Why is shortcrust pastry (pie crust) called “short”?
In baking, short is the term that describes a high ratio of butter to flour. As a general rule for shortcrust this is 2:1 of flour to fat. Some recipes may use a little less flour, but this ratio works to provide a rich and tender pastry and crumbly crust that is easy to roll with a rolling pin. Also on a scientific level, when the butter and flour are mixed until just combined, the fat actually slows down gluten production by “shortening” the gluten strands.
How do I make the best shortcrust pastry (pie crust)?
If available look for plain flour that’s marked ‘for biscuit, pastry and cake’. This flour is lower in protein, which results in a lighter flakier dough. When making shortcrust pastry in the food processor, make sure your butter is super chilled as if warm it melts into the pastry causing it to become greasy. In fact you can even go as far as refrigerating the blade to keep the mixture cold.
Tiny cubes of cold butter stay trapped in the pastry, so that when rolled and cooked they steam slightly allowing the pastry to become flaky. Equally as important, don’t get too trigger happy with that button. You only want to process until the mixture is just about to form a ball. This is when it needs to be transferred to a workbench for you to use your hands to lightly press into a ball.
Why do you rest pastry?
A tender shortcrust pastry (or pie crust) relies on light handling to prevent the gluten from developing. As careful as you are though this will still occur. This is where the fridge comes in handy. A few hours or even overnight will relax the gluten strands making the dough easier to roll and lessens the chance of shrinkage when baking.
