Making pastry

Jolaaled

After years of dismal failure at (shortcrust) pastry making, i find this recipe impossible to get wrong. Very easy to make...no rubbing in...Rolls out really well and has great crumbly texture. ( Is also vegan, if you use the right sort of fats).

1.25 oz White Flora (it has to be White Flora.not trex..u get it from tesco's etc!)
1 oz margerine
3/4 oz butter (or mix of marge/Flora if vegan).

cream these together with a fork

then add:

3 dessertspoons ( not tablespoons) of cold water and
2 dessertspoons of plain flour ( + salt)

mix with fork.

then add:
4oz plain flour

Mix all of this together with a knife until it all binds together.
Knead into a ball.
Refigerate for at least 30 mins.

Hope this is useful!

comping_cat

A good tip for making pastry is to keep your hands cold!!! Makes it a lot easier and the pastry will come out better!!!!

eddie_2-2

I'm sure there are loads of folks on this on board who can help me with such a basic request!!

I'm gradually getting into to the way of meal planning. And although I've always cooked meals from scratch, I'm trying to become more consistent and organised.

Recently I've been getting more involved with homebaking and have tried my hand at pies, cakes, muffins, quiche - stuff like that.
However, any time pastry is called for I have used the premade frozen stuff.
This is because I tried making shortcrust pastry 3 times(!!!) when making a pie only to have to throw it in the bin because it was terrible. I couldn't roll it out as it kept crumbling into pieces. When I tried to bind it together with water it turned into a slimy ball on the outside with crumbs on the inside.

I feel that at the moment pastry in standing in the way of me becoming a fabulous home cook!!!!

Please help...

brokenwings

eddie
id highly recommend looking at delias site or at the bero site
i learned all my baking with delia and have rarely had a failure ( until today that is - have just made a victoria sponge with plain flour by accident ughhhh )


delias shortcrust pastry: http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/basic-shortcrust-pastry,1123,RC.html
bero : http://www.bero.co.uk

ChocClare

Have you got a food processor?
If so, repeat after me: life is too short to get flour and fat under your fingernails and stuck in your rings for no reason!
Weigh out 4oz flour, pinch salt, 2oz fat (half/half butter/lard gives the nicest result, but you can use margarine).
Bung whole lot in food processor. Process until it looks like breadcrumbs. Now add 1 tblsp cold water. Process again. As soon as it starts sticking together, turn the motor off, tip the bowl upside down onto a floured work surface and knead. If it doesn't stick together, add a TINY bit more water. The main thing is not to overwork it. If it's a bit soft, bung it in the fridge for half an hour before rolling it out.

eddie_2-2

Thanks guys!

Had a look on the Be-ro site which gave me plenty of information and tips.

I do have a food processor so will definitely make use of it - I'll just have to clean off the inches of dust first!

Kimberley

I want to make home made steak and kidney pie, but i'm not sure how

How do you make the pastry?

Addiscomber

Here is a link to Delia Smith's website showing how to make shortcrust pastry.
http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/how-to/how-to-make-shortcrust-pastry,21,AR.html
She doesn't give any guidance about how much water to add, unfortunately, but if you allow 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons per 25g or ounce of flour you will be in the right ballpark. I add the lower amount and then gradually add the rest as I feel how it is going together. If it is too dry it will be impossible to roll out - ask me how I know You need the dough to feel fairly squidgy but not so wet that it sticks to your hands - a bit like plasticene really, but with a nicer smell :rotfl:

Give pastrymaking (and cooking in general) a whirl, and don't be discouraged if things don't turn out perfectly first go. You have to do pretty drastic things to make something totally inedible! I always fought shy of pastry and only really got reasonable at it after I was 50 or so and now I wonder what on earth I was afraid of and I make it 2 or 3 times a week

Pink.

Hi Kimberley,

I'm afraid I can't help with pastry making as I tried it once, made a complete mess of it and have bought ready made ever since.

This thread might give you some hints and tips though: Making pastry

Good luck!

Pink

LJM

im afraid i have to say that i cheat and buy all my pastry readymade and frozen