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• The most important factor in pastry making is temperature. For all the pastries covered in this book, except hot water crust, you need to keep everything cool. Don’t handle pastry more than you have to and use only your finger tips to rub the fat into the flour – if you suffer with poor circulation like me you’ll have cold hands which is regarded as a positive when it comes to pastry making! Rich short pastries and flaky pastries will benefit from resting in a cool place or the fridge before rolling and shaping again to firm up the fat content.

• If you prefer a short cut to rubbing in by hand, you can use a hand held mixer or food processor. It is always best to work the fat into the flour in short bursts, and the same with adding liquid, otherwise there is a possibility that the pastry can become too over-mixed or processed and will be tough as a result. Refer to the manufacturer’s instruction booklet for the correct settings and attachments.

• Add liquid in gradual, small amounts to avoid making the pastry dough too wet – if the mixture is too sticky it will not only be difficult to handle, it will dry out and harden too much on cooking. Avoid adding extra flour when rolling out if your pastry is too sticky as this will alter the proportion of ingredients and have a detrimental effect on the texture of the pastry by toughening the texture.

• Roll pastry in one direction. The easiest way is to roll it away from you - then turn and roll it in the same “away from you” direction. For rounds of pastry, form the pastry into a ball first, then rotate as you roll, pinching together any cracks that appear on the edge. Being methodical with your turning and rolling technique means you are building a good, even structure to your pastry, particularly important for flaky pastry making when the rolling process helps form the flaky layers for the finished pastry. Use as little flour as possible to avoid drying out your pastry, and keep rolling to a minimum to avoid over-handling.

Admittedly, some pastries are more difficult to handle. For example those with a high fat content or low or no gluten. In this instance, you are better to try and loosen the pastry with a long, broad palette knife after every rolling, and either slide the pastry round on the work top, or if this is too difficult, roll in a methodical fashion up and down and then side to side, to achieve an even thickness.

• Most recipes in this book require you to roll out the pastry thinly. This means to a thickness of around 3-5mm (¼inch).

• Take care not to stretch the pastry to fit the tin or mould as this will mean that the pastry will shrink back during cooking and may become misshapen.

• Most recipes call for freshly made or shaped pastry to be rested or chilled before filling or baking. Always cover the pastry in clear wrap or if in a block, wrap in greaseproof paper. This will prevent a skin or crust forming, and will stop the pastry drying out or picking up other flavours.

• Pastry is best cooked in a hot oven so that the fat doesn’t “melt out” of the mixture but instead coats the flour particles quickly enabling the dough to cook to a crisp. Everyone’s oven heats up differently so if you are concerned that your oven may not be heating up correctly, it is worth putting an oven thermometer on the centre shelf of the oven in order to double check the temperature. This is the best way to ensure you are cooking at the correct temperature.

• Short and flaky pastries can be stored for 2-5 days in the fridge if you don’t want to use them immediately. You should wrap them well to avoid picking up flavours from other ingredients and to prevent a skin or crust forming on the outside. Similarly, these pastries freeze well. Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 6 months, then allow to defrost, still in the wrappings, in the fridge for a few hours until ready to use. Hot water crust pastry must be used while warm and fresh otherwise it will be too hard to handle. Allow a pastry to “warm up” slightly if it has been stored in the fridge – let it stand at room temperature for about 20 mins before using.