How to get flaky pastry right

Sitting in the sweet spot between quick and easy shortcrust and tedious, technically challenging puff, flaky pastry is something any home cook can master. Learn the knack of adding layers of fat to the dough without ending up in a sticky, buttery mess with our foolproof guide.

What is flaky pastry?

It’s made by rubbing fat into flour, then adding water to make a dough – a process instantly recognisable to any regular shortcrust pastry maker. It’s then taken one step further with small chunks of fat layered into the dough through a process of rolls and folds. As the amount of additional fat is relatively small and added as little chunks, the process is manageable (and not that laborious). It won’t achieve the towering lamination of proper puff pastry, but it will create a rich, buttery texture that flakes into tender shards when you cut into it – perfect for pies, sheet tarts and turnovers.

Butter vs lard

Butter gives pastry a better flavour but lard gives it a flakier texture. So, naturally, we recommend a 50:50 blend for the best of both worlds. If you’re vegetarian you can just use butter or a 50:50 mixture of vegetable fat and butter, but it’s well worth including the lard if you can, even if you’re planning to use the pastry for sweet bakes.

The four pastry rules

1. Cut the fat into small pieces. If the fat is added to the dough in large chunks, it’s more likely to break through the layers of dough during rolling rather than spreading out. Keep the pieces thin and this won’t be an issue.

2. Ridge, then roll. If you start rolling at one end of the pastry, you run the risk of pushing the fat forwards. Instead, ‘ridge’ the pastry with your rolling pin first to get things going. Press the pin into the pastry evenly along its length a few times to create a wavy ridged effect. It will then be easier to roll out neatly.

3. Apply even pressure when rolling to give straight sides. Not only will this help spread the fat evenly, but it will also mean you can fold the dough straight on top of itself to continue the layering. If your pastry starts to curve, you’re probably pressing down more on one side than the other. Practice makes perfect so don’t worry about this too much at first, but a simple way to ensure even pressure is to use thickness guides – bands at each end of the rolling pin that keep it a uniform height from the worktop.

4. Flour is your friend. You don’t want your pastry to stick to the work surface – as you pull it away, you’ll tear those beautiful layers. Give the work surface and rolling pin a good dusting of flour, making sure you can slide the pastry easily on the work surface. If a piece of fat does break through the dough while you’re rolling, scatter a little flour over the patch to prevent it from sticking to your rolling pin. After each roll of the pastry, use a pastry brush to remove excess flour before adding more fat and folding (you don’t want a floury layer in the pastry).