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Shortcrust pastry is the most classic of tart doughs.

Short crust Pastry

Shortcrust pastry is the most classic of tart doughs. It is ideal for fruit tarts such as apple or rhubarb tarts. It is generally combined with a flan, where sweet dough is preferred for tarts with a base of almond cream, custard or lemon curd.
Butter, flour and water: these are the 3 basic ingredients of shortcrust pastry. Extremely quick and easy to make, it requires no special equipment or secret techniques!
The dough can be kept for several days in the fridge (or several months in the freezer, if you add white vinegar). It's easy to make, and all you need to do is anticipate the resting time required to make the dough easy to roll out.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients
  

Shortcrust pastry :

  • 120 g flour type 55
  • 10 g sugar for sweet tarts
  • pinch of salt
  • 90 g softened butter
  • 33 g water
  • one teaspoon white vinegar optional

Instructions
 

Shortcrust pastry :

  • Either you have a food processor and can make your pastry in it, using the sheet. Or you don't have one, and you can make it by hand on your work surface or in a large bowl.
  • Pour the flour, sugar and salt into your bowl (or onto the work surface).
  • Add the softened butter and mix. The dough should be slightly sandy.
  • Add the water and white vinegar and mix until the dough is smooth.
  • Place in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour. You can keep the dough in this form in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. It also freezes well.
  • Take your dough out of the fridge and roll it out, flouring your work surface to prevent it from sticking.
  • Prick the base with a fork and leave to rest in the fridge for another hour.

Baking the shortcrust pastry :

  • If you're using very juicy fruit, or if you're adding a flan, I recommend pre-cooking the pastry to prevent the bottom of your tart from being undercooked.
  • You can also add a little breadcrumbs before placing your fruit, to absorb the fruit juices instead of your pastry.
  • To pre-bake, place the tart in the oven at 170°C (fan assisted) for 10 minutes.
  • The rest of the baking time will vary according to your tart recipe. But remember that this dough is perfectly suited to long cooking times.

Notes

Tips and advice to remember :

Sugar is optional, and this sugar-free pastry is ideal for savoury quiches. But for a fruit tart, I prefer to add a little sugar.
White vinegar is also optional, but has two benefits: it prevents the pastry from oxidizing, especially if you keep it in the fridge for several days. It also limits the action of gluten, so your dough will be crispier and less likely to warp during baking.
The first pause is essential, the second (once the tart has darkened) less so. But it does allow the pastry to relax, thus preventing it from shrinking during baking. So it's more a question of aesthetics.