Hello, my dear readers and guests of my blog. Today I will tell you all the secrets of a successful shortcrust pastry. Depending on what product you will bake, you will choose the right recipe for yourself.

Frankly, I wrote this post for a long, very long time, because I got confused. I collected information on the Internet, clarified it in books and even from French bloggers. I tried to structure it so as not to miss anything. The dough is kind of like dough - everything is simple, not like yeast, but the cooking methods made me difficult.

Have you noticed in the recipes how to cook shortcrust pastry, two different options are described everywhere.

1. Grind the softened butter with sugar and eggs, then flour is added.
2. Cold butter is rubbed (chopped) with flour, and then eggs beaten with sugar are added.

Sometimes the same recipe is prepared in these different ways. Do you end up with the same baked goods? Let's figure it out.

So the first option is shortbread dough, and the second option is considered chopped.

But let's start with the basics of cooking. We will remember and sort out the completely obvious properties of products that you know even without me, and there will be nothing new here. The bottom line is to learn how to apply this knowledge about making the perfect shortcrust pastry in the future.

Ingredient properties

Shortcrust pastry should be crumbly. How to achieve this? You need to know a little about how each component in the test works.

• Flour. Flour, as you know, can be different, but here the amount of gluten, gluten is important to us. In Latin, gluten means glue. The smaller it is, the dough will be looser. Sometimes starch is added to flour to remove the viscosity. It is allowed to add another type of flour, for example, oatmeal cookies are mixed with oatmeal.
• Butter. Butter is fat, it keeps flour from sticking together. The higher quality and fatter the oil, the tastier the pastries will be. Butter in some recipes is replaced with cooking oil (such as lard). Previously, it was sold on a par with margarine and in the same packages of 250 g, now I have not seen it anywhere in stores. You can replace butter with margarine. In Soviet times, all recipes in culinary notebooks were based on margarine. See for yourself according to your financial capabilities. But I still recommend using butter. Do not forget that margarine is a compound fat that is difficult for the body to digest and is poorly excreted from it.
• Eggs and water. It is the link between flour and butter. Depending on the recipe, it is added in a certain amount so that the mass is kneaded with dough, otherwise everything will not connect. Protein is like glue, so for a more sandy effect it is better not to use them. Cookies with yolks are more crumbly and stay soft longer, such as Palets Breton (Breton cookies).
• Sugar. Since the dough must be cooked quickly so that the butter does not have time to melt, it is best to replace with powdered sugar. Another option is to grind with eggs until the crystals are completely dissolved.
• Salt. Salt must be in any dough, even in sweet ones, a small pinch is enough to set off the taste, salt shows the taste of sugar, makes it brighter. With salt, the dough will not seem bland.
• Soda or baking powder. Soda is not put in shortbread dough; flowability is achieved by proper preparation. But some housewives, not confident in their abilities, resort to the help of baking powder. With it, baking will surely succeed. So it's your choice.
• Additional flavoring ingredients. By adding various ingredients such as vanilla, cocoa, lemon peel, a variety of nuts, dried fruits, chocolate drops, ground ginger, cinnamon, you will get a new exquisite taste and aroma.

Cooking rules

Now you know how the components work, but there are still mandatory conditions, so to speak, the technological process that must be followed, no matter what recipe you cook below.

1. All ingredients must be weighed on a scale. The recipe in cups, spoons is not suitable here, the recipe must be strictly observed in grams. Of course, you can use measuring cups, but be sure to follow the recipe more precisely. Use the table of measures of weights and volumes.
2. Dry ingredients (flour, salt, soda or baking powder, cocoa powder, ground nuts) are mixed before cooking. But remember that cocoa is equivalent to loose, i.e. to flour. Therefore, if you add cocoa powder to the dough, then reduce the same amount of flour in the recipe. For example, reduce 1 tablespoon of flour and add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.
3. If you are preparing chopped dough, then all kitchen utensils (beating bowl, whisks, rolling board, rolling pin) should be cold.
4. Shortbread dough cannot be kneaded for a long time, just combine all the crumbs into a lump and knead a couple of times. Strike out.
5. Ready shortbread dough must be cooled. Place in a plastic bag, close tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour. To make the dough cool faster and better, do not put it in a kolobok, flatten it slightly. Why is it necessary to refrigerate at all? Look, butter, when heated, separates into milk fat and liquid. You could observe this if you cooked ghee, and remaining cold in the mass with flour will not allow the flour to absorb moisture, because the flour contains gluten, which combines with the liquid and adds viscosity to the dough. And this cannot be allowed.
6. Roll out the dough in an even layer, otherwise thinner layers will be more dried in the oven. If one large cake is baked, it must be pricked over the entire surface with a fork.
7. Bake the shortcrust pastry in a preheated oven at 200°C, placing the pastries in the middle of the oven on the standard top-bottom oven setting, until lightly golden.

shortcrust pastry recipes

France is considered the founder and unsurpassed leader of the confectionery art. So in France shortcrust pastry is divided into three types.

1. pâte brisée - basic basic chopped dough.
2. pate sablee - chopped sweet.
3. pate sukree - soft sweet shortcrust pastry.

Completely unfamiliar names, incomprehensible to ordinary housewives, but familiar to everyone according to the cooking technology.

Basic chopped shortcrust pastry or pâte brisée

It is considered the most universal, basic test. As a rule, savory pastries are made on its basis, such as meat pies, open pies with vegetables or Quiche.

Pate Brize is a chopped pastry made with only flour, water and a moderate amount of butter, and no sugar or salt is added to it.

Ingredients:

• flour - 250 g;
• butter - 125 g;
• ice water - 50 ml;
• salt - a pinch.

It is prepared with the help of a combine - mixer, but you can easily knead with your hands.

