Shortcrust Pastry

Shortcrust pastry is one of those kitchen staples that everyone should know how to put together. It's simple, and the base for many desserts, especially pies and tarts. Once you know how to make the basic recipe, you can add to it and experiment to make it your own. And this is the recipe I used for my Homemade Classic Pumpkin Pie.

What it basically is, flour and fat - I use both butter and vegetable shortening, but you can omit the shortening and only use butter - with a little bit of liquid to "glue" it together. The fat is rubbed into the flour with your fingers, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs: it coats the flour and keeps gluten from developing, giving you that signature “short,” crumbly texture that holds fillings beautifully.

For my pumpkin pie, this pastry is especially important. The filling is moist, spiced, and custardy, so the crust needs to be sturdy enough to support it—but still buttery and delicate when you cut into it. A good shortcrust does exactly that: crisp edges, a firm base, and that subtle richness that balances the warm spices of the pumpkin filling. Or any filling for that matter.

What I like most about this pastry is how simple it is to make. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it doesn’t need to be kneaded, and it definitely doesn’t need to be overworked. In fact, the less you fuss with it, the better it behaves. Chill it, roll it out, and let it do its thing in the oven—golden, crisp, and quietly doing all the hard work.

Whether you’re baking a pumpkin pie or making a fruit tart, when the craving hits, this shortcrust pastry is one of those back-pocket recipes worth knowing. Once you make it from scratch, it’s hard to go back to store-bought—and it makes the whole pie feel just a little more intentional.

Simple ingredients, classic results, and the perfect base for cozy bakes. 🤍🥧

Here is your shopping list for this pastry:

• flour

• salt

• butter, chilled and cubed

• vegetable shortening, chilled

• water, chilled

How to make the crust:

Put the salt into the flour, and once you give it a stir, add the fat.

Using your fingers, rub the fat lightly into the flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add chilled water, tablespoon by tablespoon, sprinkling it evenly over your mix. Uneven distribution may cause bubbling while baking.

Go ahead and stir it with a butter knife, until the mixture begins to stick together in lumps. Collect the dough together and form it into a ball.

Knead lightly for a few seconds, just enough to bring it together, Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Add chilled water, tablespoon by tablespoon, sprinkling it evenly over your mix. Uneven distribution may cause bubbling while baking.

Go ahead and stir it with a butter knife, until the mixture begins to stick together in lumps. Collect the dough together and form it into a ball.

Knead lightly for a few seconds, just enough to bring it together.Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle just a tad of flour on your work surface (not on the dough) and roll it evenly in one direction only, turning it occasionally.

The usual thickness is 1/8-in (3mm).

Do not pull or stretch the pastry.

Baking Blind:

What "baking blind" simply means, is to bake the crust, without any filling. There's 2 ways this can go.

1. Par-Baking Blind: baking the crust partially, for pies that will require further baking, like a pumpkin pie.

2. Baking Blind: Fully baking the crust for recipes that don't require any further baking, like fruit tarts.

Line your pie dish with the dough you rolled out.

Prick it with a fork, and then cover with parchment paper. Add your baking beans.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and carefully remove the baking beans and parchment paper.

Bake for an additional 5 minutes. You should start seeing some color on the edges of the crust.

If you are baking partially, this is where you should stop.

If baking all the way, leave the crust in the oven for 15 instead of 5 minutes, until it is golden brown.

Equipment:

If you don't have a pie dish, you can make this in a round glass pan. But the ceramic pie dish I use, that I have ordered on amazon, is the best I have ever personally used. It's from Le Tauci and at a pretty decent price. And it is also pretty. You can click here if you want to check it out.

The other thing you need, is ceramic baking beans. 500gr work just fine for a 9-in pie crust. These are also known as "pie weights." And what these do, they basically help the pie crust stay in place without shrinking or bubbling. It holds it in place until it is firm enough, and then you remove them.