Rules for making pastry • Weigh ingredients accurately and use the correct proportions. • Keep the ingredients and utensils as cool as possible. • Add the water carefully. Use just enough to bind the ingredients without becoming sticky.
• Mix with a knife and knead lightly on a floured board. • Avoid over-handling. • Roll pastry lightly and as little as possible. • Avoid stretching pastry, as it will shrink during baking. • Allow pastry to relax in a refrigerator before baking. • Bake in a hot oven so that the starch grains in the flour burst and absorb the fat. Then reduce the heat to allow it to cook through so it has an even texture and is not shrunken or uneven.
Further Investigation To find out more about pastry-making, techniques, tips, videos and recipes, visit
Baking blind is baking a pastry case without a filling, e.g. for quiche or a fruit flan. • The base of the case is pricked with a fork. • Greaseproof paper is spread over the base and weighted down with dried beans or rice to prevent the pastry rising.
• The case is then baked for 15 minutes at 200°C. • The paper and beans/rice are then removed and the case put back in the oven for a further five minutes to make the base crisp.
Revision Questions
4. Identify the basic ingredients used in home baking. 5. Outline four methods of making cakes, giving an example of each one. 6. Classify pastry and give examples of dishes made with each type.
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1. List three guidelines to follow when baking at home. 2. State the advantages of home baking. 3. Name four raising agents, explain how one of them works and give examples of a use.
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Strand 1: Food, Health and Culinary Skills Section 4: Focus on Food