1. Put the well-chilled butter on the flour and chop with a knife (grate or cut into small cubes), grind with flour until fine mealy crumbs are obtained.
2. Gradually adding cold water, quickly combine the dough into a ball.
3. Send to refrigerator.

Due to large grains of cold butter, when moisture evaporates during baking, the dough acquires the properties of layering. Sometimes such dough is called “false” or “pseudo-layered”.

Depending on the proportions of water, flour and butter, you can even make dough for the cake layers of the famous and beloved Napoleon cake.

Chopped dough or pate sablee

This is the same chopped dough as the base, but with slightly different proportions of ingredients, or rather, with the addition of sugar, eggs and, if necessary, water.

Ingredients:

• flour - 250 g;
• salt - a pinch;
• butter - 125 g;
• sugar - 60 g;
• eggs - 1 pc.

Sweet or savory shortcrust pastry (pate sukree)

This is the simplest dough and the easiest to make of all, in my opinion. Cookies from it turn out to be crumbly, just melt in your mouth, and a wide variety of cookie shapes can be formed.

Shortcrust pastry can be used to make the following products:

• kurabye;
• Viennese cookies;
• rings with nuts;
• baskets with protein cream;
• envelopes with jam;
• sugar rolls;
• and many, many other goodies.

Shortcrust pastry is an excellent base for cakes with curd and fruit fillings, and is also suitable for jam pie.

Depending on the amount of flour, the dough will either be softer or denser. The ideal proportion is 1-2-3, i.e. 1 part sugar, 2 parts butter and 3 parts flour. And, mind you, this is in grams.

The classic shortcrust pastry recipe for one-two-three looks like this:

• sugar - 100 g;
• butter - 200 g;
• flour - 300 g;
• egg - 1 pc. whole or two yolks;
• salt - a pinch;
• baking powder - 1 tsp

But sometimes another proportion is more justified in the recipe, namely, twice as much flour as butter, especially if milk or sour cream is added to the dough.

How to cook shortcrust pastry?

It is good to prepare such a dough in advance, the night before, put it in the cold at night, and quickly form cookies in the morning so that you can be content with fresh pastries for tea for breakfast.

Have you noticed that during the cooking process there are no grains of oil? The oil is ground with sugar and eggs, and, therefore, large voids do not form when heated in the oven, as in chopped. This will make the cookies softer.

I hope you understand the specifics of cooking. Maybe I missed something or made a mistake, write in the comments, we will discuss together.

This is an intermediate option between sand and puff pastry. It is crumbly, but strong, so it is suitable as a base for large pies and quiches.

In a recipe, you can add the word "cold" before each ingredient and item, and this should not be neglected. Water should be ice cold, oil - hard as a stone. It's a good idea to keep bowls, knives and even the board on which you will work with the dough in the freezer. It is better to move the cutting table away from the battery or open a window.

The secret of shortcrust pastry in oil. It is thanks to him that baking turns out crumbly.

All this trouble to ensure that the butter does not melt. Because otherwise you get a completely different product.

Classic way

Ingredients

• 200 g butter;
• 300 g flour;
• a pinch of salt;
• 50–100 ml of water.

Cooking

Chop the cold butter into small cubes and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. At this time, sift the flour with salt, pour it on a table or board. Lay the butter cubes on top, dust them generously with flour and chop the dough with a knife or two.

It is important to touch the oil as little as possible with your hands: body heat will quickly melt it, the consistency will not be what you need.

When the butter and dough combine and turn into small grains, gradually add water, kneading the mass into a plastic ball. Put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then roll out the dough, put the filling, for example, and send it to the oven.

lazy way

Technological progress does not stand still, why not use it in cooking. You will need the same ingredients and a food processor with bladed knives. It is not necessary to chop the oil into small cubes: the device will handle itself. Throw butter, flour into the bowl and whisk. The main thing is not to overdo it, in the end you should get all the same grains.

Gradually add ice water until the dough starts to form into a ball. Further instructions are the same as in the classic recipe.

Shortcrust pastry can be stored in the freezer for several weeks.

Additives

You can deviate from the basic recipe. Here are some ideas:

1. Put 50-100 g of sugar in the dough for a sweet pie.
2. Replace 30 g of flour with the same amount of cocoa - you will get chocolate dough.
3. Add up to half a cup of finely chopped nuts.
4. Flavor the mixture with citrus zest or vanilla.

According to this recipe, a more plastic dough will be obtained, which is convenient to roll out. Baking from it crumbles less. By the way, in culinary disputes, some confectioners refuse to call shortbread chopped dough. They believe that only with the help of such a recipe can one get a classic basis for tarts and baskets.

The oil should not be cold, but chilled. It is impossible to explain how one state differs from another. Just take the product out of the freezer an hour before cooking.

Ingredients

• 100 g of oil;
• 100 g of sugar (preferably powdered sugar);
• 250 g flour;
• 1 egg (or 2 yolks).

Cooking

It is better to mix the components with a culinary spatula or spoon, and connect your hands only at the last stage, when you need to collect the dough into a ball. Rub butter with sugar, add flour, then egg.

If you have a food processor, delegate all these responsibilities to him.

You can cool the dough, and then cut it. You can first give it the desired shape, and then send it to the freezer. It is important that it enters the oven cold.

3. Cottage cheese shortbread dough

This dough is less capricious in work than its counterparts without cottage cheese, and less high-calorie, since the fermented milk product replaces half the butter.

Ingredients

• 100 g of cottage cheese;
• 100 g butter;
• 180 g flour;
• ½ teaspoon of soda;
• ½ teaspoon salt.

Cooking

Rub the cottage cheese through a sieve, grate the cold butter on a grater. Mix both ingredients with a fork, add flour, soda and salt. Quickly knead the dough until smooth, put in a bag and put in the refrigerator for an hour.

