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Shortcrust pastry - all the secrets of perfect baking

The easiest shortbread dough to prepare serves as the basis for a variety of delicious baked goods. In the old grandmother's chests there are records of interesting recipes for cookies, cakes and pies at home from shortcrust pastry.

For the arrival of loved ones, the table is filled with delicious dishes and in the center of the table - cake, pastries and an abundance of cookies. Each piece crumbles into tiny crumbs, reminiscent of the golden sand of the South Sea, and melts in your mouth.

These products were made from shortcrust pastry. The recipe for its preparation has some subtleties, observing simple rules, at home you can make your own shortbread dough. A creative approach to sand baking will diversify an evening tea party or a festive table.

Fantasy turns on, confectionery masterpieces appear from shortbread dough:
original cake with sour cream with strawberries;
"Golden" nuts stuffed with boiled condensed milk;
confectionery "sausages" with the addition of nuts, sesame seeds, candied fruits;
various cookie options.
There are hundreds of recipes for making shortbread dough cookies (figured, marshmallow, chocolate, curd).

Cooking secrets and tricks

The most important rule of thumb on how to make a shortcrust pastry is to use a lot of fat and sugar. Particular friability is obtained due to the presence of oil in the product. It absorbs and envelops the flour, not allowing it to clump and stick together. To get a more porous dough, cooks advise using baking powder.

Important! Choose flour that has gluten, the percentage of which will be medium, otherwise the resulting products will become dense. When working with flour, which has a low percentage of gluten, baked goods will quickly crumble.

Skillful chefs say that shortbread dough will turn out good only with proper preparation. Appliances used, kitchen utensils (rolling pin, work surface, including), as well as food (oil, flour, eggs) must be well cooled. Otherwise, it will cease to be unique, and the baked goods will lose their friability. The time spent on mixing should be kept to a minimum.

Note! Dry foods are always combined with flour, and liquid foods are combined with eggs, at the end of kneading they are combined.

In some cases, replace a little flour with crushed almonds, chopped nuts, potato starch. When making products from shortcrust pastry, the necessary part of it is removed from the refrigerator, which is used in work at the moment.

The fantasies of culinary specialists through experiments have received alternative recipes for making shortbread dough. They will make any holiday diverse and original and will rally more strongly at a family dinner.

Shortcrust pastry - a classic recipe

The quantitative composition of the required products for a classic shortcrust pastry:

  • 300 g - butter (butter);
  • 3 tbsp. - flour;
  • 1 tbsp. - sugar;
  • 2 pcs. - eggs;
  • vanilla, some lemon juice and soda.

The classic shortbread dough according to the traditional recipe is prepared as follows (step by step):

  1. flour is passed through a sieve onto the work surface with a small hill;
  2. sugar, soda, slaked with lemon juice, vanilla are placed on top of it;
  3. butter, cut into small pieces, placed on top, chopped with all the ingredients together with a sharp knife;
  4. eggs are added last;
  5. knead by hand, then put in the cold for about 1 hour.

Then it is used to prepare the intended confectionery.

Simple cookie shortcrust pastry recipe

Products used:

  • 260 g - butter (butter);
  • 210 g - sugar;
  • 0.5 kg - flour;
  • 2 pcs - eggs;
  • 0.5 tsp - baking powder;
  • 1 sachet - vanillin.

How to make the required dough:

1. Grind the eggs until a white foam is formed with sugar and with the addition of vanilla. Sufficiently soft butter is added to the resulting consistency. For variety and flavor, you can add 0.1 kg of walnuts or almonds, chopped with a blender to a state similar to dust.

2. A baking powder is added to the flour.

3. The dough from the combined flour and eggs with sugar is kneaded. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and firm.

4. Place the dough wrapped in food wrap in the refrigerator for three quarters of an hour.

5. The dough taken out of the refrigerator is divided into parts, rolled out and stars, Christmas trees, circles, bunnies, hearts are cut out using special forms.

It is baked in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes.


Shortcrust pastry for pie

In addition to biscuits, a cake is often made from shortcrust pastry, with a filling selected to your liking, it can be fruits, jam, cottage cheese, berries.

For the cake you will need:

  • 160 g - butter (butter);
  • 210 g - flour;
  • 110 g - sugar;
  • 1 PC. - egg;
  • 1 tsp - baking powder.

How to cook:

Common and affordable products, from which a delicious treat will be prepared step by step:
1. A baking powder is attached to the flour and mixed with butter, grated on a grater, in a cold state.

2. Rub by hands, made mass until crumbs are formed. Then an egg with sugar is added, and the dough is kneaded. It turns out a rather elastic dough with a pleasant aroma, and if you add vanilla, it will turn out to be extraordinary.

