Perfect Spelt Shortcrust Pastry Recipe – Melt-in-Your-Mouth Texture

My new, improved spelt shortcrust pastry is perfect for both sweet and savoury pies. The texture I can only describe as melt-in-your-mouth. If you'd like to make a savoury pie, leave out the sugar and add a little salt. I have made my recipe with white spelt flour as this is what I prefer to work with however, many of my followers only use wholegrain spelt flour. So you might be thinking, can I make this recipe with wholegrain spelt flour? the answer is yes, but the texture will change slightly and, you may find wholegrain pastry a little hard to work with. If that's all you have, try sifting out some of the grain before using it.

I was inspired by Bigger Bolder Baking pie crust recipe but Sue Maree P style, I don't use wheat flour but swapped this recipe for spelt flour. I haven't ex

Ingredients for a pie (2 layers)

  • Spelt flour (white or wholemeal)* – 370g (2 + 2/3 cup)
  • Butter, chilled and cubed – 200g (1 cup)
  • Salt – 1/4 ts
  • Egg yolk – 2 large
  • Cold water – 4-6 tb (35-50g)
  • Icing sugar, powdered sugar – 2 tb (leave out for a savoury pie crust)

Ingredients (for one layer)

  • Spelt flour (white or wholemeal) – 185g (about 1 + 1/3 cups)
  • Chilled cubed butter – 100g (about 1/2 cup) should be 100g
  • Salt – 1/8 (if using salted butter don't add this)
  • Egg Yolk – 1
  • Cold water – 2-3 tb
  • Icing sugar* – 1 tb

Method

  1. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix the egg yolk and water and add to the dry ingredients. Then add in the butter and mix with your hands until the dough comes together. Pull the dough together with your hand to incorporate any dry pieces. (Be careful not to hastily add more liquid, as this will not yield the best results.) You could also do this in your food processor.
  2. Wrap the pastry in cling wrap or baking paper and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax before rolling. Just note the dough will get a little wetter once it relaxes also, so factor that in.
  3. Store your pastry for up to 2 days in the fridge or freeze for up to 8 weeks.
  4. When ready to use, roll on a floured surface to fit your tin or pie dish. A good thickness is ¼ inch. Bake per the instructions of the pie recipe you are using it for.

Sue Maree P Baking Tips

  • Spelt flour – I preferred to work with white spelt flour for pastry, but you could use wholegrain. The grain will make the texture a little harder to work with.
  • Sugar – this recipe was developed using powdered sugar, if this is something you don't bake with add regular white sugar. No, I haven't tested this with any sugar alternatives.

Add the cold, cubed butter and rub in with your fingers until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. (You can also do this in the food processor and that works very well and less handling of the dough).