The secret to perfect, buttery pie crust
A favorite culinary tradition of mine is making homemade quiche during the fall season. I love a classic quiche Lorraine, filled with smoky bacon, rich Gruyère cheese and shallots. But I’ve also tried ones stuffed with spinach, onions and mushrooms or zucchini, red peppers, olives and goat cheese — two recipes courtesy of Reddit.
This year, as I prepare for my annual quiche indulgence, I’m challenging myself to make homemade shortcrust pastry. I’ll admit, I’ve always taken shortcuts when it comes to the crust, opting for the frozen, pre-rolled sheets available at my local supermarket. However, I’ve been inspired to try making it homemade following this season’s “Pastry Week” episode of “The Great British Baking Show.”
In the technical challenge, bakers were asked to make a shortcrust base with a set white chocolate ganache, topped with their choice of complementary ingredients. Several bakers crumbled under the pressure, presenting broken or cracked crusts to the judges. Others overworked their pastry, which resulted in a tough, rubbery texture.
Achieving the perfect shortcrust base isn’t an easy feat. Here to break down all the do’s and don’ts of making shortcrust pastry is Bridget Vickers, senior chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education’s Los Angeles campus.
Cold butter and cold water are absolutely key
“You’re creating that short texture and that’s usually done with your cold fat. Butter is the king of that. When you use unsalted butter, you get the best flavor and you control the amount of salt. One technique that I do is I take my butter and I’ll shred it. Then, I’ll put it in the freezer. That way, the butter is going to get really nice and cold. And it’s shredded, so that when I add it in, it’s already crumbled,” Vickers said.
“You also need to use ice-cold water. This is non-negotiable! You have to use ice-cold water. Some recipes will add egg yolk or milk. That basically enriches the dough as well. But plain water is just fine. The cold temperature of the water and butter is absolutely key.”
Try the “rub in” method when incorporating the butter
“The ‘rub in’ method is basically with your hands so that you can actually feel the butter going into the flour. You can actually feel what you’re doing. And you always want to wear gloves, so that way, the heat transfer is not as much as plain hands.
You want to use your fingertips mainly and you want to work very quickly because you’re going to be working the fat into the flour. You want to have small, visible, pea-sized pieces of butter. When you’re rubbing the butter in, you’re incorporating the air as well. When that butter melts, it’s going to create steam and, ultimately, that flakiness during the baking process.”
Refrain from using a food processor
“It’s quick. However, you’re losing that hand feel. You’re not going to feel that texture. The problem with a food processor is the blade, which creates friction and adds heat that will cause the butter to melt too quickly. We want to keep everything cold because that’s the key.
A mistake that many people make is letting the food processor run. Once that happens, you’re forming a crumble to go on top of something that’s not flavored.”
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Use a fork to mix your wet and dry ingredients
“After you’ve incorporated your fat into your flour, you want to drizzle your ice-cold water over the top — and you want to do it a little at a time. I usually use a fork to mix everything so that I’m distributing the water and not getting it all in one area. You don’t want to over-mix. The dough should clump and stick together, but it still should look kind of shaggy and dry. You don’t want to over-wet your dough because that will give you a tough crust.”
Place your dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes
“Lay out your fully incorporated dough onto a floured surface. You can put it on two pieces of parchment, as well. Use the heel of your hand to gently push the dough together until all the butter and liquids have been distributed. Then, you want to shape the dough into a flat disc. Make sure you’re not making it overly thick — it should be at least a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch thick. The dough should then be placed into the refrigerator or freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes. Ideally, it’s usually about an hour or two. You also want to wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap so it doesn’t make the dough grey in color.
It’s important to chill your dough before rolling it out. This allows everything to relax and the butter and water to get all cold again. This results in a tender crust, because if you develop that gluten, you’re developing bread. That results in a really tough pastry.”
Make sure to roll your dough all around — not just in one direction
“I like to roll the dough between two pieces of parchment because that allows me to put it back into the freezer or into the refrigerator to chill again until I need to use it, if I’m going to be using it later. If I’m using the dough immediately, then I’ll put it right into my tart pan and pop it into the freezer.
When it comes to rolling, you have to make sure that you start in the center and you roll out towards the edges. You want to be rotating the dough at least 45 degrees every time you roll. It’s a constant turn, so you roll, turn, roll, turn, roll, turn, and you’ll get that perfect circle. If you notice that the dough is starting to crack, it’s not a problem because it can be patched up. It’s such a forgiving dough that you just take a piece from the outer edge and you can just put it in that crack and roll over the top.”
Remember to blind bake
“It all depends on what it’s going to be used for, but most of the time, shortcrust pastry is used for fruit tarts. If you’re going to be using it for a fruit tart, you want to make sure that you blind bake it. You also want to make sure that you dot the lined pastry with a fork. And you want to line it with some parchment paper, or you can use foil.
Be sure to fill the lined pastry with some pie weights. If you don’t have pie weights, you can use dried beans or rice. What this does is it weighs the pastry down. It stops it from puffing and it holds the sides in place so they don’t shrink in. It’s important to make sure that you’re putting those beans all the way up to the sides. Blind baking stops the bottom from becoming soggy.”
Don’t overbake your pastry
“Shortcrust pastry is usually baked for about 15 minutes in the oven. Once finished, the pastry should be light golden brown in color. You don’t want to overbake it. If you do, then you’re going to have a crumbly crust.”
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