3. The dough is wrapped in a plastic bag, placed in the cold for 30 minutes.
After half an hour, you can start working with shortcrust pastry. To do this, prepare a frying pan or a split form. You can choose any filling you like. Experts believe that the most delicious shortcrust pastry pie is baked with fresh berries and apples or cottage cheese.

4. A certain amount of dough is left to decorate the cake, twigs are laid out on its surface, flowers are cut with a knife, and decorated with geometric shapes.

Some housewives grate the dough, getting a grated pie.


Shortcrust pastry for baskets

According to the recipe given, about 20-22 baskets come out. If the oven is in tins with a diameter of slightly more than 3 centimeters at the bottom, and the diameter at the top is approximately 7 cm. Ready-made baskets, if desired, can be filled with any sweets: chocolate, jam, candied fruits, fruits, curd mass. You can think of many variations.

Required:

  • flour - 310 g;
  • butter (butter) - 210 g;
  • powder (sugar) - 110 g;
  • egg yolks - 2 pcs.

Step-by-step cooking recipe:

Measure out the required amount of food and start cooking. You should start by sifting the flour, then add a little salt. Remove the oil from the refrigerator, cut into small pieces cold and place them on top of the flour, which must be sifted through a sieve. Chop with a well-sharpened knife together with flour.

Then add egg yolks and sweet powder, hand knead the dough as quickly as possible. A food processor designed for work in the kitchen is suitable for mixing.

It is kneaded quickly enough because it becomes sticky from the warmth of the hands due to the melted butter. It is wrapped in a plastic bag and sent to the refrigerator for 0.5 hours.

At this time, baking dishes are being prepared. The molds are lubricated with a small amount of heated butter with a special brush.

The workplace is covered with foil, the chilled dough is laid out on it. It is leveled to a rectangular shape, covered with foil from above and rolled with a rolling pin. The dough with such rolling does not stick to the foil. The layer is rolled out to approximately 4 mm. Molds are placed on top of it and cut to shape, excess is removed from the edges.

A layer of dough is pressed neatly to the bottom of the mold and pierced with a fork in order to rid the product of the bulges that arise during baking. It is covered with foil of a suitable size on top and rice or buckwheat groats are poured onto it to preserve the beautiful, even shape of the baskets.

Baking in a hot oven at a temperature of 200 degrees is under control until the products seize a little and the danger of a spoiled form disappears. Pieces of foil are removed along with cereals, and the baskets continue to bake. The time taken to prepare these shortcrust pastry products is just over 10 minutes.

Loose and very fragile baskets are left in the molds until they cool completely and only then are carefully removed. It is important to adhere to this rule, when removing still warm baskets from the forms, the edges of them may break off and sprinkle. Stuff with any ingredients of your own taste. It turns out to be a very refined, delicate delicacy.


Shortcrust pastry without eggs. Recipe with sour cream and vegetable oil

The recipe for this test contains:

  • flour - 530 g;
  • odorless vegetable oil - 120 g;
  • sugar - 190 g;
  • sour cream - 120 g;
  • soda, vinegar, salt, vanillin.
  • spicy and aromatic additives.

The quickest and easiest recipe:

Combines vegetable oil with sour cream in a bowl. The rest of the products are laid. The mixture is thoroughly mixed, flour is sifted into it, kneading is performed until a soft, homogeneous composition is obtained.

The dough wrapped in a film is kept in the refrigerator for an hour. After this time, you can start making cookies, which will be unusually tasty if sprinkled with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, nuts on top.

How to make shortbread dough without eggs and butter

Required products:

  • 330 g - flour;
  • 170 ml - odorless vegetable oil;
  • 120 ml - ice water;
  • salt.

Mixing rules:

First of all, odorless vegetable oil combines with ice water. The mixture is shaken to a consistency similar to an emulsion, with the addition of a small amount of salt. Then the sifted flour is added to the resulting mixture and the shortbread dough is kneaded. It is sent under cling film in the cold and remains in it for 20 minutes.

Then a pie with your favorite filling is baked. This shortcrust pastry recipe is suitable for lean pies, and can be used in fasting. This option is prepared from very simple products, but the result will be excellent, the wonderful taste will surprise and delight the whole family.

Video: Shortcrust pastry cupcakes from Julia Vysotskaya

1. Roll out the shortbread dough in equal and rather thin plates to bake well enough. The most suitable thickness should be 4-7mm.

2. The crispness of baked goods increases by replacing several whole eggs with only their yolks. It is especially important if the flour used has a high percentage of gluten.

3. The layers of shortcrust pastry are pierced in different places with sharp objects (fork, knife) before being sent to the oven. This must be done so that the ugly irregularities in the layers from carbon dioxide, which is released during baking, do not spoil the appearance of the finished product.

4. For shortcrust pastry, it is sufficient to use a dry baking sheet, because it does not stick to the bottom during baking.
The most suitable temperature for baking is 220-250 degrees.