What to do next

If the menu is a pie, then roll out the dough to the size of the mold, pierce it several times with a fork so that it does not swell, cover with parchment paper and cover with a load. Special heat-resistant balls or beans, peas can act as a weighting agent. This design is baked for about 15 minutes at a temperature of 180 ° C. Then remove the load, lay out the filling of the pie and bring to readiness.

It is better to choose the filling, adjusted for the sugar content in the dough. Unsweetened chopped is suitable for quiches with filling, pies with meat and vegetables. Dough with added sugar will be the basis for fruit and berry

Baskets are also baked, only the cooking time must be reduced in proportion to the decrease in the size of the cakes. It is enough to bring cookies and other small products in the oven to a light blush, otherwise they will be too hard.

Sometimes you want to enjoy some pastries. And the more successful it is, the greater the feeling of satisfaction. Each of us has a favorite delicacy, which is based on shortcrust pastry. The skillful hostess can supplement the classic recipe with her favorite ingredients, which will create an individual culinary masterpiece.

shortcrust pastry

This is a semi-finished product that is used in the preparation of flour products both on an industrial scale and at home. It is obtained by mixing different ingredients and is the basis of many recipes, so it largely depends on how tasty the finished dish will be. At the same time, you need to know what kind of dough is being prepared for what purpose and how to knead it correctly.

The dough can be prepared using two different technologies:

• yeast;
• yeast-free.

In the manufacture of the first technology, yeast is used as a leavening agent. Two methods are possible here: double (first the sourdough is kneaded, and then the dough itself) and unpaired (the dough is used immediately after kneading).

Yeast-free dough is divided into biscuit, shortbread and puff pastry. Each of them is prepared according to its own technology and differs significantly in taste.

The classic recipe of which is based on a 3:2:1 ratio (flour/butter/sugar), is used for baking cookies and pies, and is also found in some recipes for cakes and cakes.

Classic shortcrust pastry

The correct shortcrust pastry is obtained very tasty and tender. The classic recipe involves several options:

• flour, butter, sugar, water, egg yolk;
• flour, butter, sugar, water;
• flour, butter, sugar, eggs, soda, vanillin;
• flour, butter, sour cream, sugar, soda, baking powder.

Preparing such a dough is easy and fast, it turns out very tender and crumbly.

Shortbread dough, the classic recipe of which necessarily includes butter, is kneaded in several ways. It depends on what consistency the oil is in. Frozen is rubbed on a grater, solid butter from the refrigerator is cut into cubes with a knife, softened is placed in flour and mixed with it with a mixer, melted is poured and also mixed. If you need to get lean shortbread dough, then butter is replaced with vegetable oil.

cookie dough

Freshly made homemade shortbread cookies have a unique taste and delicate aroma. This is the case when the simplest is the best. Such cookies, intended for perhaps, will take longer to cook than to show off on the dining table.

Classic does not contain any frills, extra ingredients. Such cookies are good because they are served warm, sometimes still hot, as they say, piping hot. Therein lies its charm. Their shape also gives such cookies a special attraction: you can cut out animals, flowers and stars.

So, let's take the necessary products:

• 200 g butter;
• 100 g of granulated sugar;
• 2 eggs;
• 2 cups of flour;
• 0.5 tsp soda.

Let's get cooking:

If desired, raisins, cocoa powder, nuts can be added to the mass before baking.

Pie dough

The classic recipe for shortcrust pastry for a pie allows you to retain moisture well, which is released from the fruit during baking. At the same time, the cake remains crispy on the outside, and so that it does not drip, you need to put a little starch in the filling.

The minimal version of such a test looks like this. Let's take as ingredients:

• 235 g flour;
• 115 g butter;
• 115 ml of water.

Cooking:

1. Put all products and equipment in the refrigerator for ten minutes.
2. With a knife, cut the butter into small cubes and then chop it with flour.
3. Add ice water to a small oil crumb and collect the dough in a ball.
4. Wrapped in cling film, put the dough in the refrigerator for half an hour.
5. We spread it on the table, roll it out, add the filling and send it to the oven.

If everything is done using this technology, the dough will turn out crispy and will not form bubbles during baking.

The cake can be arranged open and closed, on a baking sheet and in shape. As a filling for such a pie, you can take strawberries, cherries, wild berries, apples. You can simply sprinkle the filling with sugar, or you can pour berries or fruits with gelatin dissolved in yogurt. Everyone will appreciate this delicacy.

Lovely dessert

A beautiful ruddy crust forms during baking classic shortcrust pastry. A recipe with a photo of the finished product is a vivid example of this.

The dough made according to the previous recipe is very well suited for a pie with berries. The only thing that can be added to the ingredients is granulated sugar. In addition to sweetness, it also forms a pleasant fragrant crust, which will give the finished product a beautiful appearance.

Such a pie will be a wonderful dessert, it goes very well with milk, juice, compote. The enthusiastic praise of loved ones will be a reward for the efforts in making the pie.

Miscellaneous shortcrust pastry products

Recently, shortbread dough products have become very popular, because they are prepared simply, and they have a homely taste.

Done properly, the dough has a crumbly structure and a sweetish taste. From it you can cook closed and cakes, cakes, bagels, tartlets. They will decorate the festive table, suitable for a modest evening tea party.

Wonderful shortbread dough, the classic recipe of which is supplemented with kefir, will go to bagels with jam. Kefir makes the dough very elastic, which allows you to roll a bagel filled with aromatic filling.

Shortbread dough, the classic recipe of which allows you to roll it out very thinly, will be an excellent basis for cheesecake with cottage cheese. Children are very fond of this pastry, because it has a very delicate creamy taste.

Good delicious day, dear readers! I really like shortcrust pastry. As a child, my mother baked crumbly and tender cookies from it. And what is doubly nice - it can be used for both sweet and savory pastries. Today I will share with you a classic shortbread dough recipe that is suitable for making pies, cookies and even a cake.

