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Guides to British Food and Cooking

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts ... but which pastry did she use?

Good pastry-making is a fundamental part of many of the world's cuisines and British cooks really excel in this arena. Pastry comes in many forms. All of them are made from a mixture of flour and liquid, and usually contain fat. Variations in quantities and the ingredients themselves give each type its distinctive texture and taste.

There are eight main types of pastry:

The chief difference between them is the method of introducing the fat. In the short pastries it is rubbed into the flour. In suetcrust the chopped suet is simply mixed in, without further manipulation. In the puff and flaky types the fat is rolled into the dough. In hot-water crust and choux pastry the fat is melted in hot liquid before being added to the flour. There is also a shortcrust made with cooking oil and a pastry made from yeast dough.

Ingredients for Pastry-making

Flour
Plain flour should be used, though in suet pastry, where a raising agent is needed, self-raising flour may be used instead of plain flour and baking powder.
Raising Agent
Baking powder is generally used in suet pastry. Steam acts as the raising agent in puff and flaky pastries, in combination with the air enclosed between the layers of the paste. In choux pastry the raising agents are eggs plus steam.
Fat
Butter, lard and margarine used to be the fats most commonly used, but nowadays proprietary vegetable shortenings, both blended and whipped up, and pure vegetable oils are also used. Butter gives the best flavour and should always be used for puff pastry. Lard is suitable for shortcrust and flaky pastry, used with butter or margarine, in the proportion of half butter or margarine to half lard. Suet is used for suetcrust pastry.

General Hints for Pastry-making

  1. Coolness is important for good results. Handle the pastry as little as possible and always use the finger-tips for rubbing in the fat. Rich pastries are improved by being made on a cold slab and placed in a refrigerator between rollings so that the pastry remains firm.
  2. Always sift the flour and salt together into the mixing bowl, as this helps to lighten the mixture. Additional air is incorporated by lifting the flour from the bowl with the finger-tips when rubbing in. Always rub in with a light, rather than a heavy hand.
  3. The liquid should be very cold and must be added carefully. An excess of liquid causes a sticky, unmanageable dough and any extra flour then added will alter the proportions of the ingredients and cause the pastry to be tough. Chill the liquid in the refrigerator before use.
  4. Rolling out must be done lightly and firmly; do not roll more than necessary. Always use firm, light strikes, rolling in one direction only.
  5. Pastry requires a hot oven. Too slow an oven causes pale, hard pastry.

Pastry Types in Detail

Short Pastries

These include pastries which are of a crumbly rather than a flaky texture ñ shortcrust, flan pastry (also called biscuit crust) and suetcrust. Shortcrust is the most widely used type, being employed for a great variety of pies, tarts, turnovers and pasties, both sweet and savoury. Flan pastry is used for sweet tarts, etc., and suetcrust for sweet and savoury puddings, which may be steamed, boiled or baked. Cheese pastry is another short type used for making cheese straws.

Hot Water Crust Pastry

This is a type of pastry made by melting lard in boiling water and pouring the mixture onto the flour. It is kneaded to a dough and used for 'raised pies'. The pastry is placed in a special mould, or moulded around a suitable container before being filled with veal, ham or a pork filling to make a traditional hot-water crust pastry pie.

Flaky Pastry

Probably the commonest of the flaked types, it can be used in many sweet and savoury dishes; sausage rolls and pies are particularly popular. Good flaky pastry is judged by the evenness of the flakes when it is cooked, and the rolling and the even distribution of the fat are two important factors in achieving this result.

Rough Puff Pastry

Similar in appearance and texture to flaky although not quite so even. It is quicker and easier to make and can be used instead of flaky in most recipes (popular for Eccles cakes and mince pies).

Puff Pastry

The richest of all the pastries. It gives the most even rising, most flaky effect and crispest texture. It should be handled very carefully. It is used for vol-au-vents and teatime pastries such as cream horns.

Choux Pastry

Choux pastry is a paste prepared by beating eggs into a thick mixture of flour, fat and liquid. The eggs cause the pastry to swell in cooking. It is used chiefly for Èclairs, profiteroles, cream buns, rich fancy cakes and savoury or sweet fritters.

Filo/Strudel Pastry

This is a form of pastry which is very popular in Greece, Austria, Germany and central Europe generally and has become fashionable in Britain over recent years. It is made from a soft dough which is stretched out by hand until paper-thin, covered with a variety of fillings (e.g. apple, black cherries, nuts, poppy seeds, cheese and vegetables) and rolled like a Swiss roll.

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