Types of Pastry

Making the right pastry for dishes is as important as the filling itself. Although
most recipes include the name of pastry that is recommended for the dish, it
helps to have an idea of which pastry suits what and how to make it.

Shortcrust Pastry
This is probably the most versatile type of pastry as it can be used for savoury
and sweet pies, tarts and flans. There are several different ways of making
shortcrust pastry.

Puff Pastry
This is one of the ‘flaked pastries’ characterised by fat and air being trapped
between the layers of the pastry dough to give a flimsy, light and crisp finish.

Regarded as the ultimate professional pastry, this type is time-consuming but

worth making. It is used for savoury pie crusts and as wrapping for meat and
poultry, as well as vol-au-vents, cream horns and mille feuilles (small iced
cakes that are filled with jam and cream.)

Flaky Pastry
Used as a crust for savoury pies, sausage rolls, Eccles cakes and jam puffs,
flaky pastry is best made in cool conditions and must be chilled during and
after making, to prevent the fat content from melting out under cooking
conditions.
Rough Puff Pastry
This type is a cross between puff and flaky pastry. It is also good for sausage
rolls, savoury pie crusts and tarts and has the advantage of being easier to
make than puff pastry, but is as light as flaky pastry.

All three of these flaked pastries need similar care.

 Handle as little and as lightly as possible

 Fat and dough content should be of the same consistency and
temperature
 Roll pastry evenly without stretching it or forcing out air
 Brush with beaten egg glaze before baking

Choux Pastry
This incredibly light speciality pastry is used in the making of éclairs,
profiteroles and cream buns. Air lifts the pastry during cooking to treble in
size...all those cream-filled delights.

Filo Pastry
This type of pastry (along with finely shredded kadafi pastry, also from the
Mediterranean) is made in very thin sheets and used as a casing for numerous
delicate savoury and sweet dishes. Made with high gluten content flour, filo is
very difficult to make and needs careful handling because it is such a thin,
fragile pastry that dries out quickly. Some people prefer to buy readymade filo
pastry, but even that is not easy to use. It must be brushed with oil or melted
butter/ghee before shaping and cooking. Samosas are deep-fried with spicy
fillings, wrapped in filo pastry, and prawns in filo pastry make popular savoury
nibbles. This type is similar to strudel pastry.
Suet Crust Pastry
A traditional, British, pastry used for steamed or boiled puddings, dumplings
and roly-poly puddings. Steak and kidney pudding is famously made with suet
crust pastry as is spotted dick and treacle pudding.

Made with self-raising flour, shredded suet and for some lighter recipes, fresh
white breadcrumbs, suet crust pastry should have a light spongy texture-it is
very filling though!

Hot Water Crust Pastry

Moulded by hand while warm and used for raised meat and game pies (like the
famous Melton Mowbray Pork Pies) hot water crust pastry is a rich and crisp
speciality. Plain flour, salt, egg yolk and lard boiled up with water are the
ingredients which, once mixed, kneaded, shaped and rested, can be used to
line a hinged tin pie mould, or moulded over a large floured jam jar. Once set,
the dough is filled, covered, sealed and decorated before being baked.

Pate Sucree Pastry

As the name suggests, this pastry is French. It is a sweet pastry that
incorporates sugar and egg yolks for a rich, sweet result. Usually baked blind,
it gives a thin, crisp pastry that melts in the mouth.

These are a few of the basic pastry types. Making pastry is not difficult and
with attention to a few important details like:

 correct fat to flour ratio-roughly half as much fat to flour

 add water carefully and slowly, preferably from the fridge
 handle pastry as little as possible
 avoid over-flouring the rolling pin and board
 always preheat the oven to the recommended temperature you will be
making pies, puddings and parcels with confidence.