Have you ever wondered where shortcrust pastry came from? And I became interested in the history of the emergence of a delicious recipe, and I began to study it. Unfortunately, there is very little information about this on the Internet.

It is only known that the recipe appeared somewhere in the 12th-13th centuries in Scotland and Britain. Initially, bread was baked, and small pieces of crackers or even crumbs were dried from the remnants of the dough at low temperatures. Then they began to add butter and sugar, and so gradually, the dough became the way we know it now.

Moreover, the components of the dough can be varied - done with or without eggs, add sour cream or cottage cheese, replace butter with margarine on fasting days. The quality of baking did not change. It is only necessary to take into account that if there is butter in the dough, the baking turns out to be very high-calorie.

And if you are on a diet, then you should refrain from tasty, but adding volume to the waist, desserts. But if summer is still far away, and you have not joined the team of those who are losing weight, then you can treat yourself to delicious pastries. You will not regret.

Another interesting fact from history. They say that our Empress Catherine II was very fond of a crumbly and tasty dessert. And every morning she started with a cup of aromatic coffee and a sweet basket of dough that melts in her mouth. Let's learn how to make shortcrust pastry.

Classic shortcrust pastry recipe

The classic recipe for shortcrust pastry consists of butter, flour and sugar taken in different parts.

For example:

• 100 grams of sugar;
• 200 grams of oil;
• 300 grams of flour.

For cooking, all foods must be cold, otherwise they may come into conflict with each other and separate. At the same time, the dough will turn out to be tight and poorly rolled out, baking will become tough.

First, mix sugar and butter. I cut the butter into pieces for convenience. Then add the sifted flour and knead the dough with your hands until crumbly. Just do it quickly before the butter melts. At the last stage, knead the dough very quickly with your hands, roll it into a ball, wrap it with cling film and send it to the refrigerator to rest for 30-50 minutes.

This is the easiest shortcrust pastry recipe. It is ideal for sweet pies, cookies and cakes.

Shortcrust pastry without eggs

My all-time favorite version of this recipe without the use of eggs. I tweaked it to my liking.

What you need:

• Butter - 170 grams;
• Sugar - 80 grams;
• Wheat flour - 210 grams.

I make it in a combine. In a bowl, beat sugar and butter, cut into pieces for convenience, at high speeds. The oil has previously stood for a little while until it is slightly softened, so that it whips more easily. Then I add flour. Beat on low speed just a little bit, until it begins to gather in lumps. After that, I transfer it to the form and ram it. This is the recipe I use to make lemon bars, you can see the full recipe here.

For other pastries, roll the mass into a lump, into a bag and rest in the refrigerator.

Shortcrust pastry for tartlets

I like to serve appetizers in the form of tartlets. It is both aesthetically pleasing and delicious. But again, high in calories, because the composition includes butter. In this case, you can take a lighter filling to balance the usefulness and calorie content.

What do we need?l

• Butter or margarine 200 grams;
• Flour 250 grams;
• Egg 1 piece;
• A pinch of salt.

This time we will cook savory dough. It is ideal for tartlets and open pies, such as quiche or tart... First cut the butter into pieces. But it must be cold. Combine with flour until smooth.
Break the egg into a separate bowl and add a pinch of salt. We beat everything and send it to a cup with flour and butter. Thoroughly and quickly knead delicious dough for tartlets at home.

We wrap the finished lump of dough in cling film or put it in a plastic bag and send it to rest in the refrigerator. During this time, you can prepare the filling.

Options for fillings for tartlets:

1. From eggs, cheese and garlic;
2. Overcook mushrooms with onions;
3. Ham with cheese and cucumber;
4. Olivier salad;
5. Crab sticks with egg;
6. Caviar;
7. Red fish with potatoes;
8. Liver paste.

I will not dwell on the fillings in detail - they are not difficult to prepare.
After the dough has rested, roll it into a thin layer and cut it out with a shape or glass of notch. If you have cupcake molds, then we put our blanks there. You can not lubricate the walls, since the dough is very fatty in consistency due to oil. Prick all over the bottom with a fork.

You can pour pre-washed peas, beans or other cereals on the bottom so that the dough does not rise and looks beautiful. You can, of course, just knead it into shape with your hands. But in this case, it is unlikely that it will be possible to achieve a flat surface, and this will be ugly. Therefore, I advise you to first roll out a layer of dough.

If there are no molds, you can cut squares or rectangles with a curly pizza knife or a regular one, chop and bake, and then use them like crackers. You will also get an original serving for decorating the table.

Bake in the oven (be sure to preheat) at a temperature of about 180-190 degrees for 7 - 12 minutes. Each oven has its own characteristics, so if you are baking for the first time, keep an eye on the temperature and condition of the tartlets. As soon as they are covered with an even tan, take them out and let them cool a little. And only after that, release them from the mold, after gently picking them from the walls with a knife.

Shortcrust pastry with sour cream

The dough with the addition of sour cream is softer and more pliable. It makes excellent shortbread cakes and cookies. You can also cook tender ones.

What will be needed?

• Flour 180 grams;
• Oil 75 grams;
• Sugar or powdered sugar 50 grams;
• Sour cream 75 grams;
• Yolk of one egg.

As always, the products must be chilled for the best and correct kneading. Cut the cold butter into cubes, add the sifted flour and sugar. Grind quickly with your hands to crumbs. If you plan to bake cakes more than 1 centimeter high, add half a teaspoon of baking powder. Add yolk and sour cream to a cup with crumbly crumbs.

The main thing here is not to overdo it with kneading by hand. I usually take a piece of dough, squeeze it in my hands and throw it back into the cup. And I do this several times until it gathers into one lump. At the same time, contact with the test is minimal, which is required. I wrap the resulting lump in a film and send it to winter in the refrigerator. Shortbread dough on sour cream is ready for use in 20-40 minutes.

