Rich Yeast-Free Shortcrust-Style Dough
Easy to make, pleasant to work with, soft, and yeast-free! Rich unleavened dough is quick and simple to prepare - and the baked goods are wonderful: sweet pies and buns, curd-filled pastries, cookies… Want a savory version? Leave out the sugar. Create whatever you like for a cozy tea time!
Updated : 09 March, 2026
Easy
About 45 min.
Ingredients
330 grams
Wheat flour
1
Eggs
50 grams
Sugar
150 grams
Sour cream
75 grams
Butter
0.5 teaspoon
Salt
0.75 teaspoon
Baking soda
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How do you make rich yeast-free dough? Prepare the ingredients. Sour cream can be any fat content (10-20%). Instead of sour cream, you can use kefir, or replace part of the sour cream with heavy cream or milk. Take the butter out of the fridge in advance so it softens to a pliable room-temperature texture. Use good-quality all-purpose flour.
Step 2
Mix the flour with baking soda and sift through a sieve to aerate it. Then your baked goods will turn out light and rise well.
Step 3
In a suitable bowl, beat the egg with salt and sugar until smooth. You can use a whisk.
Step 4
Add the sour cream and mix.
Step 5
Add the softened butter and whisk well.
Step 6
Add the sifted flour with baking soda. Mix the dough first with a spoon, then by hand. Watch the consistency: if it’s too runny, add a little more flour. But even if the dough sticks slightly to your hands, it’s better not to add more flour so it doesn’t become stiff.
Step 7
Knead the dough quickly. It should be soft, pliable, and elastic. Why shouldn’t you knead this kind of dough for a long time? Lactic acid in the sour cream reacts with baking soda, forming carbon dioxide, which escapes during prolonged kneading. As a result, the baked goods can turn dense and tough. So quick kneading is an important detail for good dough. Before shaping, chill the dough - refrigerate it for 1 hour.
Step 8
I baked a plum pie from this dough in a 22 cm (about 8.7 in) pan. The dough is soft and very tasty. Happy baking!
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