Editing Shortcrust pastry

{{Short description|Base used for a tart, quiche or pie}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Shortcrust pastry
| image            = File:Vegan_Meat_Pie_01_Pengo.jpg
| caption          = A shortcrust pastry pie crust
| image_alt        = A shortcrust pastry pie crust
| country          = 
| region           = Western countries
| creator          = 
| course           = 
| type             = [[Pastry]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = Fat ([[lard]], [[shortening]], [[butter]] or full-fat [[margarine]]), [[flour]], [[water]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Shortcrust pastry|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortcrustpastry_1278|publisher=[[BBC Food]]|access-date=7 June 2017}}</ref>
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Shortcrust''' is a type of [[pastry]] often used for the base of a [[tart]], [[quiche]], [[pie]], or (in the British English sense) [[Flan (pie)|flan]]. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie.

A sweetened version &ndash; using butter &ndash; is used in making [[spritz cookie]]s. 

Shortcrust pastry recipes usually call for twice as much [[flour]] as [[fat]] by weight. Fat (as [[lard]], [[shortening]], [[butter]] or traditional [[margarine]]) is rubbed into plain flour to create a loose mixture that is then bound using a small amount of ice water, rolled out, then shaped and placed to create the top or bottom of a pie. Often, equal amounts of butter and lard are used to make the pastry, ensuring that the combined weight of the two fat products is still half that of the flour. The butter is employed to give the pastry a rich flavor, while the lard ensures optimum texture.

==Types==

* ''Pâte à foncer'' is a French shortcrust pastry that includes [[Egg (food)|egg]]. Egg and butter are worked together with a small quantity of [[sugar]] and salt before the flour is drawn into the mixture and cold water is added to bind it.<ref name="roux">{{cite book
| last          = Roux
| first         = Michel
| author-link    = Michel Roux
| title         = Pastry
| orig-year      = First published 2008
| year          = 2010
| publisher     = Quadrille Publishing
| location      = London
| isbn          = 978-1-84400-827-8
| pages         = 20–23
| chapter       = Shortcrust pastries
}}</ref>
* ''[[Pâte brisée]]'' is similar to pâte à foncer, but is lighter and more delicate due to an increased quantity of butter – up to three-fifths the quantity of flour. Very often it is made with no sugar, as a savoury crust for pies.<ref name="roux"/>
* '' Pâte sablée'' is made with more sugar, which sweetens the mix and impedes the [[gluten]] strands, creating a pastry that breaks up easily in the mouth. An alternative is a gluten-free pastry.
* '' Pâte sucrée'' has the same ingredients as ''pâte sablée'', but the butter is creamed with the sugar and the eggs before the flour is folded in. This mixes the butter more evenly, which makes the dough puff much less, creating a more "snappy" and dry pastry, instead of the crumbly texture of the previous doughs.

==Techniques ==
In preparing a shortcrust, the fat and flour are "cut" into each other, rather than blended, and the ingredients are kept cold. This ensures that the fat remains distinct in the crust, and when it heats during baking, steam is released, resulting in the pockets that make a flaky crust.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burgoyne |first=John |year=2004 |title=Baking Illustrated: A Best Recipe Classic |edition=1st |others=Photographers: Carl Tremblay and Daniel Van Ackere |location=Brookline, Mass. |publisher=America's Test Kitchen |isbn=0936184752 |oclc=54454496}}</ref> Water is only added once the fat and flour are thoroughly combined. This ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and are less likely to develop gluten.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Cheaib |first=Rana |title=A Method for Predicting Baking Performance Through Evaluation of Short Crust Dough |url=https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/5469986 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722052443/https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/5469986 |url-status=live |archive-date=22 July 2024 |degree=Master's |location=[[Malmö]], Sweden |publisher=[[Lund University]] |oclc=1012890806 |access-date=22 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref> This may be achieved with the use of a [[food processor]], a specialized kitchen utensil called a [[pastry blender]], or through various alternatives, like a pair of [[table knife|table knives]] held in one hand, or smearing the flour and fat together using the heel of the hand in a method known as {{lang|fr|fraisage}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is fraisage, and how do I use it for flaky pie dough? |url=https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2022/07/06/what-is-fraisage-and-how-do-i-use-it-for-flaky-pie-dough |access-date=2022-01-09}}</ref>

In addition to over-warming the dough, overworking it is also a hazard. Overworking elongates the gluten strands, creating a product that is tough, rather than light and crumbly or flaky. Flour made from low protein soft wheat, like [[cake flour]], is used for pastry making because it does not become overworked and tough as easily as bread flour.

=== Decorative techniques ===
[[File:Pie crimper, United States, 1800s, whale ivory, baleen - Peabody Essex Museum - DSC07245.jpg|thumb|Pie crimper from the 1800s]]
[[File:Walnut tart close-up - Aviv (4714494928).jpg|thumb|Closeup of peekaboo lattice]]

A pie crust edge is often [[Crimp (pastry)|crimped]] to provide visual interest, and in the case of a two-crust pie in order to seal the top and bottom crusts together to prevent the filling from leaking.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Pfeiff-Boschek |first=Karin |date=2019 |title=Elegant Pie: Transform Your Favorite Pies into Works of Art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2c64DwAAQBAJ&q=lattice |publisher=Andrews Mcmeel+ORM |isbn=978-1-5248-5935-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Vaughn |first1=Kelly |last2=Spencer |first2=Gloria |date=16 October 2023 |title=These Showstopping Pie Crust Designs Will Take Your Pies to the Next Level |url=https://www.marthastewart.com/7972106/creative-pie-crust-designs |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=[[MarthaStewart.com]] |language=en}}</ref> Crimping can be done by hand, pinching the two crusts together to create a ruffled edge, or with a tool.<ref name=":1" /> 

A pie's top crust is often pierced to allow steam to escape and to provide visual interest.<ref name=":0" /> Piercing can be done with a knife or by using one of several techniques such as [[Lattice (pastry)|latticing]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Latticing involves interweaving strips of pastry. It can also be achieved by cutting horizontal rows of slits into a whole pie crust and pulling gently to open the slits , a technique known as a "peekaboo" lattice.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

{{Gallery|title=Latticing a piecrust|align=center
| File:Bacon fat pie crust - 33042285405.jpg
 | Bottom crust
 | alt1=
|File:Making the quintessential apple pie.jpg
 |Filled crust
 | alt2=
 |File:Starting a herringbone lattice crust.jpg
 |Starting latticework
 | alt3=
 |File:Making a herringbone lattice crust.jpg
 |Latticing
 | alt4=
 |File:Making a herringbone lattice crust - 33000534956.jpg
 |Latticing continues in a [[herringbone pattern]]
 | alt5=
 |File:Making a herringbone lattice crust - 32915837831.jpg
 |Latticing finished
 | alt6=
 |File:Making a herringbone lattice crust - 33042285835.jpg
 |Crimped crust, ready for baking
 | alt7=
  |File:Quintessential Apple Pie with Bacon Fat Crust.jpg
 |Baked herringbone lattice piecrust
 | alt8=
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Food}}
* [[List of pastries]]
* [[Shortbread]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Pastries}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Doughs]]
[[Category:Pastries]]
[[Category:Pies]]