It will make excellent melt-in-your-mouth cookies or pies with berries or jam.

Shortcrust curd dough

Shortbread dough with the addition of cottage cheese is suitable for pies, cookies and cake layers. It is lighter and healthier than the classic recipe. I like the taste of cottage cheese in bulk. Moreover, the consistency of the dough depends on the granularity of the cottage cheese. If the cottage cheese is dry, then the dough absorbs less flour. If wet, then correspondingly more. Here you already need to look, and in the process of cooking, adjust the amount of flour.

So, what do we need for shortcrust curd dough:

• Cottage cheese of any fat content 200 grams;
• Butter 120 grams;
• Sugar 50-70 grams depending on your preference (sweeter or not);
• Flour 200-250 grams;
• Half a pack of baking powder;
• 1 egg;
• A pinch of salt.

Cooking process:

1. Cut the butter into pieces, keep in the refrigerator, and then mix with sugar;
2. Add the egg and mix again thoroughly, but quickly;
3. Pour the cottage cheese into a cup and knead the mass with a fork until smooth;
4. Add some flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Here, already look, if the mass sticks strongly to your hands, then add more flour. You should get a homogeneous piece of dough;
5. Wrap in cellophane and refrigerate.

The shortbread-curd dough is ready for creativity. What to cook from it is limited only by your imagination.

Shortcrust pastry technology

To properly prepare the dough, you need to follow certain rules. Now we will consider them.

1. All products must be refrigerated. Only under this condition is the correct elastic dough obtained;
2. Use only quality products. You can replace the butter with margarine, but I would not recommend it. The quality of margarine is inferior to butter;
3. You can’t knead the dough for a long time - it will become dense, it is more difficult to roll it out and when finished it turns out to be tough and rough;
4. If you shifted the oil, then it will melt and the products will turn out to be too crumbly. The same thing can happen if too many yolks are added to the mass;
5. An excessive amount of flour and water leads to a deterioration in the quality of the product - it becomes tight and non-plastic. I don't add water.
6. The dough should be rolled out with a thickness of 3 mm to one centimeter. If thicker, add baking powder.
7. If the cake is burnt in places, it means that you rolled it unevenly;
8. To obtain a more uniform structure, instead of sugar, it is better to use powdered sugar;
9. Bake on a baking sheet on baking paper, without greasing anything. There is a lot of fat in the dough.

Subject to these simple requirements, shortcrust pastry will always turn out for you, and you will delight your loved ones with homemade cakes, using not only the classic shortcrust pastry recipe, but also all of the options listed above. Soon I will tell you what you can cook from it. If you want to be in the know, subscribe to updates! I wish you a pleasant tea!

Everyone who is fond of cooking, and especially baking, most likely dealt with shortcrust pastry. After all, it is from it that various pies, bases for cakes, tartlets, baskets, cookies are prepared. And it is generally accepted that it is quite simple, and it is easy and simple to prepare.

And in principle, the way it is, it is prepared quickly and simply. And therefore it is widely used in home cooking. For example, I have also been using it for baking for a long time. But here's what's interesting, I've never really thought about the fact that products from it can be completely different.

For some, they turn out tender and crumbly, while for others they are too oily or completely hard. And I was wondering why this is happening. After all, this question is by no means rhetorical! When you bake, you don’t want to transfer products in vain, you also don’t want the baking to turn out well once, and the next time it doesn’t work out at all. I want it to always come out with the same result - Excellent!

And then I became more attentive to the recipes that I cooked, and to the recipe of this or that baked product. Studied recipes, analyzed. I also began to read the information on this topic, which I met. And it turned out that this is a whole science that all world-class chefs and confectioners comprehend.

It turns out that to prepare a real shortcrust pastry, you need to know some basic principles and many nuances and secrets. Knowing them, there will never be any problems with cooking recipes and, of course, with baking, and everything that we cook from it will turn out with a predictable excellent result.

Most likely everyone knows why it is called that way? Confectionery baked from it crumbles like sand, hence the quite logical name. But what allows you to achieve such a consistency and what ingredients are required for cooking? These questions will be considered first.

1. Of course, the first thing we need is flour. What is baking without flour?! It is believed that for the "correct" preparation, it must contain an average percentage of gluten or gluten, or simply put - glue. If the percentage is low, then the finished confectionery will quickly crumble. If the percentage, on the contrary, is high, then the “glue” will stick it together and the pastries will turn out not as crumbly as we would like.

We will not now determine how much gluten is in a particular flour. Everything has already been determined for us. And we will simply use ready-made results taken from the Internet. It is believed that the average percentage of gluten contains flour of the highest grade and grade "Extra". So with this we were not mistaken, and always prepared it from the “correct” flour.

Sometimes some additional ingredients are added to the flour, such as nut or almond flour, oatmeal or starch. All these components are added depending on what you would like to cook. Next, we will look at how to add these components.

2. Loose products are obtained from a sufficiently large amount of fat, namely butter or margarine in the composition of the recipe. This is a very important component, and therefore its choice should be taken very seriously.

In Soviet times, butter was a great luxury, and therefore almost all pastries were prepared with margarine. At present, I have not used margarine for a long time, too many unflattering words have been written about it, besides, it is believed that it is poorly absorbed by the body, and is simply harmful to use.

I use 82.5% oil, it is natural and healthy. Peasant butter contains 72.5% trans fats, which are also not recommended for consumption.

It is believed that the better and fatter the oil, the tastier the products baked with its use will be. Oil prevents flour from sticking together, it envelops the particles of flour and prevents them from connecting to each other. And it is precisely because of this that the baking turns out to be crumbly and tender, with a soft sandy texture.

Due to large grains of cold butter, when moisture evaporates during baking, the product acquires the properties of layering. Therefore, sometimes in the literature you can find such a thing as "false puff" dough.

