Hard and/or tough pastry: Usually occurs due to too much liquid and too much flour when rolling out, too little fat, over-handling or insufficient rubbing in. Soft and crumbly pastry: The chef has used too little water or self-raising flour instead of plain.

How do you achieve a tender and flaky pastry?

The fat is mixed or “cut” into the flour so it stays in discernible pieces. During baking, the pieces of fat melt away, leaving air pockets that then expand a little from steam. The result is a slightly risen crust of layers separated by the air pockets-in other words, a flaky crust.

Can I use self raising flour instead of plain in pastry?

It works every time – I have never had a hard, dry, tasteless pastry when using self raising, but I have had some failures when using plain. For a basic shortcrust pastry you will need: 2 Cups (8 oz, 225g) self-rising flour (self raising) or all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder.

What are the 4 characteristics to a perfect shortcrust pastry?

criterias

  • size.
  • shape.
  • color.
  • texture.

Can you use self raising flour instead of plain flour for pastry?

How do you make apple pie pastry with mincemeat?

Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for 10 mins. Scoop the large jar of mincemeat into a bowl and add 2 segmented satsumas, 1 finely chopped apple and zest of 1 lemon. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick.

How to make almond pastry mince pies?

These Almond Pastry Mince Pies are just what they say on the tin – melt in your mouth delicious! Almond shortcrust pastry makes them simply irresistible and even more festive! They are so easy to make too! Put flour, sugar, salt and ground almonds in your food processor and press pulse button few times to combine.

How do you melt Mincemeat for mince pies?

Before filling the mince pies, I sometimes put the jar of mincemeat, minus its lid, in the microwave for a few seconds. This melts the suet in my homemade mincemeat and makes it easier to spoon the from the jar. For this pastry, you can forget the notion that everything needs to be kept cool.

How many mince pies can you make from one jar?

Depending on how thick you roll your pastry and the depth of your baking trays, you should get between 12-16 mince pies from this recipe, using one standard sized jar of mincemeat. After a bit of an egg wash and a sprinkle of sugar, I put the mince pies in the oven to bake for around 20 minutes.