Filo pastry
This is an extremely thin type of pastry
(usually the thickness of tissue paper)
originally used in Greek, Eastern European
and Middle Eastern recipes. Because filo
is so thin and delicate, it tears easily and
can dry out if not covered with a damp
towel while it is being worked with. Filo
is incredibly versatile and can be used to
make baklava desserts as well as pies,
spring rolls and samosas.
• 112g (1 cup) plain flour
• Pinch salt
• Water
• 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
1 Sieve the flour and salt together in a
bowl and gradually add water accordingly
until dough reaches a stiff consistency.
2 Oil your hands lightly and knead the
dough on a board, gradually working in
all of the olive oil until a smooth, elastic
dough is achieved.
3 Roll the dough in a little more olive oil,
place in a bowl, and cover with a damp
cloth and allow to stand in a warm place
for a couple of hours to allow it to rest.
4 Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll
to ¼ inch (0.5 cm) thickness on a lightly
floured board.
5 Cover with a cloth and allow relaxing
again for 10 minutes.
6 Cover a worktop with a smooth, clean
cloth and lift each piece of the rolled
dough onto it one at a time.
7 Putting your hands, palms down under
the dough, gently stretch the dough with
the back of hands, rotating the cloth until
the dough is stretched and as thin as
tissue paper and in an approximately 1’x
1’ (30 cm x 30 cm) square.
8 Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
Puff pastry
This pastry has a much higher fat content
than short pastries and uses a special
rolling and folding technique to create
fine layers of dough that trap air between
them. The pastry then puffs up on baking,
creating scrumptious layers with a light
texture and rich flavour.• 200g (2 cups) plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 150g (¾ cup) coconut oil, solid
• 60ml (¼ cup) cold water1 In a large bowl, stir together the flours
and salt. Using your hands, cut in the
coconut oil until crumbs the size of large
peas is formed and add to flour mixture.2 Add the cold water and stir together
until the mixture comes together into
dough. If the dough seems a bit dry,
add just a tad more water until it comes
together. Pat into a loose ball and transfer
the dough to a well-floured surface.3 Dust the top of the dough liberally with
flour and form into a rectangle that is 3/
inch thick. Roll the dough into a rectangle
12 inches long by 7 inches wide and 1/
inch thick.4 With the short side facing you (the 7
inch side), fold the bottom third of the
dough up and the top third down, like
you are folding a letter. Rotate the folded
dough a quarter turn (so the folded side is
to your left) and repeat.5 Roll out and fold up again, repeat
one more time after that (for a total
of 3 times). Wrap in plastic wrap and
refrigerate for 4 hours before shaping or
using for a recipe.Flaky pastry
Flaky as well as ‘rough puff’ are both
similar to puff pastry but easier and far
quicker to make. They are ideal for recipes
where you want a flaky texture but do not
need the pastry to rise impressively.• 75g (⅓ cup) block butter vegan butter
• 120g (1¼ cup) plain flour
• Pinch salt
• 1 tbsp cold water1 Sift the flour and salt into a large, roomy
bowl. Take the butter out of the fridge and
using the coarse side of a grater, grate the
butter over the flour bowl. What you will
end up with is a large pile of grated butter
sitting in the middle of the flour.2 Now take a palette knife and start to
coat all the pieces of fat (vegan butter)
with flour.3 Now sprinkle a tablespoon of cold water
all over, continue mixing with the palette
knife, adding a further 1 to 2 tablespoons
more water. Start to bring the whole thing
together with the palette knife, and finish
off using your hands.4 If you need a bit more moisture, add
water accordingly.5 Now pop it into a polythene bag and
chill for 30 minutes before using.