3. It must also contain a liquid component - and here it is eggs and water. Water, as a rule, is used very chilled, almost ice cold. And if we cook it with eggs, then only the yolks can be used.

The protein has more gluing substances, and therefore it sticks particles more than it holds together, and the yolk practically does not stick together, but has binding properties, which allows it to remain crumbly. With all this, it binds flour and butter together well. The same applies to cold water.

The water must be very cold so that the butter does not melt.

4. If we prepare it for sweet confectionery, then, of course, we cannot do without sugar. It is better to take small sugar so that it dissolves faster. And it is best to grind the amount of sugar required according to the recipe into powder.

It is clear that we add sugar to the sweet dough, but what about the non-sweet one. It is believed that you should always add a pinch of salt to it, and a pinch of sugar to unsweetened.

Speed ​​in preparation is the main condition. It should not be long in contact with the surrounding air and warm hands. Our task is to prevent the butter from melting during kneading!

Therefore, in order for the sugar to dissolve faster, a technique such as grinding sugar with eggs is used, and that is why sugar is used fine or ground into powder.

5. Salt, as well as sugar, must always be added, whether we are preparing sweet or non-sweet dishes. Therefore, do not forget about it, and always add a pinch, or as much as required by the recipe.

It is believed that the addition of salt and sugar allows you to cook very tasty, fresh-tasting pastries.

5. Now our attention is simply offered a huge number of various recipes in which soda or baking powder can be found in the ingredients. It must be said that these ingredients are usually not used in classic recipes. But, in principle, they are acceptable. Soda in this case is usually quenched not with vinegar, as we are used to, but with lemon juice.

This is done so that the finished products do not have an unpleasant specific taste of soda.

6. And what is not added as additional flavorings, mainly lemon and orange peel, vanilla and vanilla sugar, cocoa, chocolate, various nuts, including as flour, dried fruits, candied fruits. Ginger and cinnamon are also added.

7. All components must exactly match the recipe. If it is written that you need 115 grams of oil, and 75 grams of oil, then that is exactly how much you need to use. In this case, the expression "by eye" does not fit at all!

Use electronic scales, and if you don’t have them, then there are many tables of measures and weights on the Internet, by which you can accurately determine the desired proportions.

Basic cooking principles

Of course, the composition of the ingredients is very important! But it can be the same for everyone, and the end result will be different for everyone.

Let's deal with the basic principles of cooking together, and also learn all the secrets thanks to which our confectionery products will always turn out perfectly.

1. To prepare chopped dough, all ingredients, including flour, must be cooled in the refrigerator.

The oil must be chilled. Someone puts it to cool in the freezer - this is not true. The butter should be easily cut into cubes with a knife, and when pressed, it should “flatten” slightly.

2. All kitchen utensils that we will use must also be pre-cooled in the refrigerator. This is a board, a rolling pin, and a knife. If you use a mixer, it will also need to be kept in the refrigerator for a while.

This is important because it must be of a certain structure, otherwise the baking may turn out to be very far from ideal. That is why it also needs to be kneaded extremely quickly! To keep the butter from melting!

3. Before starting mixing, you need to combine all bulk components separately, and all liquid components - separately.

Flour and baking powder (if you use it, or it is in the recipe) must be sifted through a sieve. Add salt, starch to flour, if it is in the recipe. Bulk components include nut flour, and oatmeal, and cocoa, and cinnamon, and dried ginger.

If we use these ingredients, then mix them with flour as well. But make sure the proportions are correct. If you enter additional ingredients into the recipe yourself, then enter them according to the principle of substitution. We decided to introduce a spoonful of almond flour, remove the spoonful of regular flour from the recipe.

It is believed that flour can be replaced no more than 10%. So if your recipe says 300 grams of flour, and you decide to add almond flour, then add 30 grams of almond flour and 270 grams of regular flour. The same goes for cocoa. If you add a spoonful of starch or cocoa, remove a spoonful of flour.

Sugar also refers to bulk components, but it is better to mix it with egg yolks in advance. So it dissolves faster and the dough does not have to be kneaded for a long time. We remember that this is unacceptable.

Sugar should not be shifted either, stick to the recipe - excess sugar will make the finished product unnecessarily tough.

In general, the rule is simple - dry ingredients are always mixed with flour, and liquid ingredients with an egg, and only immediately before kneading they are combined.

Sometimes instead of eggs, or along with them, ice water is also added.

How to knead and use dough for baking

There are also certain rules in this regard, which are not in our interests to violate if we expect to bake delicious pastries. How to knead and work with flour:

• sift the flour in the form of a pea on a chilled board through a sieve
• top with sugar, vanilla sugar, soda quenched with lemon juice
• cut the chilled butter into cubes 1x1 cm in size, add to the flour

• chop the butter with a knife or two (it will be faster) along with all other components
• chop with movements from the edges to the center
• add eggs when crumbly

• kneading is done by hand. This should be done as quickly as possible, especially if the kitchen is warm. The carbon dioxide formed during a long kneading will escape and the finished product will become too dense.
• try to touch it as little as possible with your hands, otherwise it will be too sticky, and the pastries will turn out tough and not crumbly
• put the dough in a bag, crush it into a thick pancake and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour
• if you use a large amount of the finished product, then spread it into several packages and take it out one by one so that the oil in it does not have time to melt and not disturb its texture
• roll it out on a table or board sprinkled with flour so that it does not stick
• it cannot be stretched or pulled out, tk. during baking, it can shrink and then the products will lose their predetermined shape
• thick layers are poorly baked, so it must be rolled out into a layer no more than 4-8 mm thick
• when you need to thinly roll out the layer, you can do this on a sheet of baking paper
• transfer it to a baking sheet in this case, you can wind it on a rolling pin

