Shortcrust Pastry Problems and Solutions | Mason Cash (2024)

FAQs

Shortcrust Pastry Problems and Solutions | Mason Cash? ›

Shortcrust pastry can crack or tear if it's rolled too thin or if it's stretched too much when being placed in the tin. This can be prevented by rolling the pastry to the proper thickness and handling it gently when transferring it. So, wherever possible, it's probably easier to leave it to the experts..

Shortcrust pastry can crack or tear if it's rolled too thin or if it's stretched too much when being placed in the tin. This can be prevented by rolling the pastry to the proper thickness and handling it gently when transferring it. So, wherever possible, it's probably easier to leave it to the experts..

If your pie dough breaks and crumbles when you try to roll it out, it's probably too dry. This is a relatively easy fix. Just sprinkle some cold water over the dough with your fingers and work it in—gently! —until the dough comes together.

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.

Adding too much fat and overmixing or adding too little liquid can make the pastry crumbly. It is vital to weigh ingredients carefully and handle the dough gently.

One of the main reasons for your pastry cracking is that it is too cold, explains Cher, so allowing the temperature to adjust could make all the difference.

To maintain its shape during baking, pastry needs liquid to activate the flour's gluten. For flaky, tender texture, it also requires fat. The balance of those two ingredients is critical. Too much fat and the crust loses its structure and shrinks; too much liquid, it's hard and leathery.

Fats have a shortening effect in pastry. Fat coats the flour particles preventing absorption of water (and therefore preventing gluten developing) which results in a crumbly texture. The higher the amount of fat used the crumblier (shorter) the texture. Butter adds colour and flavour; it is high in saturated fat.

TYPES OF SHORT CRUST PASTRY

Typically there is no rising agent in short crust (though some cooks do use self-rising flour); the fat provides the 'lift' that produces flakiness, as the water in the butter creates steam when it hits the oven, which evaporates to create little air pockets.

Why is my shortcrust pastry soggy? ›

And finally, the most frustrating pastry problem of all – the soggy bottom. This normally happens when the oven is not hot enough or the pastry is not baked for long enough. However, it can also be because too much water was added to the dough.

Try not to add too much liquid - it can make pastry chewy instead of light and crumbly.

RULE #7 Rest the pastry

Putting the dough back in the fridge to rest for any time longer than 15 minutes – but ideally at least 30 minutes – allows the gluten to relax and allows the pastry to chill. Cool and relaxed pastry is far more likely to hold its shape when cooking.

In hot water pastry the larger amount of water means that a strong gelatinised starch network has already formed before cooking, giving a very strong pastry to work with. In shortcrust pastry there is so little water that the starch can only partially hydrate.

Both shortcrust and puff pastry freeze really well. They will last for 1-2 days in the fridge (if they are well covered in clingfilm), but if you aren't going to use it in that time, wrap the pastry tightly in cling film and pop it in the freezer.

Introduce as much air as possible during making. Allow to relax after making to allow the fat to harden. Handle the pastry as little as possible. Roll lightly with short, quick firm strokes.

Roll and handle shortcrust pastry as little as possible as overworking it can produce tough and unpleasant results. Choose a metal tart tin rather than a ceramic one to ensure the bottom of your tart is well cooked. Ceramic tart tins, though pretty, can cause soggy bottoms.