Tart Pastry

A solid tart shell starts here. This all-purpose pastry dough uses both butter (for flavor) and shortening (for flakiness), cut into flour with baking powder and salt until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Milk binds everything together into a dough that’s easy to roll and forgiving to work with.

The dual-fat approach is what gives this crust its character. Butter melts during baking and creates steam that puffs the layers apart, while shortening stays solid longer and keeps the pastry tender. Together, you get a shell that’s both flaky and sturdy enough to hold a filling without going soggy.

Roll the dough to an eighth of an inch thick. Any thicker and the crust overpowers whatever filling you put in it. Any thinner and it tears during fitting.

Chef Tips

• Keep the butter and shortening cold. Warm fats blend into the flour instead of staying in distinct pieces, and those pieces are what create flaky layers.
• Use a pastry blender or two knives, not your hands. Body heat warms the fats too quickly.
• Prick the bottom generously with a fork before blind-baking. Those holes let steam escape so the pastry stays flat instead of puffing up.
• Chill the shaped dough in the pan for 15 minutes before baking. Cold dough holds its shape better in a hot oven.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of sugar to the dry ingredients for a lightly sweetened dessert shell.
• Replace a quarter cup of flour with finely ground almonds for a nutty crust.
• Use this dough for quiche, fruit tarts, or savory appetizer tartlets.