QUICK AND EASY FLAKY PASTRY

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

I love making pastry.  I know it can be tricky and to many the idea of making their own when you can buy very good pastry seems a kitchen step too far!  In the UK perhaps I would agree and certainly puff pastry was of such good quality in the supermarket I would never have considered taking the time to make my own but in Canada I find the bought stuff to be a bit lacking.  (To see my recipe for puff pastry click here).  Now puff pastry is time consuming and if I have not got a batch stashed away in the freezer and time is against me another pastry friend can step in to help me.  Based on a Delia recipe for a quick flaky pastry, there are no rolling and folding steps just a little butter freezing.  It is an excellent pastry and perfect for sausage rolls!

 

QUICK AND EASY FLAKY PASTRY

INGREDIENTS

  • 110 g butter
  • 175 g All purpose flour
  • pinch of salt

 METHOD

  1. First of all remove a pack of butter from the fridge, weigh out 110 g, then wrap it in a piece of foil and return it to the freezer or freezer for 30-45 minutes.
  2. Add the flour and salt to a large bowl.  Take the butter out of the freezer, fold back the foil and hold it in the foil, which will protect it from your warm hands. Then, using the coarse side of a grater placed in the bowl over the flour, grate the butter, dipping the edge of the butter on to the flour several times to make it easier to grate. What you will end up with is a large pile of grated butter sitting in the middle of the flour.
  3. Now take a palette knife and start to distribute the gratings into the flour – don't use your hands yet, just keep trying to coat all the pieces of fat with flour. Now sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cold water all over, continue to use the palette knife to bring the whole thing together, and finish off using your hands. If you need a bit more moisture, that's fine – just remember that the dough should come together in such a way that it leaves the bowl fairly clean, with no bits of loose butter or flour anywhere.
  4. Now pop it into a polythene bag or wrap with cling film and chill for 30 minutes before using.
  5. Remember, this, like other pastries, freezes extremely well, in which case you will need to defrost it thoroughly and let it come back to room temperature before rolling it out on a lightly floured surface.
 
 
I used the pastry to make sausage rolls by skinning good quality sausages and laying them onto the rolled out pastry.  Egg wash one side of the pastry and roll up.  Cut into large or small sections and place on a baking tray and egg wash the tops.  Bake till golden brown and delicious!



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7 comments

  1. I didn't know making flaky pastries was this easy. Thanks for the recipe :)
    Following from the Weekend Blog Hop till You Drop!

    Kelly
    http://hiccupsandsunshine.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for stopping by! It's a very simple pastry but tastes fab!

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  2. I love a nice flaky crust and you make it sound so easy, I'll have to try this.....Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!


    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino

    The Chicken Chick

    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Freezing and grating the butter makes it super easy and super tasty! Thank you for the blog hop, I will certainly stop by again to link up!

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