cold butter pieces. Only after that add the yolks. Why does it work? The butter coats the flour particles, preventing too much gluten formation. Result? A shortcrust that melts in your mouth.
3) What kind of SUGAR?
Depending on the type of sugar used you will get a different texture. Granulated sugar makes the dough crunchier, powdered sugar makes it more crumbly, and brown sugar gives a coarser and more aromatic pastry. I personally prefer powdered sugar which makes the shortcrust extremely fine, silky and professional.
4) The type of FLOUR
It is better to choose a low-gluten flour, such as “0”, “00” and those specific for sweets.
5) WHOLE EGGS OR YOLKS?
If you want a more crumbly shortcrust, it’s better to use only yolks. The white would activate the gluten network of the flour, making the pastry crunchier instead.
6) YEAST: YES OR NO?
Baking powder is not added to shortcrust. Unless the result you want is a less crunchy cookie or tart. The traditional recipe does not require it.
7) Another tip I give you is this: after resting, before rolling out the dough, break it up and quickly rework it. This step will make it more elastic and easier to handle.
8) BAKING
In the case of a jam tart, one of the classic problems is the base that remains wet because of the jam. I usually proceed like this: before pouring the jam I dust the pastry with a thin layer of almond flour; it will act as a barrier against humidity. Bake the tart in the middle-lower part of the oven to ensure the base receives enough heat. Below you will find the ingredients and method for my perfect shortcrust!!!!
8) WORKING TIMES
The working times must be really very short, meaning the pastry must absolutely not warm up for a good result.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 20 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 204.04 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 27.53 (g) of which sugars 10.40 (g)
- Proteins 3.39 (g)
- Fat 9.38 (g) of which saturated 5.81 (g)of which unsaturated 3.58 (g)
- Fibers 0.75 (g)
- Sodium 2.57 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 45 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 4 1/6 cups type 0 flour (for sweets)
- 1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
- 7 oz butter (from centrifuge)
- 3 egg yolks (medium, about 54 g each)
- 1 orange (grated zest or 1 teaspoon of orange paste)
- 1 lemon (grated zest)
Tools
- 1 Rolling pin
- Parchment paper
Steps
Shortcrust procedure
Place the flour into a bowl first
the cold butter straight from the fridge
the powdered sugar
With your hands combine everything and form the so-called sanding.
At this point add the yolks
the orange paste (if you don’t have it, grated orange and lemon zest works fine)
Start working quickly in the bowl
Then transfer the dough to the work surface and very quickly form the dough ball
Wrap the dough ball in parchment paper or plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using. I usually prepare it the night before and let it rest all night. In the morning, remove it from the fridge, break it into pieces and quickly reform the ball. Now the dough is perfect and ready to be rolled out with the rolling pin to make a tart or to make cookies.
If you want, the shortcrust can also be frozen. It is ideal to store it in well-wrapped dough balls in plastic wrap or already rolled out in a pan. For use, it is recommended to thaw it in the refrigerator for several hours before rolling out and working it.
