Michel Roux’s Shortcrust (Flan) Pastry
Posted 18 December 2010 by DebbieShortcrust pastry is really quick and easy to make. Often, it’s simply made of plain flour, butter or lard, water and a pinch of salt. The shortcrust recipe I’m using is for flan pastry, otherwise known as pâte à foncer, from Michel Roux’s Pastry. It has the addition of an egg, and happily it’s still very quick and easy to make. Pâte à foncer is one of Michel’s basic shortcrust pastry recipes in the book, the other being pâte brisée. The flan pastry, he says, is crispier and less delicate.
My shortcrust flan pastry lining a pie dish.
Ingredients (makes 480 g):
- 125 g unsalted butter
- 250 g plain flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 40 ml cold water
Sieve the flour and mix it with the salt and sugar. Place the four into a work surface, and make a well in the middle. Place the butter and egg into the well.
It helps to slightly soften the butter first.
Mix the butter and egg together with your fingers, and gradually incorporate the flour into the mixture to form a sticky dough.
Yes, your hands should be so cold they’re about to turn blue for this to work!
The dough should start looking like breadcrumbs/grains. Add the water and keep mixing/rubbing to form a firm pastry dough.
Roll the pastry dough into a ball, wrap in cling-film and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it. I rolled my shortcrust pastry out thin and used it for the bottom of a chicken and cheese pie.
Post Details
- Post Title: Michel Roux’s Shortcrust (Flan) Pastry
- Date Posted: 18 December 2010
- Author: Debbie
- Filed As: Recipes
- Tags: Flan pastry, Michel Roux, Pastry, Pate a foncer, Shortcrust pastry
- Shortlink:
Thanks for this, I’ve been trying to track this recipe down to make his empanadas from the same book. A friend made some the other day and they were truly awesome, highly recommended!
I have been watching MASTER CHEF and Michel used a flat surface method for his SHORT PASTRY,and as an ex chef tried it out and i was amazed how perfect my attempt turned out.for my lemon flan.
Thanks for the recipe. But watching Michel make shortcrust in the 80s, he used milk and not water. Wondering why it says water here?
Hi Nick, thanks for your comment. In his book, Pastry, the recipe definitely uses water, not milk. One possibility is that you were watching him make the pâte brisée, which is also shortcrust, rather than pâte à foncer/flan pastry. The pâte brisée has slightly more butter and a tbsp of milk instead of the water. It’s “more delicate, crumbly and lighter than flan pastry”. Hope that helps!
Hi,
Are you suppose to blind bake pate a foncer?
Lin
Hi Lin, I think it depends on the recipe you’re using. I would blind bake as usual if that’s what the recipe calls for.