Easy Shortcrust Pastry Recipe

Sift the flour and combine the room temperature butter cut into dice-sized cubes. It’s important the butter is room temperature, as you don’t want to handle the mix too much at this stage. You can do it by hand or in food processor. Either way, you’ll want it to resemble fine breadcrumbs.

Add the salt and mix quickly to distribute it.

Now add the water and work or mix a little until it starts to come together.

Turn it out onto a clean and lightly-floured surface and work until you have a dough. You’ll want it to be a little flaky at this stage, so not a really soft dough – but you can add a little more water if it’s not coming together well.

Shape into a ball, wrap in clingfilm, and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes.

When you’re ready to cook, roll it out on a floured surface, until roughly 3mm thick. Once it’s on the pie, brush with beaten egg or milk, and put it in the oven at 200°c (180°c fan) for around 30 minutes.