This All Butter Shortcrust Pastry Recipe is traditional and simple. Using just butter with no lard or shortening results in a perfectly crumbly pastry that’s packed with flavour. So with just four ingredients including salt and water, you can make the most versatile pastry that can be used for sweet or savoury baking.
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I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for years. I’ve shared my recipes for various other pastries including puff pastry and suet pastry before. But as my shortcrust pastry sausage rolls recipe goes absolutely bananas every December with numerous requests for the pastry recipe, I’ve finally pulled out my finger and done it!
Shortcrust really is the simplest pastry to make. It is easy to make by hand (but you can use a processor if you prefer), doesn’t require many ingredients, chills quite quickly and you don’t need to do any rolling and folding, etc.
This is a very traditional recipe – nothing fancy. But unlike a lot of those traditional recipes like the Be-Ro shortcrust pastry which call for a 50/50 mix of butter and lard, I’ve just used butter. This simplifies the recipe and just gives it even more flavour.
I’ve tried to include as many of my little tips and tricks in the recipe and the rest of this post to remove any fear of making homemade pastry. I promise it is simple and shortcrust pastry is really very forgiving anyway.
How to Use Shortcrust Pastry
As far as recipes go, shortcrust pastry can be used in both sweet and savoury recipes. Some sweet recipes call for a sweet shortcrust pastry to be used but I more often than not don’t, I just use this. The only difference is simply a little added sugar to the flour. This is especially true for something like my shortcrust pastry mince pies.
On a more basic level, here are some of my recipes which either use shortcrust pastry. And ones where the puff or other pastry in the recipe can be easily swapped for this shortcrust:
Shortcrust Pastry Sausage Rolls
Traditional Shortcrust Pastry Mince Pies
Puff Pastry Bacon & Egg Pie Recipe
Puff Pastry Steak Bake Recipe
Classic French Silk Pie (Chocolate Tart Recipe)
For tips and tricks for how to line or blind bake the pastry, the instructions are exactly the same as for the American style pie dough that are featured in the below posts:
Shortcrust Pastry Ingredients
Flour
All you need for this recipe is a very basic plain flour. Also known as all-purpose flour in the US. I don’t mind if you’re using and Aldi basic option or a fully branded Be-ro or fancy organic stoneground artisanal product. They will all work.
There is no need to sieve the flour. Unless for any reason you think there might be anything that needs to be removed like seed husks. More likely if you have fancy flour. Otherwise as you will be rubbing the butter into the flour, lumps aren’t an issue as they will easily be broken up. And there is no need to aerate the flour at all.
Butter
For the true all-butter experience, you need to use a proper block butter. No margarine, nothing “spreadable” or anything called “baking block” or similar.
I only use salted butter so this is what I have used for this pastry. The salt is already evenly distributed throughout the butter so it will also evenly distribute through the pastry. I do add a little extra salt however. If you insist on using flavourless unsalted butter, you will need to increase the added salt to make up for it.
You can use another block fat like a plant based option or something mixed with a hard oil. But it must be a hard block type and you need to understand that you will simply be making “shortcrust pastry” and not “all-butter shortcrust pastry”!
If you are feeling a bit extra, the absolute best butter you can use is homemade butter. It’s actually very easy and honestly the taste difference is next level.
Be Flexible
This is a simple base recipe that can be quite fun to adapt. For example, I use a shortcrust pastry with fresh thyme in my Quiche Lorraine recipe. You can add different herbs at this same stage. You could also add other flavourings like citrus zest or dried spices. Just consider how you intend to use your pastry and look for a complementary flavour to add.
I just watched Jamie Oliver switch around a third of the flour for cooked whole chestnuts – they were blitzed up in a processor with the flour and butter. I’m really excited to try this one, I think the flavour will be fab. You could use ready cooked and vac packed chestnuts or roast your own in the air fryer. You could also likely do this with other nuts or use a ready ground nut flour. Definitely worth an experiment.
Although this recipe is for an all-butter version of shortcrust pastry, you could go more traditional and switch half of the butter for lard, tallow or a hard vegetable fat like Trex. This will give you an even shorter texture to the pastry and of course the flavour will change slightly depending on what you use. Don’t forget to add a little extra salt to make up for the loss of salt in the butter.
Vegetarian or Vegan Shortcrust Pastry
This recipe for all butter shortcrust pastry is naturally vegetarian so no changes to the recipe are needed.
To make a buttery(ish) vegan shortcrust pastry, you will simply need to switch the dairy butter for a plant based alternative. You do need to make sure that you choose a hard block option and not a softer one.
This vegan shortcrust pastry will of course not be “all-butter” but it will have a texture more akin to my recipe than one made with a hard vegetable fat like Trex.
Make Allergy Friendly Pastry
This recipe is free from egg and nuts.
Gluten Free: If you are confident in using a gluten-free flour blend, you will likely be able to substitute that one for one for the pastry in this recipe. The gluten isn’t something that you look to develop in this pastry – this is why we try not to overwork it. So you should have good success.
However, this recipe is obviously very contingent on the flour and I haven’t tested a gluten free version. If you aren’t confident, you may prefer to look for a dedicated recipe with more specific gluten free baking advice.
Dairy Free: To make the pastry dairy free, you will need to follow the same advise as for how to make it vegan – use a dairy free butter in place of the dairy butter.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
Equipment Notes for Homemade Shortcrust Pastry
I suggest making the pastry in a shallow and wider bowl. This is so it’s easy to get your hands in the bowl to rub the butter into the flour. It also makes it easier to make sure you are cutting the water into all of the mixture and it’s easier to get into the corners. If you only have a deeper bowl, that’s fine, you will just have to work slightly more awkwardly.