• roll out in an even layer, otherwise thin layers will burn during baking, and thick ones will not bake
• if you make cookies from the dough, then the notches for slicing should be sharp. Blunt notches crumple the edges of the products and this will not allow the products to rise
• when baking blanks for open pies or cakes, the rolled layers are pierced in several places with a fork. This must be done so that bubbles of released carbon dioxide do not form on the surface, and so that the products do not bubble.
• when laying the blanks in the mold, press it with your fingers to the mold, preventing air pockets from forming, otherwise the mold or products may deform and become ugly during baking
• thick layers should be baked at a lower temperature, and thin ones, on the contrary, at a higher temperature.
• it is not necessary to grease the baking sheet with oil, all products already contain a sufficient amount of it
• bake products from such blanks at a temperature of 200 degrees, in the lower third of the oven, so that the lower part of the cake turns out to be crumbly and the top does not burn
• finished baking should have a pleasant golden color

• it is allowed to cover the baking dish with foil products so that the top does not burn, and the middle is baked
• if the finished products are stuck to the sheet or do not get well, then they need to be given a little time to cool. Then lightly hit the sheet on the edge of the table, the layer will move, and it can be taken with a spatula or hands
• when using the filling, you should be aware that fruit fillings and custard can be laid out, or smeared with cakes when they are still warm. If using buttercream, then wait until the cakes have completely cooled.

In addition to the fact that the dough can be kneaded by hand, you can also use a food processor or mixer for this purpose. In it, kneading is much faster, and the butter does not have time to melt. In addition, contact with warm hands is practically eliminated.

The only thing you need to pay attention to when working with a mixer is that you do not need to turn on high speed. It is necessary to grind the flour with butter at a low speed so that they do not heat up excessively.

If something does not work, possible errors

1. Why is the dough too greasy when rolled out?

• maybe you are using room temperature oil
• it might be very hot in the kitchen
• kneading too long, your hands become hot and melt the butter

How to fix: put the product in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Use small portions for rolling.

It should be smooth and matte in appearance, but if it shines and shines, then the butter has melted.

2. Why is the product hard?

• high gluten flour is used
• uses a lot of egg white or eggs
• uses a lot of sugar
• kneaded for a very long time, especially in warm conditions, carbon dioxide escaped and the product became dense

How to fix: the products are already baked - no way! Just keep that in mind for the future!

3. Why the dough after baking became uneven, reduced in size or covered with bubbles.

• did not keep it in the refrigerator for a sufficient amount of time before baking. The butter melted before the necessary processes began to occur in the flour.
• when they laid it out in a mold, or on a baking sheet, they stretched it very much. When baked, it returned to its shape.
• did not prick the layers with a fork, and the bubbles of the resulting carbon dioxide swelled the pastries.

How to fix: Keep these rules in mind for your next baking.

What types of shortcrust pastry exist and their recipes

From a properly prepared product, you can cook various sweet and savory pastries. And for proper cooking and different baking options, there are several ways.

chopped way

A product that is prepared by chopping, and received this name. Often this method is used to make savory pies. And traditionally, flour, ice water, butter, a pinch of sugar and salt are used for its preparation. Proportions 1-2-3, you probably heard such a concept. Everything is very simple, the proportion is given for ease of remembering - 1 part of water is taken, for example 50 ml, oil - 2 parts, that is, 100 g, and flour - 3 parts, it turns out 150 g, and of course a pinch of salt and sugar.

The easiest way to cook it is in a food processor, it speeds up the cooking process by 2-3 times, thereby preventing the butter from melting. But you can do it with your hands, but you need to do it quickly!

It is prepared in this way.

- Pour the flour on the table or into the mixer, add salt and sugar

- Chilled butter cut into cubes 1x1 cm, add to flour and chop with a knife, or do it with a food processor

- Rub flour and butter into crumbs

- Gradually add ice water and quickly combine the mass into a ball

- Place it in a plastic bag, flatten it slightly with your hand and send it to the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to cool.

From the product prepared in this way, you can bake meat and fish pies, open pies, French quiche, or tart, which are also prepared open and closed.

It is from it that tartlets can be prepared.

In this version, the dough is first laid out in a mold and a blank is baked, which is subsequently filled with a filling that is already ready or will be baked additionally.

Sweet pastry

This option is suitable for sweet pastries - cookies, pies, cakes, baskets and cake layers. For proper preparation, there is also its own proportion, which is called “one-two-three dough” - this is the easiest and simplest option. That is, for example, one part of sugar is taken, for example 50 g, two parts of butter, it will be 100 g and 3 parts of flour - 150 g.

In general, the classic recipe is this:

• flour - 3 cups
• butter - 300 gr
• fine granulated sugar - 2/3 cup
• egg - 2 pcs
• soda - on the tip of a knife
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• vanillin - to taste
• salt - a pinch
• lemon juice - for quenching soda

Instead of water, both whole eggs and egg yolks are added. It all depends on what kind of pastry you want to cook. Therefore, if the recipe indicates that it is necessary to use eggs - we use eggs, it is written to use yolks - then we use only yolks.

Remember that with the use of proteins, the product is more dense, and with the use of yolks - more crumbly. It is prepared in this way.

- Sift the flour onto the table or into the mixer bowl.

- If you make a product with the addition of starch, cinnamon, nut flour or other dry additives, add them to the flour.

- Cut the chilled butter into cubes and add to the flour. Chop with a knife or mixer.

- Separately, mix the yolks with fine sugar, or powdered sugar, grind thoroughly until the sugar dissolves.

- Add the egg-sugar mixture to the flour with butter and quickly knead.

- Put the resulting mass in cling film or a plastic bag, wrap tightly and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Baking turns out crumbly and tender - these are everyone's favorite kurabye cookies, rings with nuts, Viennese cookies, various baskets.

