Flaky Pastry
Servings: 1 block
How to make quick easy flaky pastry. Easy and delicious, light, crispy pastry that's great for making pies, strudels and turnovers.
INGREDIENTS LIST
- 280 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp caster sugar (for sweet pastry items)
- 200 g butter (at room temperature)
- 125 ml water or buttermilk (see notes)
Preparation
- Weigh out the butter and divide it into 4 equal amounts, or if you have a 200g block then it's easy to divide into 4 approximately.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, salt, sugar (omit for savoury pies) and one portion of the butter.
- Add the water or buttermilk (see notes) and bring the mix to form a soft dough. Form a ball and then flatten it and wrap it in cling film, place it in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill. (This is important for the flour to have time to properly absorb the water content and for the dough to relax, making it easier to roll.)
- Lightly flour the work surface, then roll the dough out to make a rectangle approximately 3-4mm thick.
- Take another portion of butter and dot it or spread it evenly over two-thirds of the rectangle. (The butter should be at room temperature and soft, but not melted.)
- Fold 1/3 of the dough without any butter, over the middle 1/3 of the dough with butter.
- Then fold over the other 1/3 of the dough with butter, over the top. This completes one rollout.
- Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat steps 4 - 7 two more times with the remaining butter.If it’s summer and it is a particularly hot day, the dough might warm up and soften too much. Don’t worry if this happens, just put it in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.
- Finally, once all the rolls have been completed, cover with cling film again and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.
- The flaky pastry dough is now ready to use for making delicious pies and desserts.
Notes & Tips
Buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk, add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or rice vinegar to 100 ml of milk, stir and leave to stand for 15 minutes before using.