Using a knife to incorporate the water into the flour/butter mix is very traditional and I do use this method. It is a good way to really evenly mix in the water without overworking the dough. You can alternatively use your hands or another thin implement to do the mixing.
If you don’t want to make the pastry by hand, you can use a food processor. Use a regular metal blade to mix the butter with the flour and salt. Then add the water as normal but use the pulse function to mix in the water. You will be able to see the difference when the pastry comes together and is ready to be taken out and pressed together by hand. It will still look quite dry but you can test it in exactly the same way as normal.
A comprehensive list of the equipment used to make this recipe is included in the main recipe card below. Click on any item to see an example. There are no hard and fast rules so many items can be sensibly substituted to achieve the same results.
Get Ahead
You can make the pastry a day or two before you need to use it. I do often make it the day before to make things easier. This also gives the pastry ample time to chill.
If you need to get further ahead than that, you can freeze the pastry. I would recommend doing this with flatter blocks, in the same way that I recommend chilling it. This will make the defrosting process easier. You can also make your own ready rolled shortcrust pastry by rolling it out then rolling it up tightly with baking or parchment paper.
You can also cut shapes for future recipes or ad hoc decorations. Store these between pieces of baking paper to ensure they don’t stick to each other.
No matter what shape you are freezing the pastry in, make sure that it is very well wrapped. I would always use cling film (saran wrap) that sits directly next to the pastry (or baking paper). And then put it into a freezer bag, wrap in a good thick layer or foil or in an air-tight container.
Leftover All Butter Shortcrust Pastry
I do always try to use up any scraps of pastry – usually in the form of decorations. Strips can be made into a lattice, otherwise cooking cutters are your friends. You can see how I’ve used round and star shape to decorate my pie below.
Any leftover or unused shortcrust pastry can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days or frozen.
I would generally choose to freeze as the pastry can discolour and go a little grey when kept for more than a day or so. There isn’t really anything wrong with it, it just looks a little unappealing. I’ve given all the information you might need to freeze the pastry above.
Shortcrust Pastry Making Tips
It is better to add the water slowly and need to add more than be gung-ho and add to much. You can add more flour to compensate but it is quite easy to end up with too much flour overall doing this.
It is important to not overwork the pastry. This is most important when you are bringing together and lightly kneading the dough to bring it together. It is also a consideration when rerolling scraps. It’s absolutely fine to do this (in fact it is important to minimise waste) but just go lightly, the scraps will meld together as you roll them so you only need to squish them together to start.
Keeping everything cold is essential with shortcrust pastry. Start with fridge cold pastry and it must be chilled before being rolled and used. If you are in a particularly warm environment, you may need to consider putting the pastry into the fridge at other stages. You can pop it into the freezer to be even quicker, just don’t forget about it or it will be too hard to roll.
I’ve suggested splitting the dough into two, creating flat squares or rectangles, wrapping and then chilling the dough. The smaller pieces chill faster. And for the most part, you are generally unlikely to roll more than half the pastry at once. But if you know that you need the whole block, just chill it as one piece. I would still press it to be around an inch thick at most.
Although this recipe physically makes 800g of uncooked pastry, many old recipe would consider this to be “450g/1lb” of pastry as pastry quantities were referenced by the amount of flour used rather than the finished weight. Please note that I haven’t followed this tradition in my recipes but it is worth bearing in mind when looking at other, especially vintage, recipes.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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More Homemade Pastry Recipes
The Recipe
All Butter Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
Ingredients
- 450 g Plain Flour (All Purpose)
- ½ tsp Fine Salt
- 225 g Salted Butter - fridge cold
- 150 ml Cold Water
Instructions
- Measure 450g Plain Flour along with ½ tsp Fine Salt into a mixing bowl. I like to use something wide and shallow when making pastry.
- Cut 225g Salted Butter into smallish chunks.
- Add the butter to the flour.
- With clean and well dried hands, start to toss the butter in the flour. Then use your fingertips to start rubbing the butter into the flour.
- "Rubbing in" simply means to keep squishing the bits of butter into the flour until you get something resembling the texture of breadcrumbs.
- There shouldn't be any bit of just flour left by the time you have finished – it will take a couple of minutes – have patience and keep going.
- Measure out around 150ml Cold Water. Add around two thirds to the flour/butter mix.
- Use a regular eating knife to "cut" the pastry. Keep mixing with the knife and "cutting" or slicing into the wet crumbs until all of the flour/butter is equally hydrated.
- Add more water a little at a time until when you squeeze together the crumbs, they come together into a soft but not sticky dough.
- Use your hands to start forming the small lumps of dough into one large lump.If you find the dough is sticky, you can add a little more flour. Or if you find that it is a little dry, add a drop more water. Trust your gut on the texture.
- Give the dough a very light knead in the bottom of the bowl, You need to be careful to not overwork it – just for a few seconds until it is one smoothish lump.
- Cut the dough into half and flattened into rough squares. A thinner piece of pastry now will chill quicker and be easier to roll out once chilled.
- Wrap each piece of dough in cling film and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes before using. Or you can speed things up and place in the freezer for around 20 minutes. Set a timer and don't forget it unless you intend to freeze it for a later time!
- The pastry is now ready to use in your chosen recipe.
Dave says
This is such a good recipe, the pastry was delicious.
Lesley says
Followed your instructions and the pastry turned out perfectly to make a quiche. I’m going to double the recipe next time and freeze half for using later.