SPAR Inspiration - Golden Rules for Making Pastry (2024)

• The first golden rule of making pastry; keep the ingredients, the bowl and the hands as cool as possible.
• Sieve the flour to add extra air and lightness to the pastry.
• Work fast, this keeps the pastry cool and prevents the gluten in the flour developing too quickly – which will make the pastry too elastic and difficult to roll, cause shrinkage, and will result in tough, hard pastry.
• Handle as little as possible. Too much handling will make the fat heat up and go soft and the pastry will become greasy.
• Wrap the pastry dough in SPAR Cling Wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes if possible.
• Chill again after rolling out to prevent shrinkage in the oven, this will relax the pastry before cooking.
• Roll pastry on a cool surface (a marble slab is perfect), dusted with SPAR Cake Wheat Flour. Also, lightly dust the rolling pin with flour to prevent sticking.
• For a crisp base on tarts and pies always place tart on a preheated baking tray in the oven.

Pretty Tart Edges:

Try one of the following ideas for your next tart or pie:

• Snip the edge evenly with a sharp pair of scissors as shown in above image.
• Use a small cookie cutter to cut pretty shapes. You could theme your pie i.e. holly leaves for Christmas or winter leaf shape for an Autumnal theme.

• Plait two strips of pastry to form an edge.

• Push the spoon edge gently into the pastry to create the desired effect.

Click here for steps on a Sweet Tart Dough Lesson from our SPAR Savour Magazine