COOK

PRO

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Part 12: Master making your own pastry

All pastry recipes are perfectly

adaptable for both sweet and

savoury recipes. If you’re

using the pastry for something

sweet add 4 teaspoons of

sugar to your flour. If you want

to make your pastry gluten

free, you can swap the flour

for a gluten free

alternative.

TYPES OF PASTRY

Shortcrust pastry

This is quite possibly the most versatile

type of pastry as it can be used for both

savoury and sweet dishes. Shortcrust

pastry requires minimal handling in

order to preserve its flakiness. Excessive

handling will cause gluten strands to form

and toughen up the dough.

•   125g (1¼ cups) plain flour

•   55g (¼ cup) vegan butter/margarine

•   Pinch salt

•   Some ice cold water (3-4 tbsp)

1 Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl.

2 Add the butter in small lumps and then

add the salt.

3 Rub the butter into the flour until you

get a breadcrumb consistency.

4 Add the water, a little at a time and stir

with a knife until it comes together to

form a dough.

5 Wrap the dough in cling film and store

in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This

helps to re-chill the butter.

M

aking your own

pastry can seem like

a slow and intensive

process; because of

this people choose to opt for

ready-made products instead.

However, the skills required

to make delicious homemade

pastry are not that difficult

to master. A basic knowledge

of the techniques and

understanding of the simple

rules will provide you with the

confidence to make excellent

pastry of all varieties.

Once you have the right

ingredients and a basic

understanding of pastry

making, the possibilities are

endless. From shortcrust to

filo, the results are completely

different but equally delicious.