Easy shortcrust pastry

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The base of many good recipes can start with the most simple of ingredients. I love easy shortcrust pastry as it is super simple to prepare, freezable and can form the base of many different recipes.

It takes just minutes to prepare and you can save around 60-70%, at least, compared to buying it ready made in the supermarket. I always find it surprising just how easy shortcrust pastry is to make! Scroll down now for my easy shortcrust pastry recipe.

Shortcrust pastry ingredients

140g butter

280g plain flour

30ml of water

Method for easy shortcrust pastry:

Sift your flour to remove any lumps. Add a pinch of salt if you like.

Add the butter to the flour and rub together with your fingertips to achieve a breadcrumb style consistency.

Add your water, 5-10ml at a time, until you have formed the dough into a ball. Depending on the humidity conditions in your kitchen you may need a little more water than this recipe states, so this is why it is best to add gradually until you’ve formed a ball of dough.

Ensure the dough is not sticky while you’re combining it together. If it is too sticky then add a small dusting of plain flour.

Wrap your ball of dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 – 45 minutes.

Your easy shortcrust pastry dough is now ready to bake!

How long the pastry takes to bake is dependent on the recipe that you’re creating. I often blind bake for around 5-6 minutes before I add filling for recipes such as air fryer quiche.

Easy shortcrust pastry:

As you can see this shortcrust pastry recipe is incredibly simple! If you have a food processor it is even quicker to mix together and you can make a dough in under 1 minute.

If you want to make the dough a little more interesting then add some herbs to the dough, or spices to give it a kick.

I love being able to make easy shortcrust pastry whenever I want it, and often in just minutes.

Shortcrust pastry ideas:

A pie is a real classic, and I’ve got a few on this website that would work with shortcrust pastry including my chicken pie, chicken and mushroom pie and burger pie.

This pastry also works great as part of my cheese and onion quiche. It is SO simple to make, takes just a few minutes and you need such limited ingredients that it is about 1/4 of the price, or less, of buying ready-made shortcrust pastry!

Products I use when making my easy shortcrust pastry:

Can you make shortcrust pastry in a food processor? Can you make pastry in a Nutribullet?

Yes and yes! I would recommend using a food processor over a Nutribullet. If you’re going to use a Nutribullet then I’d suggest pulsing just for a few seconds to overheating. Also, combine by hand in a bowl for the final few seconds so you don’t overwork the dough.

I love making pastry in my food processor and I have mentioned it on my list of uses for a food processor.

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.

Looking for a different recipe to this easy shortcrust pastry?

Cheese and onion quiche

Air fryer roast potatoes

Simple cheese straws

Delicious beef hotpot

Ultimate onion gravy

Sage & onion stuffing

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