Susie's Savoury Rich Shortcrust Pastry

To use with Cheddar Cheese Pies

I have been using this recipe for several years now, and it never disappoints me. I also use a sweet version of it for my Raspberry and custard tart, my Brambly Hedge pies and mince pies. I just add a tablespoon of icing sugar to the butter and flour at the beginning. It's strong enough to work with but wonderfully crisp and crumbly when cooked, seeming to just dissolve in your mouth.

175g plain whole flour

100g chilled salted butter

1 large egg yolk

approx 5-7 tspns cold water

Shortcrust pastry recipes always tell you to use chilled butter. I used to always dilligently obey, until one day I was making it in a hurry and only had the butter we use on bread, sitting in the cupboard, quite soft, and none in the fridge. I used it as it was and couldn't discern any difference whatsoever in either the end result or it's workability. So now I just use whatever I have available no matter how hard or soft. As I usually use a food processor to mix my pastry anyway, I don't handle the ingredients until I have a dough assembled, so no risk of over-melting the butter whilst rubbing it into the flour.

Put the flour and the butter in the food processor.

Whizz until thoroughly combined and looking like breadcrumbs.

Tip in the egg yolk and 5 tspns of the cold water.

Whizz again for a few seconds, until the mixture all starts to stick together.

Don't wait until it forms a ball itself or it will be too moist to work with.

Touch the mixture to feel whether it needs another teaspoon or two of water.

When you are happy with the consistency, tip it all out onto your work surface and use your hands to bring it all together into a ball.

Knead it for about 30 seconds, dusting with a little extra flour if sticking to the surface too much. You will end up with a lovely smooth ball of golden dough.

Pat it out into a thick disc and wrap it in cling film or a sandwich bag then pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes before working with it. If you leave it longer than this, give it a little bit of time out of the fridge before working with it as it may need to soften a little before you roll it out. You'll get used to how you like it to feel to work with. 

Usually, baking between 180C - 200C for between 12-20 mins is fine, dependent on the filling too. Check details in the Cheddar Cheese Pies recipe.