Meaning, types and uses · Food and Human Nutrition

Pastries

Pastry is a dough of flour, fat and water (and sometimes egg or sugar) that is baked to make a crisp, light, short or flaky product. Pastries are used for pies, pasties, tarts, samosas, sausage rolls and quiches.

Type	Method	Proportions (flour : fat)	Uses
Shortcrust	Rubbing in fat to flour, then adding water	2 : 1	Pies, tarts, quiches
Flaky / rough puff	Fat is added in pieces and the dough is rolled and folded	4 : 3	Sausage rolls, turnovers
Puff	Layers of fat and dough rolled and folded many times	1 : 1	Vol-au-vents, millefeuille
Choux	Cooked paste of water, fat, flour and eggs	Dough is cooked first	Éclairs, profiteroles
Hot-water crust	Hot melted fat and water poured into flour	For raised pies	Pork pies

Rules for good pastry

Use cold hands, cold fat and cold water; handle the dough lightly and as little as possible; do not add too much water; rest the dough in a cool place; roll in one direction on a floured surface; bake in a hot oven (200–220 °C) so that the fat melts quickly and the steam raises the layers. The fat coats the flour and keeps the pastry short (crumbly).

Quantities

For shortcrust pastry use half as much fat as flour by mass, and about 30 to 40 cm³ of cold water for 200 g of flour.

Twice as much flour as fat.

Try itShortcrust pastry

Choose the amount of flour.

Check yourself Shortcrust pastry uses flour and fat in the ratio

Check yourself For crisp pastry the hands and fat should be

Check yourself Which pastry has many layers made by folding and rolling?

Key terms

Pastry: A dough of flour, fat and water, baked.
Rubbing in: Mixing fat into flour with fingertips.
Shortness: A crumbly texture from fat.
Filling: The food enclosed in or on pastry.

Summary

Pastry types: shortcrust, flaky, puff, choux and hot-water crust.
Keep everything cool and handle lightly.
Shortcrust uses flour : fat = 2 : 1.
Bake in a hot oven.