From it you can cook Italian crostat, open and closed pies with fruit, berry or cottage cheese fillings, loved by everyone. And most recently, I shared with you a recipe very much with a nut cream, just like that with a base.

In addition to the basic, so-called basic recipes, there are also other cooking methods.

Soft shortbread dough with sour cream or milk

Depending on the composition of the ingredients, you can get a product with a softer or denser consistency. It depends on what you want to cook. And in this case, we do not pay attention to the proportion 1-2-3.

This usually happens when it is cooked with the addition of sour cream or milk. In these cases, flour can be twice as much as butter. And this dough is prepared in a slightly different way.

The main difference will be that the oil in such recipes is used at room temperature, it must be taken out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking.

How to cook?

- Grind soft butter or margarine with sugar, eggs or egg yolks. With eggs, the finished product will be denser, with egg yolks - more crumbly.

- Add sour cream or milk, mix

- Mix flour with salt, baking powder or soda, which is extinguished with lemon juice

- Pour the flour into the mixture of butter, sugar and eggs. Quickly make a batch. form a ball

- Wrap the ball in cling film, flatten the ball slightly and refrigerate for 1-2 hours

Such a dough turns out to be quite soft and it may be necessary to literally spread it on a baking sheet or the bottom of the mold. And to make cookies, you need to squeeze out the mass through a pastry bag.

Recipe with sour cream

• flour - 3 cups
• butter - 200 gr
• sour cream -2/3 cup
• egg - 1 pc.
• sugar -2-3 tbsp. spoons
• soda - 1/3 teaspoon
• salt - 1/2 teaspoon

By the same principle, another option is being prepared.

soft shortcrust pastry recipe

• flour - 3 cups
• butter - 400 gr
• egg yolks - 3 pcs
• sugar - 2/3 cup
• soda - on the tip of a knife

Recipes, of course, are very high-calorie, as they contain a lot of oil. This must be taken into account, and it is not so often to cook such pastries, otherwise you will soon have to go on the most strict diet.

You probably noticed what is the difference between this method and the chopped method. In the "soft" version, there are no grains of butter with flour. It is almost completely frayed with sugar and eggs. As a result, when baking, no voids form inside, which means it will turn out to be more tender.

By the way, depending on the proportions of flour, oil and water, you can cook cakes for everyone you love. Such a recipe is on the pages of my blog, the recipe is secret, if you are interested, read the recipe at the link. It turns out this cake is very tender and tasty.

In addition to the so-called basic cooking methods, recipes began to appear with non-traditional additives, such as cheese, cottage cheese or even mashed potatoes. Since there are such recipes, let's look at them. Moreover, baking with them turns out to be unusual and quite tasty,

Shortcrust pastry with cheese

This option can be prepared if we want to bake pies with potato or fish filling. Such pies turn out to be very tender, tasty, with a certain piquant taste of cheese.

We will need:

• flour - 200 gr
• hard cheese - 200 gr
• butter - 150 gr
• egg - 1 pc.
• salt and sugar - a pinch each

Cooking:

1. Sift flour onto a board. Add salt and sugar. Make a well in the middle of the hill and crack the egg into it.

2. Grate the cooled cheese and add to the flour. Cut the cooled butter into cubes and add to the total mass.

3. Chop the resulting mass with a knife or grind into crumbs with a mixer.

4. Quickly knead. Then roll it into a ball and refrigerate for 1 hour.

5. Use as needed.

Recipe with cottage cheese

This option can be prepared when we want to bake pies with fruits or berries.

We will need:

• flour - 300 gr
• cottage cheese - 200 gr
• butter - 200 gr
• egg - 1 pc.
• sugar - 2 tbsp. spoons
• salt - a pinch

Cooking:

1. Cottage cheese must be taken fatty, but not liquid. It is not recommended to use stale cottage cheese, it will give unnecessary sourness to our pastries.

Grind cottage cheese through a sieve, put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. Sift flour on the board, add salt and sugar. Crack an egg into the middle.

3. Cut the butter, add it to the flour along with the chilled cottage cheese. Chop everything into crumbs.

4. Quickly knead, form a ball, wrap it in a film and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.

In such options, walnuts, chocolate, ginger, cinnamon, cocoa, and condensed milk can be added as additional ingredients.

Recipe with potatoes

Boiled, chilled and coarsely grated potatoes can be added when we want to cook pies with meat or vegetable filling.

We will need:

• flour - 200 gr
• boiled potatoes - 200 gr
• butter - 150 gr
• egg - 1 pc.
• sugar - 1 teaspoon incomplete
• salt - 1 teaspoon incomplete

Cooking:

1. Sift flour on a board, add salt and sugar.

2. In the middle of the slide, make a recess and drive an egg into it.

3. Add grated boiled potatoes, by the way, you can grind it into mashed potatoes.

4. Add chilled and diced butter.

5. Chop the resulting mass with a knife to a crumb state, and then quickly knead the resulting mass.

6. Roll it into a ball, wrap it with a film, flatten it slightly with your hand and put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

And so, let's sum up some small summary of what has been said. In fact, it is not at all difficult to prepare the “correct” shortcrust pastry and delicious pastries from it. The main thing is to understand what happens as a result of this or that action we perform during its mixing.

If we understand what's what, then, firstly, we will not ignore the explanations for the recipe, and secondly, we will not forget the sequence and procedure. After all, in fact, everything here is logical and understandable!

Therefore, if you still do not quite know how to cook it, then I hope that today's article will help you with this.

If after reading you still have questions, then ask them in the comments, and if I know the answer, I will be happy to answer it. If the answer is not known to me, then we will try to figure it out together. It's so exciting to learn culinary secrets and tricks.

And I am always grateful to you for sharing articles with your friends. Therefore, I want to thank you in advance for the delivered CLASS or the repost!

Always cook delicious pastries. And bon appetit!