Types of Pastry Dough

Easy Tarts and Pies
Nothing beats a home-made tart or pie-it’s real back-to-basics cooking. Whether you are making your own pastry, or taking a shortcut with ready-made, home baking is time well spent in the kitchen. Tarts are open, with a pastry base, whereas pies are often deeper, and almost always topped. Both can be made with either sweet or savory fillings.

Storing and Freezing Dough

Uncooked pastry can be kept in the refrigerator for 1–2 days. Wrap well in a plastic bag and seal, or wrap in plastic wrap. Although cooked pastry remains the most crisp at room temperature, leftover meat- or custard-filled pies and tarts must be refrigerated. Uncooked pastry can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap well in a plastic bag or plastic wrap. Cooked pastry shells can be frozen for up to 6 months.

Different Types of Pastries

(Choose the right pastry for the right dish)

Shortcrust

The most widely used pastry, and the easiest to make. It’s a half-fat-to-flour combination,and is made by rubbing the fat into the flour with the addition of a little water. For richer pastry, egg yolk is used instead of water. This pastry is usually used for savory dishes.
Use for :
Savory tart base Pie crust.

Puff

Has a higher fat content than shortcrust, but the end result is lighter. Making puff pastry takes a long time, so for quick-cook pastries, buy ready-made pastry, preferably made with butter.
Use for :
French-style sweet pastry Savory pie topping “En croute” savory dish encasing meat or fish.

Sweet

This is a type of shortcrust pastry, made with added sugar. The sugar is added to the flour, and can be confectioners’ (powdered) sugar or granulated sugar.
Use for :
Sweet dessert tart or tartlet.

Suet

This is made with self-rising flour instead of all purpose, and the fat content is either a beef suet or, for vegetarians, a vegetable suet. It’s a heavier pastry with a dough-like texture.
Use for :
Steam pudding (sweet or savory) Pasty.

Filo

Also known as phylo, filo pastry is a paperthin delicate mixture of flour and oil that has been beaten and stretched. It has the lowest fat content of all the pastries. It’s not easy to make at home, so buy it fresh or frozen. It can be fragile to work with, as it gets brittle when dry, so keep it covered with plastic wrap, and brush thoroughly with melted butter.
Use for :
Greek and Middle Eastern dishes encasing a sweet or savory filling.