Basic Rules For Successful Pastry

8oz/225g pastry means the weight of flour used in the recipe.

Always make sure that you have cold hands, if not cut the butter through with a knife or a pastry cutter.

Work quickly in a cool kitchen this prevents the pastry from becoming tough.

Always use plain flour.

Never use soft margarine, this contains too much water and will make the pastry hard.

Only add enough liquid to bind the dough together to make a soft but not sticky dough, to prevent the pastry becoming tough.

Never overwork the pastry, especially nut or cheese pastries – prevents toughness

After the pastry has been made wrap it in cling film and leave it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes so that the pastry can relax.

Imediately before baking always cover and rest the pastry to prevent shrinkage.

Always prick the base when making a single layer tart to prevent them from rising up.

Baking blind is essential for open tarts to eliminate soggy bottoms and to ensure a crisp bottoms.

Sealing a baked blind pastry case with egg white and then baking it for about 5 minutes will seal the pastry case further.

Ensure the oven is preheated and hot when baking blind to 200 degrees centigrade or gas mark 6 this helps to prevents shrinkage and also helps to ensure a crisp bottom.

Turn the heat down to cook custard fillings – prevents splitting and curdling.

If the pastry is not going to be cooked again (for a cold filling) always make sure that it is thoroughly cooked through and crisp.

Lard gives the best flavour and texture for pastry but do beware that it is animal fat and deffinately not vegetarian.

For flavoured pastries, add to the pastry dough when mixing as follows:-

Herbs – add 1 heaped tablespoon freshly chopped fresh herbs.

Spices – add 1 level teaspoon of the required spice. If you are using nutmeg always grate it freshly, prior to cooking.

For a vanilla flavour either use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or place a vanilla pod into sugar, or scrape a few seeds from a fresh pod, but beware of the little black dots.


For almond pastry you can either substitute 2oz/50g of flour for 2oz/50g ground almonds or add 1 teaspoon of almond extract.

Orange/Lemon – use the grated zest of 1 fruit.

Nuts – add 30g of the specified nuts; grind them finely first. Do not overwork as the finished pastry will be greasy and tough.

Cheese – add 30g of grated cheese. Use a good local cheese which will complement the dish.

Do not overwork as the pastry will be greasy and tough.

These quantities are for 8oz/250g flour.